As usual the alarm woke me up by 6am, 30min extra sleep after yesterday’s challenging hike. I slept near the Kareri lake at 2960m below a sky filled with stars. Squeezed into my bivy after I felt that my quilt got wet due to dew. With puff jacket, quilt and bivy the night was warm and cosy. Went to the nearby shop to activate the body with some hot chai and was on my way.
Target for today was to climb over the nearby saddle 3100m, drop down to Bagga Temple 2250m, climb over the Deep Goth 2650m saddle, descend to the stream 2300m and climb up again to Laka Boulder Cave 3150m at the base of the Indrahar pass. Similar end altitude but lot op climbing up and down in between. As I set off from Kareri lake I admired the beautiful reflection in the water.
I quickly hopped over the nearby saddle into the adjacent valley leading to the Bagga temple. The view on the snow covered Dhauladhar range above from the lush green forest below was mesmerizing. I descended 850m into the valley along a small stream.
The Bagga temple is located after a small ridge into a left side valley below the Gaj pass. There is an old settlement of rock, mud and wood houses, some of which in ruins. A few shepherds were staying nearby grazing their herd of sheep and goats.
The shepherds were inviting me over. One of them, a small kid, was carrying a newly born goat. I requested if I could cook some Maggie which they supplemented with a few rottis. As usual breakfast was more tasty after a 2 hour morning hike.
From Bagga a clear trail contoured left into the next side valley and climbed up 400m to Deep Goth, a scenic saddle with open meadows and a few houses. Locals were cultivating veggies and grazing their bufalloes in this scenic spot.
From Deep Goth the trail dipped down 350m through forest into the next major valley. The stream was still partly covered with snow. Last year I nearly got washed away trying to cross the stream. This time I could just walk across. Last September it was hard to find the trail due to dense vegetation. Now it was mostly open grass land and I could stay on track.
From the stream I had to climb back up 850m to the next saddle at the base of Indrahar. The trail initially runs right of the stream and crosses mid way to the left. A couple of snow covered side gullies had to be crossed. As the snow was still hard I cut steps with my ice axe.
Looking back I got a nice view on Kuari Lake and Deep Goth and the in between valleys through which I came. Near to the saddle hail stones and rain were falling from the skies and I took shelter in one of the cafes around 4pm. The weather remained bad for another hour and I decided to attempt Indrahar the next morning with a clear weather window.
The South facing side of Indrahar 4200m was mostly clear from snow except for the gullies. The other side of course would still have good snow cover so descending into Chamba remained doubtfull. Last year I got stuck at 3900m in September due to early winter snow fall. This year I would at least attempt to reach the pass and worst case return back from the top.
I settled down for the night in a small open rock shelter behind a big boulder to cut the cold wind blowing across the saddle. Woke up early morning by the sound of a small animal coming out of a hole and frisking around my backpack. Rose by 6am and cooked some Maggie and tea in a nearby shepherd’s shelter. The nearby cafe was overcharging foreign hikers.
The Dhauladhar ridge was indulged in a fluffy cloud cover. Yesterday’s rains made way for a clear blue sky. I started of from Dhauladhar cafe, crossed the snow bridge covered stream and climbed up along the boulder strewn ridge. Soon I passed a few hikers which I met the previous evening. Renting tents, guide, equipment and food are expensive for the non alpine style hikers.
While climbing up I got treated on majestic views on the Kangra plains below and Triund peak in the centre. Still higher I could see McLeod Ganj, Dharamsala and the residence of the Daila Lama. Higher up I had to cut steps with my ice axe to cross a few frozen snow gullies.
Five hikers from McLeod Ganj got stuck without proper snow gears and were happy to follow in my footsteps. Near the top of the Dhauladhar ridge the path became steeper and after some boulder climbing, cutting steps through 3-4 frozen snow gullies we made it to the pass at 4320m the highest one out of 35 crossed till now.
Time for a well deserved selfie with two of the hikers who climbed at my pace to the pass. A small mandir marks the location of the pass guiding hikers between Kangra and Chamba. Far below in the Kangra plains one can see the Long Dam lake wildlife sanctuary.
On the Chamba side it was like a winter scene. The valley and glacier below the pass were completely covered in a white blanket of snow. A stark contrast with the opposite South facing slope which was mostly snow free. I bid adieu to my co-trekkers, climbed down a small rock exposed ridge into the snow covered glacier and started my descent into Chamba.
Climbing down was fairly easy, the gradient was not to steep and the morning sun had softened the snow so I could easily make footsteps with my shoes. Further down the slope got flatter and could simply slide down the snow. Above the Indrahar glacier one could see the Pir Panjal range at the horizon covered with snow seperating Chamba and Lahaul.
Once below the glacier I stepped onto firm ground in the meadows and a clear trail proceeded on the left side through scenic forest high above the still snow covered valley.
The Kuvrasi Nala originated from the melting glacier above and ran underneath this large snow bridge. While descending I crossed a few snow covered side gullies but the trail was mostly clear.
Mid way the trail dropped down to the stream and crossed over to the right side of the valley. Thanks to the huge snow bridge I could simply walk across to the other side from where the trail climbed up and contours through scenic meadows.
The trail continues through majestic pine forest towards the hamlet of Kuvrasi located after the ridge. It s a picturesque village made of beautiful wooden homes with natural stone tile roofs.
Kuvrasi has a beautiful ancient temple at the base of huge pine tree. I measured the circumference as 20 meters! The temple is decorated with horns of wild animals and bells of all sizes.
10 hours since breakfast and with no ration remaining I was starved after a steep pass and glacier crossing. A friendly villager invited me into his home and gave me chai, rottis and dhal in the late afternoon.
He insisted I stay over at his home and continue the next day. We had a nice evening over a bottle of home brewn wine and a sumptuous meal of rice and dhal in his beautiful wooden house. I settled for the night below warm blankets in a cosy bedroom.
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