Brahmtaal Trek (Jan'18)

For those who come from lower parts of India, where the climate is hot and humid, coming across snow is a great delight. We people are through and through with the intense summer which can go up to 50°C.

So every winter people would flock to the colder parts of the country, in Himalayas or nearby her. Off late the interest of people in going for trekking has been on the rise. Having multiple kind of benefits over visiting the touristy towns, such as a certain kind of challenge to complete the trek, the views on offer, less crowd and to be able to spend time with oneself in the lap of nature.

Winter treks tick off most of the wish list. Getting ample of snow or if lucky snowfall and low temperature experience are the treat.

Having already done a snow trek (Kedarkantha Peak, March '17), I had a certain idea on what was on offer. Brahmtaal Trek is an easy trek like most of the winter treks on offer, with the peak height at only approx 12,100 ft. 

Having already been to Kuari Pass, I chose not to do Chopta Chandrashila Trek, with it being in the vicinity of it. So that left me with only two options, either this or Chadar Trek. I chose this with that in mind that I wanted it to be a more like a comfort trip rather than a challenge. 

This trip for me was meant to be like a bridge that would take me from one path of my journey which I left behind to start a new chapter of my life. In simple words, I left my job, took on this trip and after it, I am working on multiple small projects of my own.

Brahmtaal Lake (20^th Jan to 26^th Jan)

Basic Information

Trek Difficulty: Easy to Medium

Trek Length: 32 kms (We did 6 less as we skipped the summit day due to excessive snowfall)

The organization I went through with: Trek the Himalayas

Batch Strength: 25

People I knew beforehand: 3 people that I became friends with on my previous treks

One of those good things about my trekking journey is that I have made some good friends over the time. Few of those from various trek made it to this trek along with me.

Day 1:

So I set off the trip with four others, from a flight to Delhi from Ahmedabad on 19^th afternoon. With Republic Day preparation going on at the Airport, the word was that the flights are getting delayed. There was a moment of scare as we had to catch a train soon after we landed at the Airport. Luckily there was no such issue with us and we reached on time. From Delhi, another trekker friend of mine joined us. So as we had planned, the hungry non veg eaters that we were, went over to Karims to grab a full course dinner before we set off on the trek. Some meal that was. Stayed stuffed for the next day as well. Later that night we took the last train (Ranikhet Express from DLI 10pm) to Kathgodam. With Delhi not being that cold what it usually is during winter and snowfall in Himalayas being  low this time, we all were a bit let down as possibility of seeing snow was diminishing.

TIP: If you are taking a Sleeper Ticket (SL) in winter, make sure you choose the preference of Upper Berth, as they are warmer and away from the window. Also, take along with you a blanket or a shawl to cover up at night. The night journey is cold.

Day 2:

We reached Kathgodam the other morning at 5:00am. It was quiet windy and cold over there but it became bearable once the sun showed up, as it usually happens in the Himalayas.

Our Tempo Traveller took off once every one was on board. Of the 12 trekkers in the vehicle, 11 were Gujjus. So the atmosphere was quiet alive during the entire trip to Lohajung. After multiple stop and go session, we finally reached our destination at 8:00pm. We dropped off our baggages in our respective rooms and had our dinner. The TL of our group was Tashi, he was from Sikkim, while other guides, Bishtji and Nari were locals. 

Day 3:

I woke up early the next day to witness the sunrise. Witnessing one in those mountains, is one must not miss.

All of us had a great breakfast before we began our trek to Bekaltaal Camp Site (9700ft) at around 9:00am. The trek of 6km was quiet easy with no such difficult gradients. I reached the campsite at around 2:00pm. The leading guide Bishtji was a gem of a person, and he was a great talker, we had quite interesting conversations throughout the trip. Later that day, in the evening, some of us went on a stroll with our guide and TL to visit Bekaltaal. The story is that there is a Naag Devta Temple at the bottom of the lake, and who so ever has tried to visit it, has not made it out alive. None of us dared to think beyond the freezing temperature of the cold water which was half frozen. This lake also acts as a source of water for the nearby villages, with its streams providing the supply. On our way back, at the time of sunset, some of us stayed back at a cliff to witness the sunset. The view was magical. It was getting darker and the temperature was also falling down, and getting colder by every minute. Besides the camp, there was a hut which acted as a kitchen for one of the campers. I and few others want over there and sat around the wood fire to keep our self warm. We sang songs and had a plate full of boiled eggs. We also brought our dinner from the campsite and had it over at the hut. The warmness of the fire was too good to let go.

Day 4 to 5

Around 9:00 am we all set off to our trek to the next camp site that was Brahmtaal Base Camp (10500 ft). The trek was approx. 6-7 km. And it was expected to reach there at 3 pm which we did. During this day, you start off from the forest and move towards the grassland. Once you cross over the tree line, you get a 360° view of the Himalayas. The view is breath taking. The entire trek now till the end is like this before you take a small descend to the camp site. The camp site is location in a small patch of grassland surrounded on 3 sides of forest. As I was among the first few to reach there, I had many options to choose the tent from. It was the corner one in the front row. Went in and unpacked everything, as the next day the camp site stayed the same, when we returned back from the summit. I had put on 3 layers on me to prepare from a cold night. The site was loaded with people, as this site is the common spot for the people who went to summit the previous day and the ones who come from Bekaltal Camp Site. So you are bound to find a lot of camping done over here. At this time, there was not a bit of snow at the campsite. Though throughout the day, the clouds kept popping in and out, but it never looked as if there were anyway planning to shower, as we had plenty of sun throughout the day. Over there, there was a hut which was serving Chicken Pakoda. We all wasted no time and headed over there to get our hands on it. Apart from it, I also had Egg Maggi, Khichdi and a couple of cups of Tea. Yes, I eat a lot (:D). Most of us skipped the Samosas at our camp site and stayed back over at the hut till the sun was about to set. As I had eaten a lot, I decided to skip dinner and went over my tent to take an early nap. I was laying back and watching the movie Everest on my phone, when suddenly people started to shout. Soon it became clear that it had started to snow. Apparently the decision to choose the front corner tent turned out to be a horrible decision. People kept shouting, dancing, and what not nearby my tent spot. With no sleep being able to get, I too decided to move out and have some fun in the snow. I had seen plenty of snow on my previous trek of Kedarkantha, but this was a first snow fall experience. We had some fun before everyone headed back to their respective tents. The snow kept falling and piling up on the tents, which made it mandatory for us to go out and wipe it off every few minutes. The situation became worse as the snow fall kept falling at a good rate and started to accumulate everywhere. The tents started to break down and soon were not suitable to stay back in. These all was happening at midnight when temperature was a good -10°C to -15°C. Everyone had to be evacuated and moved to a safer place. Most of the people were shifted to the hut while a dozen of us stayed in the dining tent. The guides and staff worked quite hard to get every to a safer place, providing everyone sleeping bag with liner as well. In our dining tent, at the far end a bit of snow had penetrated, unable to move it, we placed the mat over it. I found a shawl which I used to get cover my legs. I had got myself comfortable in a corner so I decided to skip taking a sleeping bag, as I didn’t want to makes any move from my warm position. While everyone else had taken a sleeping bag for themselves. As the night went on, it became colder and my decision to not get a bag turned out to be mistake. I was unable to take a nap the entire night. Also I took the stupid decision to not have water after the meal I had the previous evening. Make a note, the previous day on the trek, I only consumed a bottle of water. So in all, I had way too less intake of water. As it started to get bright, all the people cramped in the hut and tent started to come out. After much decision making time, the guides and TL decided that rather than to go up for summit we would descend. It was a wise decision as we had no tents to stay, as the ones we had were badly damaged and the clouds were still not completely gone. The snowfall that took place was a good 1.5-2 ft. The route needed to be re defined, as the snow had covered the existing one. This day turned out to be very challenging as the entire path till Lohajung, apart from final few km were covered in good amount of snow. Just shows how much snow fall had taken place all over the place. I hastily repacked my rug sack and we started off at 9 am and reached at 5 pm. As I had very little amount of water in the past days and with not much water available, this turned out to be one hell of a challenging trek for me. Also my stomach was upset and I had very little breakfast. Just shows how keeping hydrated and having good amount of meal can go a long way in helping one. The ill packing of my back also put burden on my left shoulder. After having a few chocolates (In spite of having tonsils, which I had incurred recently) and some water, I felt a bit better. Descend was fairly comfortable as we entered the tree line straight away from the top. The only issue with descend is the strain on the knee and calf you get while stomping down with all that weight on your back. Within 15 min of reaching the base camp at Lohajung, I changed into dry clothes and headed off for a 12 hr marathon sleep. Never slept that long.

TIP: Always drink a couple of bottle of water as soon as you wake up. Make sure you are having a good digestion, drink plenty and eat well. Indigestion will only make you uncomfortable and make things worse. Try to drink couple of bottle of water in the evening rather that at night, so that you stay hydrated throughout the night and also not face the trouble  of going to pee over and again throughout the night. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t drink water at night, just the intake gets lesser.

Always pack your rug sack systematically.

Day 6

Of the batch of 25, 7 of us stayed back while the rest went back to their respective hometown. Some of us roamed around in the town for the rest of the day. 

The pain in my left shoulder also decided stay back for the day. That night, we all decided to get raw chicken, which the chef at the camp would be preparing for us. The foodie and the chef in me kept me in the kitchen all that time. Also the warmth of the fire on offer was a added bonus. The chicken was delicious and we all were well stuffed in the end. 

Day 7

After saying goodbye to the place, we 7 were on our way to Kathgodam where all of us were travelling towards Delhi in the same train. On the way we had a great lunch at Kausani, which of course included Chicken. Somehow bearing that cold in the train (Yes, I had a Lower Berth Ticket), courtesy a blanket provided by my friend, I could sleep somehow that night. 

We all wished each other goodbyes the next morning and headed to our respective home.