A Winter Trek’s End: Memories and Footprints from Rudranath

Finally the time has come when we have to return from Rudranath. Today while thinking about the return journey I am remembering the moment of 2 days ago when I entered the forest on foot from Sagar village in the morning sun and my condition worsened on hearing the sound of a bear and I ran to Pung Bugyal from where I could see Nanda Devi Peak even in bad weather. Beyond Pitradhar I found snow up to my knees and as I moved ahead fresh snowfall started.

Following the snowfall I finally reached my destination Rudranath temple where I spent the night in a hut and yesterday when I went out to roam around I bumped into an unknown person who is related to the forest department. So he stayed with me yesterday and today both of us will go down from where our paths will separate. When I woke up at 6 in the morning the sun was about to rise. Before the sun came down to earth its colours made the mountains look like a rainbow.

Nanda Devi Peak was seen painted pink in the distance while in the east the sun had captured all the mountain peaks. I am looking at my return path where snow is visible on Pitradhar and I have decided that I should not slip and fall on such a steep climb, come what may. Before leaving, let us visit Rudranath, the temple of Lord Shiva. Let me tell you that in winters the doors of the temple remain closed and Lord Shiva is worshipped in Gopeshwar.

After visiting this temple built in 1500 BCE, both of us start walking on the snow at 9 in the morning. There are clouds in the sky and somewhere there is sunshine. While walking on the snow, the shoes are getting wet, while the cold wind coming from the mountains is hitting the sweat-soaked jacket. I cover my mouth so that I do not catch a cold. Even the grass on the way has been taken over by the snowfall that happened yesterday. Now slowly we are climbing Pitradhar, whose height is 3.5 km.

By now the dark clouds of the sky have gone and after crossing Pitradhar the sun has come out. With the coming of the sun the snow has started melting and hence the slipperiness has increased. The forest department uncle falls twice because his shoes do not have enough grip for the snow. While walking I look back and see that the footprints of both of us are telling the story of our adventure. Seeing these footprints I feel proud that reaching such a place in winter is really a success.

As soon as we reach Pung Bugyal we take a rest for 15 minutes and while drinking water I think that when I write this post on #hive then people living in every corner of the world will become witnesses of this wonderful place like me. While sitting here I also remember the #winterchallenge organized by @worldmappin in which the contest has become very hot. I am late in writing today's post so I am thinking that the post of #traveldigest has not come. Now only 8 days are left for the challenge and let's see what my position is in the leaderboard.

Snow reigned till Pung Bugyal and as soon as we got up from here to descend the mountain, the battery of my camera died, the battery of the phone had already died. Now I have nothing for photography so now I have put the camera in the bag. We are walking while talking and the uncle is inviting me to his house. I have to go back home so I refuse him with folded hands.

We walk this 16 km track from 9 am and finish it at 5 pm. After reaching Sagar village, I take a bus to Gopeshwar while the uncle from the forest department goes to his home. Sitting back in the bus, I remember this wonderful #adventure. From here my next destination will be Narkanda where my friend @naveen.jogta lives. I spoke to Naveen on the phone and he said that it has snowed in Narkanda, you should come soon. I have found another great place for #winterchallenge where I am going tomorrow.

Disclaimer: This post is originally written in Hindi and I have used Google Translator to translate the Hindi text in English. All the photos have been clicked by me from canon 77d and edited in lightroom, post thumbnail created in adobe photoshop.