23rd October – Drive from Gupt Kashi to Gauri kund and trek to Kedarnath

 

I mentioned earlier that Vishagan had visited Kedarnath with his mother in 2023. He had arranged a doli for her and opted to trek himself. He was familiar with places like Gauri Kund, Sonprayag, and Sitapur, as well as the modes of transport and routes.

As a first-time visitor, everything was new to me. I relied on the advice of experienced group members and Kanni Swami.

We boarded the bus at 5 AM and left Paradise Hotel for Sitapur. Uday Singh would drop us off there and pick us up later. However, we had to walk about a kilometer with our backpacks and larger bags, which would normally be carried by porters or mules.

The traffic congestion on the road to Sonprayag was a precursor to what we would encounter later. After the walk from Sitapur to Sonprayag, we had to take a shared cab to Gauri Kund.

The mad rush to secure a seat in a shared cab gave us a taste of what to expect. A cab could accommodate a specific number of people with their luggage and charged a hefty fee of Rs 50 per seat. However, the demand was so high that people had to literally jump into the cabs before they stopped. Most cabs returned empty after dropping off trekkers at Gauri Kund.

 

Our group split, with everyone except Swami, Dada, and me getting into a couple of cabs. Dada got into a cab, but the other occupants were part of a group with one more member who couldn’t board. The driver insisted that Dada get off, but Dada, supported by Swami and me, refused. Finally, after threatening to call the police, the driver reluctantly started the vehicle with Dada sporting a victorious grin.

Swami and I jumped into the next cab. After facing typical traffic jams in the hilly area, we reached Gauri Kund one by one. Kanni Swami immediately arranged breakfast for everyone at Neelkant Restaurant. After a good breakfast and tea, we visited the Gauri Kund temple and started the trek at 8:30 AM.

Kanni Swami instructed everyone to share their live location on the WhatsApp group. The long trek was punctuated by tea breaks, juice breaks, lassi breaks, and fruit and chat plate breaks. I preferred an apple to a full-fledged lunch.

The Mandakini River, horse dung, mules, porters, restaurants, and hordes of trekkers were constant companions throughout the trek. I was constantly worried about being pushed by a horse and, indeed, experienced several close calls.

As I attempted to cross an unusually large rock, I accidentally stepped on the laces of my other shoe, loosening them. When I bent down to tie them, I noticed a crack developing where the sole met the upper part of the shoe. Upon examining the other shoe, I was dismayed to find a similar crack. However, since this was the last major trek of this trip, I was also relieved that the shoe hadn’t failed during the trek. While it could still be used for casual outings, I doubt its ability to withstand another demanding mountain trek.

We witnessed an incident where a trekker beat a horseman whose horse had dislodged its rider and couldn’t be controlled.

Focused on careful walking, I kept my mobile phone in my bag and didn’t take any photos. Except for one selfie I took while crossing a bridge over a rushing river.

A few helicopter companies offered direct flights to the temple. As we ascended higher, we could hear the increasing sound of helicopters.

Group members started reaching the top one by one. Accommodation was arranged for five of us at Balaji Resthouse and for Swami and his wife at Jodhpur House. After checking in, we quickly changed out of our travel clothes and headed to the temple area to participate in the aarti.

Shridhar, another member of our Trekkiyer group, joined us from Mumbai at Kedarnath. We had dinner at Tiwari’s and returned to our rooms for rest before the midnight darshan of Kedarnath Mahadev.

Before leaving Mumbai, Vishagan had booked a shodashopachar puja, which is typically conducted between midnight and 4 AM.

After a short rest, we layered up to face the freezing temperatures and left for the temple around midnight. We found a queue of about 50 devotees waiting for the midnight puja. Someone checked the temperature on their phone, which was around 4 degrees and falling. After waiting for about two hours, we entered the temple around 1:45 AM. We had a satisfying darshan and then went to have hot tea. The temperature had dropped to around minus 1 degree, but fortunately, it wasn’t snowing. We returned to our rooms in about 10 minutes, where we could hear the wind howling. Comfortably layered and satisfied with the darshan, we went to sleep.

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