18th October – Drive from Pipalkoti to Kalpeshwar & onward to Chopta

M.S. Subbulakshmi's 'Paramatma Paramanu Roopa...' woke us up at 6:15 AM. We got to have a bath in the hotel as hot water was available in the bathroom.

As per the itinerary shared by the trekking company, today we were to do practically NIL trekking, except climb a few steps. So, most of us preferred to attire ourselves in non-trekking clothes.

We then ventured out to a local dhaba for our morning cuppa.

Poha and idli were available in the Indralok restaurant for our breakfast.

We had to pack our bags and leave Indralok (Pipalkoti). The locality, probably the busiest of the places I have seen in Uttarakhand so far, reminded me of the streets of Mumbai. Here, we also had a chance to stretch our legs and walk after a meal and visit a paan stall. Something warned me that such small pleasures may not be possible in the next few days.

We boarded the bus, and Uday Singh started the drive by 8 AM. Looking out of the windows when traveling in the bus, I was reminded of the Hollywood Wild West movies which I had watched during my school/college days. Uday would drive up one mountain along a narrow road, get down on the other side, cross a rickety bridge across a rivulet, start driving up another mountain along a narrow road, and repeat this. After counting this routine thrice, I lost count and concentrated on the scenery from the windows.

At times, my heart would come to my mouth when I saw the sheer drop in the valley where the tires of our vehicle would barely skip past the edge of the road, especially when taking a turn. I realized that on such roads, the rule was that if a vehicle coming from the opposite side had crossed a broad stretch, and the remaining distance between this vehicle and your vehicle was broad enough for only one vehicle, you had to wait on the side where the road was broad enough until the other vehicle passed you.

Needless to say, this type of driving required a skill that one could acquire only through a combination of training and experience, and my respect for the silent Uday Singh, our chauffeur, went up several notches.

By 10:30 AM, we reached a vast open stretch where Uday dropped us, and we started the small but steep climb towards the hill where we would have divine darshan of Kalpeshwar Mahadev.

 

Rudranath Mahadev made us (me) run the last stretch before we could reach His temple. Kalpeshwar Mahadev made us climb a few steps. This temple is situated in a sort of cave, and Mahadev gives darshan in the form of jata (matted hair). One can view the Kalp Ganga flowing in the valley below.

I had the good fortune to sit before the Lord and recite Rudram with Vishagan and Ramesh. V and R could read Rudram in the Rudranath temple too, as they had reached earlier and had sufficient time.

 

After a heart-filling darshan, where at one point we had the temple to ourselves, we started our return journey. Kanni Swami had planned lunch at the Indralok restaurant, after which we would continue our drive towards Chopta where we would spend the night.

The return from Kalpeshwar Mahadev temple to Indralok was a virtual reversal of our morning's drive. Uday Singh's driving skills ensured we reached Indralok safely. We had tea at a mountain-view restaurant, faced a couple of rockfalls en route, resulting in about an hour's delay in reaching Indralok for lunch.

At the lunch table, Swamy asked for, and surprisingly got, curd, which he promptly ordered for all members. After a simple but filling lunch, Vishagan suggested a round of dessert. Bhawani Sweet Mart, situated across the road, had a variety of sweets, of which kalakand looked very delicious. And true to its looks, it tasted very delicious too. At this point, someone suggested that we should try to have a sweet after every darshan or at least every alternate day.

We also purchased nine apples, one each for the seven trekkers, plus one each for Kanni Swami and the driver Uday Singh.

After lunch, the drive to Chopta was quite a long one. We did not stop anywhere, except for a tea break, which ensured that we were able to reach the camp by 6 PM. After a welcome tea, we checked into the tents.

Called Swiss tents, these were better than the ones we got at Lyuti Bugyal. These had proper wooden cots, which ensured good insulation from the ice-cold ground. Also, these tents had attached bathrooms, an added comfort after the open-air version we experienced at Lyuti Bugyal. It was quad-sharing, with Vaidy, Ramesh, Vishagan, and myself occupying one tent, and the other one between Swamy, Sumathi, and Dada.

There arose a small confusion with respect to Dada's clothes, which he had put for drying in the bus. When vacating the bus, everyone picked their respective bags and came towards the tent. Dada distinctly remembers not taking his wet clothes, which he had set out for drying in the bus, but when he checked the bus, Uday confirmed that they were taken in a plastic bag by someone. The next day, we found this plastic bag in another member's trek bag!

Power supply was one thing which, though promised, was not available. The entire area depended on solar panels for power, and as luck would have it, the past two days were not very sunny.

We had instructed the pantry to serve us rotis and plain rice. We had got along several edible powders/liquid stuff—such as vethakozhambu, puliyodharai, lemon rice mix, etc., which we opened and used with the plain rice. Ramesh had brought along a packet of varathupperi (salted banana chips). With this combination, I realized even the quantity of rice I consumed was more than the normal quota. The canteen had Amul buttermilk for whoever wanted it! To round up this sumptuous fare, Anup had arranged for sonpapdi as dessert.

 

4G Wi-Fi was available on a paid basis. The early part of the night, immediately after dinner, was quite pleasant. The moon was shining brightly and giving sufficient illumination.

Kanni Swami briefed the group that the next day we had to start the trek by 7:30 AM. Since this was to be a one-day trek, we were required to carry just our backpacks with bare minimum items required for the day. The bus would pick us up from the campsite, drop us at a point from where we would start the trek, and pick us up from the same place to drive us back to the campsite.

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