Trekking Expedition Uttarakhand : An Astounding Experience

Trekking Expedition Uttarakhand By Kuldeep Sarma.

The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page. ~Saint Augustine

On 16 September 2016 I, had the opportunity to lead a team of 39 NCC Cadets from various parts of Assam to represent the North-East Directorate at the All India NCC Trekking Expedition Uttarakhand. Here is a brief excerpt from my trekking experience.

Kathgodam : The first stop

We started our journey for Uttarakhand on 16 September and reached Kathgodam, Uttarakhand at 6 am in the morning of 18th September. The weather was beautiful and clear. We settled down at our accommodation which was at a very picturesque location in the Kathgodam valley. We waited there for two days for the rest of team to arrive and on the morning of 20th September at 4 am we set out for our second base camp where we were to go for our first trek.

Base camp 2 : Ratighat

We reached the second base camp at Ratighat at 9.45 am and prepared for our first short trek. After a power packed meal we set out for our first trek. I was spellbound at the beauty of Uttarakhand. Wildlife, nature, mountains, rivers and a beautiful climate welcomed us to the wilderness and beauty that is Uttarakhand. I met some fantastic villagers who were eager to click pictures and curious about where we came from. We politely obliged and started conversations and clicked pictures with them. As the sun went down we came back to our camp and prepared for the night.

The next morning we went on a long trek to the mountains. The beauty of the mountains never failed to amaze me. Came back and had a volley ball match with the rest of the teams, unfortunately, we lost to the Punjab boys in a tight match. Well, the Punjabi boys were tall and had a natural advantage to our short north-eastern boys. So, I like to blame our loss on the short growth, just a personal opinion though. ;) .

Base camp 3 : Bhujan

After a quick breakfast the next morning we went to our third and final base camp Bhujan. It was the best of the three camping locations we had. We trekked all the way from Ratighat to Bhujan and was the best experience ever. After the 9 KM trek we reached our camp site and settled down. All the cadets immediately went  for a bath in the nearby river where we had a great time.

The next morning we went on a 28 KM trek where 7 KM were hilly roads and 7 KM of straight climb through the hills and same while coming back. It was the most amazing trek of the trip to Uttarakhand. Surrounded by the nature and wildlife it was a mesmerising experience.

This brings us to the end of our trip. After a brief tour of Nainital and a great cultural evening at our base camp we ended the Trekking Expedition Uttarakhand and headed back for our hometown Guwahati. as I headed back the curvy roads and crisp mountain air reminded me of the the sheer power and beauty of the mighty Himalayas and left me with an un-quenched thirst for a trip back to these mighty mountains. I WILL BE BACK!