Kanatal | Our First

It was going to be our getaway together after a hiatus of four long years. More rhetoric.
We boarded our bus from Kashmiri Gate ISBT on the night of March 30th at around 2230 hrs. Ours was a top berth on an AC sleeper coach. The space on the berth was not enough for two, but we were not one bit bothered by it, our excitement for getting back on the road was the one positive feeling dominating all others. Looking outside the window at the night sky and the reflection of the street lights passing by, each lighting up and dimming our cushy little personal compartment, there was a sense of jubilation of taking the first step — unplanned and unprepared, yet we set out on acting on our dream.

The following morning, we reached Rishikesh early in the morning at around 0700 hrs. We hopped off the bus, hired an auto and headed off to a place where we could freshen up and have some food. It was a 4 km ride to Ram Jhula where we got off at an adjoining parking complex overlooking the Ganges. The only shop we found open at this time of the day was a tea-shop and we had cutting-chai, an absolute essential for me to break me out of the morning slumber. It was also the first time our new trek leader — Priyanka, was going to lead this trek, so we find her sitting on a bench in front of the tea-shop wondering what do we do next. By the time we finished sipping our cuppa tea, by the grace of God, she had a plan setup for us. Upon enquiring with the local people, we found out that to get to Kanatal, we could catch a bus heading towards New Tehri, hop-off at Chamba and from there we would get local jeeps that would drop us at our destination. But first, a place to freshen up and have a good breakfast before we headed off in search of grass-fields for setting camp.

Trek leader Priyanka told me that she knew of a secluded beach a short walk off Laxman Jhula and so we agreed to spend some time there and find a good place to eat along the way. The walk up to Laxman Jhula took about half-hour give or take, and then another fifteen minutes of walking after crossing over to the other side of the Ganges brought us to a small beach on the river banks. It was only the two of us apart from two other people performing morning Surya-namaskar behind a large rock, well hidden from our sight. Although not a place with an excellent view, but a quiet place to sit and relax nonetheless. Priyanka took off her shoes and went in to dip her feet in the holy river. I remember I was here at the shores of the holy river with my uncle four months back. We had taken a dip in the freezing cold waters. After spending a while there we snapped a few photographs and soon started walking back towards Laxman Jhula. On the way back we found a café named — Café Steps, offering breakfast along with yogic peace. Almost all the eat-outs in Rishikesh nowadays seem to offer peace and bliss for sale. What days! We found it had a hygienic washroom where we could do our morning business. We ordered tea and parathas and while the food was being prepared, we took full advantage of the washroom. Priyanka changed into her trekking attire. The trek-leader now seemed a foreign tourist and I the porter carrying all the gear for her adventurous outing.

Now we had to make our way back to the Teri bus-stand to take a bus that would take us on to Chamba. We got on to shared auto that took us to the bus-stand. By now it was almost 1100 hrs and the sun was beginning to make its heat felt. It was good that we would be on a bus and not on foot under the scorching sun. The bus ride from Rishikesh to Chamba took around three and a half hours, which was perhaps more than the usual time taken due to extensive road construction work going on all along the way. As the bus winded its way around the hilly roads our trek-leader took a nice nap while I enjoyed watching the changing scenes from one valley to next, a stream running along the valley, huts tucked away on mountain slopes and people working on their fields in terrace farms cut along the slopes. We reached Chamba at around 1400 hrs. Chamba is a small town that had one main market road bustling with the local population. We decided to have lunch here and gather any supplies needed for our camping. We found a café named Biele which offered momo’s, french fries, burgers, and pasta along with English pop music and seemed like an eat-out joint for the youth of this town. I had chicken noodles and Priyanka ordered chicken pasta. We had our food, bought some oranges and bananas in case finding food near camping ground would be difficult. Then we got onto a jam-packed local jeep, along with 9 other people, that would take us to Kanatal.
In the jeep, our trek-leader was back at her best, sleeping all along the way. I put on some music and gazed at the faraway ranges as we gained elevation, and sooner than later the mighty snow-capped mountains emerged in the distance peeked at me from openings along the way which was now starting to get densely covered with towering pine trees. It was a 45-minute ride from Chamba to Kanatal. We hopped-off at a place from where a nature trail entered into the dense Kaudia forest range. This particular part of the range was maintained by the state government as an eco-trail. Apart from the eco-range, there were a few small restaurants and some glamping sites. Overall the area was very scantily populated. It was almost 1700 hrs now, the sun coming down on the horizon, and we decided to pack some food from one of the establishments and head into the forest range to find good grounds for camping. We packed some sandwiches and headed off along the trail.

Within a couple of minutes of walking along the trail the temperature dropped considerably making the surrounding cool and pleasant, the sky was shut out by dense canopy and we were in the midst of tall pine trees. Almost a kilometer into the trail we came across a meadow opening out from the dense forest. It seemed perfect grounds for camping. There was grass, there was firewood and the best part was that it was overlooking a 120-degree view of snow-capped mountain ranges in the distance. It was 1830 hrs by now, the sun was setting at the horizon and we had to quickly pitch our tent and light up a campfire before it got dark. I pitched up the tent while Priyanka went around and gathered fire-wood. We had roughly 20 minutes in hand before visibility would fall to darkness. The tent was up, the fire-wood gathered and we got a campfire running in no time. Alas, the vibes of being back in nature took over and it felt like I was back at what I love doing most.

We brought out the sandwiches that we had packed for the night and though they had become soft and wasn’t enough in quantity, I wasn’t complaining because Hey! I was in the midst of nature, white mountains in the distance, under a blanket of the star-spangled night sky, camping tent and fire, enjoying the moment with my girlfriend. What more can you possibly want! We just sat there and gazed at the twinkling lights emanating from the valleys below and the clear sky dotted with a million stars above. We lost complete track of what time it was and wherein the universe we were. It was beginning to get cold outside and so we decided to get inside the tent. I was completely exhausted from all the load-ferrying and passed out in no time while our trek-leader had some trouble getting to sleep, spooked by raw nature outside.

Early to bed and early to rise! I was up by 0500 hrs the next morning, peeking at the twilight outside from the meshed opening on the tent’s roof. It was a chilly morning. And quite a silent one too, no sounds of birds chirping or trees dancing to the breeze. Priyanka was still asleep as she probably went to sleep quite late after a battle with her senses to ward off noises and thoughts. I decided to get out of my sleeping bag and step out in the open to soak in the morning twilight. It was a serene sight to behold. Mist filled undulating hills and hues of the sky above — blue and orange, stitched together by snow-capped Himalayan ranges from horizon to horizon. I spent some time to soak at the moment and feel free in nature. The sun too longed for a view of this, for it began to peek from behind the mountain ranges.
Our trek leader was up by this time and came out from the tent to capture the moment for herself. We took photographs of the scenes and ourselves to have memories. With sunrise, the tallest peaks in the mountain ranges were draped in orange. We decided to light up the campfire from the wood remaining from last night to prepare some morning tea. A fresh chilly morning and hot green tea. By 0800 hrs the sun was up and we decided to begin packing-up and in the next hour or so we were almost done with wrapping up the tent and packing up our bags. We cleared the ashes from the ground and anything else we used to make sure left behind no trace — an important principle of being in nature.
As we were about to leave, a man showed up at the spot who seemed to be a local. I chatted up with and found out that he was a trek organizer setting up glamping operations in this area. From him, we found out that this area witnesses heavy snowfall during winters and is a popular spot for film-shooting. I had a good talk with him and exchanged numbers to keep in touch. It was 0930 hrs now and we decided to explore the area and find out more about it. We headed out of the eco-trail and back onto the Chamba-Mussoorie highway. We stopped at a small restaurant to have our morning breakfast and then headed up the road to reach a glamping destination. It was off-season so not much activity going around here. We sat down under a small shade, with pretty much nothing to do.
To be continued…..
