My solo trip to Triund and unfinished attempt to Indrahar Pass – Himachal Pradesh

This story is 5 years old, in the month of April 2016, My exams were over for BBA Final Year. I thought of going on a tour on my newly purchased 2^nd hand bike, I asked my friends but they had other plans, so I decided to go solo, I checked my bike’s papers and serviced it the day before the long run.

That night I had a fever, but I decided that whatever happens in the morning I’ll go for my adventure on my first solo trip. The next morning I woke up all excited for my adventure. I prepared my breakfast, had it full as I didn’t know where I’d be able to eat next, because it was my first-time solo road trip to Himachal from Jalandhar, Punjab. I still had a fever but as I’ve decided, I went for it.

So I reached Mclodeganj, Himachal Pradesh from Jalandhar on my bike in the Afternoon (165 k.m.). I arranged my food at the Mclodeganj square, took information from locals about the trek distance, camping gear, food etc.

In the evening I left for trekking of 8 km, excluding the Bagshu fall, On the way, I took a break for 3 times as it is a pure mountain trek, On the way, I outpaced some group of trekkers maybe because I was single and didn’t have to wait for my mates or might be I’m a quick trekker :p , Finally, I reached Triund top and sat on a rock to catch my breath, I sat there, enjoyed the view and strong blow of wind which I think was felt by my soul, I saw people walking and sheep herds, which as guided by the shepherd’s dogs and then I went to the shop and rented a camp which cost only Rs 400/night, it was a small tent for a single person, If you’re a group of people you can rent a bigger one which will cost you Rs 800, Rs 1200 and Rs 1600 which can accommodate up to 6 people.

Since I was alone, I didn’t know what to do next so I sat and kept on staring at the mountains, it was magical, it was soul-soothing, I felt so relieved, I can’t explain it in words, since words won’t do justice to what I felt, suddenly I heard dog fight, one of the shepherd’s dog has almost killed the other one, the dog’s bite was so strong that it almost chocked the other dog, I intervened and shouted really loud, after that the fight was over and I started my buffer-free view of the mountains and clouds, I was sitting and I heard a voice, Hey, are you also on a solo trip? I said yes and introduced ourselves, He asked me what’s your plan, I said, I rented a camp so I’ll set my camp and I’ll stargaze at night and I’ll leave in the afternoon, He said why, won’t you go up to the mountains, I said, is there more to go?

He said yes, I’ve been in Himachal for a month and I know there’s more than very few people know, I agreed to stay and to climb the mountain, then we set our camp and stayed for the night with a complete stranger turned friend.

There were a few foreigners too, They also came for trekking with a group of 8-10 people, they played soulful music, set a bone fire, it was magical. We ate Daal Chawal at the shop, it tasted good, don’t know how, then I stayed up to stargaze, It was a little cloudy yet very beautiful night sky.

Triund

The next morning we left for the mountaineering to the Indrahar peak, without any mountaineering gear, without any guide, with the slippery sole of my shoes. We trek for 6-7 km of normal mountain trek, on the way, there was another shop and we ate Maggi there, then we continued our trek, Indrahar Paas is the top of the mountain visible from Triund top, yes, the highest one is Indrahar Pass.

So, we reached the valley of Indrahar pass and saw a few empty shelters there, don’t know who lived there, then we saw a few locals, we offered them to be our guide but they refused and showed us the way a little, we followed the trail and climbed up after we reached the halfway I saw clouds filling up the valley and slowly coming up, I never saw clouds beneath me, I was astounded by the view. I said to my friend to have look behind, he saw then we decided to climb faster.

We were at 75% of our mountaineering when clouds finally caught us, and it was raining snow, yes It was snowfall on the mountains, it was heavy snowfall so we took shelter under the rocks for around 30 minutes after it stopped we started to climb up again, but it was very slippery, because of the snowfall, so we reached about 90 % of the peak but now there was no way we could have climbed up without the professional gears as it was a straight mountain with snow, so we decided to climb down now, we don’t want to go back but there was just no way for us to climb the remaining 10%.

So we started coming down, it was so slippery that I slipped 1-2 feet thrice, and trust me I felt like I’ll die and prayed to God, Bhagwan bacha le aaj, my friend was ahead of me and he just kept saying just a little bit more we have almost reached don’t worry, thanks to him we finally climbed down to the valleys, stopped for the Maggi again as we were totally exhausted.

Then we came back to the Triund with a bottle filled with mountain’s water which was fresher and healthier than your RO+ UV combined :D. Handed over the camp to the shop and trek down to Mclodeganj. We were so tired that our knee couldn’t take it anymore, my friend was barely able to walk, luckily we found a stick for the support and climbed down at last.

So we trek for 30-35 km from McLeodganj-Triund-Indrahar pass-Triund-McLeodganj, so the people who say it is one day trek they might don’t know about Indrahar Pass trek, which starts from 7 km ahead from where the Triund trek ends.

Oh, the fever faint away, I never felt more alive.

Thank you so much for reading, I truly appreciate it.