Pindari - Day 4
Dwali to Pindari and back to Phurkia
This day to me was the highlight of our complete trek. Not only did we have the first encounter with Pindari Glacier with all the breathtaking views enroute, but I also had the good fortune to meet some fascinating people, each different in their backgrounds but all of them united by their common love for Nature and the mountains. And it was this love that I shared with all of them and which connected me with them.
My first recollection of the day started somewhere between 3 and 4 am ( I didn’t see the exact time), when I woke up to realize I had been shivering a little in the early morning chill. I had earlier noticed the night before that my blanket had this huge hole right at the place where your face would fall, if you cover yourself with the blanket from top to bottom. I had tried taking the other side of the blanket only to discover that there was a similar hole at the other end as well. I had pondered whether the hole had been deliberately drafted to facilitate breathing but later rejected the theory in favor of it being the artistic work of house rats. The fact that there was an almost identical hole at both ends can be explained by imagining that the blanket was folded when the rats were making a meal of it. At that time, the room had been sufficiently heated up by the fire burning at the fire-place so I hadn’t worried too much about the hole. But that carelessness had costed me now. I was cold and my body was aching all over. I woke up in complete darkness looking to rectify the situation. My first instinct was to grab a blanket from Diggu who if I remembered correctly should have been sleeping to my left side. But Diggu had taken care to ward off such advances and had securely tucked his blankets under him. No amount of force exerted by me was sufficient to gain even an inch of territory. Completely failing, I started looking for other options. In a flash of brilliance, I remembered the place where all the blankets had been kept initially and how not all of them had been taken. I groped in the dark hoping that atleast one blanket still remained there. To my relief, I was soon holding the edge of a blanket in my hands. Utterly exhausted but satisfied with the results, I soon wrapped the extra blanket around me and returned to another round of blissful sleep.
Not more than an hour later, we were awaken by loud knocking. It was Tiwariji with our morning tea. I tried to wake up everyone in turn, beckoning them to open the door. Ofcourse all my efforts were futile and in the end I had to give up and do the needful myself. A kind soul informed me that the matchbox and candles were on top of the fireplace. I lit up a candle and looked at the time. It was 4:30 am. I hurried to open the door and was greeted by the smiling face of Tiwariji. Tiwariji, by then, had become a symbol of hard work, simplicity and dedication for us. He really took such good care of us during the entire trip that it would be difficult to express our gratefulness towards him. I took the tray of tea cups from him and brought it back to the room. After having tea we were still too lazy to get out of bed and there we remained till 5:00 am. Meanwhile, everyone was urging each other to start making use of the toilet, as we had only a single one between seven of us. Finally, Chote (Vivek) showed his characteristic bravery, jumped out of bed and started the proceedings.
Earlier last night we had decided that we would get started as early as possible the next day since we wanted to reach Pindari reasonably early in the morning for a clearer view. We were told that the weather had been rough for the past 3 days, and by noon the whole view gets covered with clouds. We decided to make haste in the candle lights, but it was not to be. A complete chaos followed in the dark. Geetika dropped her contact lens, Kavita lost her belt and Diggu misplaced his woolen cap. I myself had to turn around my rucksack for the umpteenth time, sometime looking for raincoat, then again for Diggu’s arms ( I mean arms of his jacket), my socks and so on. By the time we all got ready with our bags finally packed, it was 6:30 am. We had earlier planned to leave by 5 am. All of us decided to have our breakfast at Phurkia to save time. The 16 member DDA team had already left for Phurkia. I must admire their enthusiasm and discipline. It couldn't have been easy for such a big group with limited toilet/bathroom facilities to get ready on time. Although most of the members were in their late thirties and slow walker, they showed great resolve in completing the trek in the same duration as us.
Our first destination was Phurkia which was 5 km from Dwali. Pindari was further 7 km from Phurkia. During the day we were to ascend from Dwali at 2575m to Phurkia at 3260m and finally to Pindari at 3353m. Phurkiya is at 3260 metres, so the climb out of Dwali is quite 
difficult. We started our climb through the forest covered hills with Pindari river flowing along-side us. Dwali is the last place which has nice dense normal forest. Shortly after Dwali, the trees dwindle away. You cross the treeline, you are out of the forest, and into the big mountains. Soon everybody’s sweaters and jackets started coming off as we sweated it out uphill. Learning from my previous experiences not to overdress in a trek, I had on a light sweat-shirt only. A guide had told me once that in hills you should always start a trek feeling slightly cold. The climb was proving particularly trying for Diggu and Geetika, who were quickly getting out of breath and taking frequent stops. Vivek maintained a uniform easy pace throughout with his Ipod plugged to his ears. Kailash did justice to his sturdy looks as he moved effortlessly with his bag-pack. Kavita surprised us all with her fitness looking totally comfortable throughout the trek and at most times outpacing even Kailash.
After half an hour of laboring, we were rewarded with a magnificient view of P
indari (river) disappearing beneath a bed of ice only to reappear at the other end. The ice bed was roughly 200m wide and seemed to be engulfing the river into its mouth. We discovered later that this was a common occurrence along the way as the river becomes more and more mysterious. At the top, you can see thick ice slab, sometimes more than a meter thick. And below it, you see water flowing. The river is a constant battle between the ice trying to choke it, and the water getting through.
Little later our path was crossed by a frozen stream. It seemed as if an entire river falling from the top of the hills and flowing down into the Pindar, has frozen in time. The stream was roughly 50 m wide and you had to walk across. It was an amazing feeling, walking over the frozen stream. The ice wasn’t too slippery and we spent a fair deal of time walking on it and getting photographed. At that time, we were incorrectly referring to these frozen streams as small glaciers but we later realized that these weren’t glaciers after all.
An hour into the trek we were caught up by Joel. After our conversation at Dwali, I was hoping to run into him today. We had a long and easy conversation yesterday, and I was curious to know more about him.
Here, I would like to note the remarkable change in personality that being close to Nature brings in me. In cities, I generally prefer to keep to myself or stick with my friends. Rarely would I go out of my way to make any new acquaintance, and its not often I find myself interested in learning more about other’s life. Perhaps, this is not so uncommon with everyone else too, with people becoming more and more mistrustful of each other. This, however, takes a complete turnaround when I am out among the hills and forests. I feel an irrepressible urge to talk to 
people I meet on the way and to find out about their life. I stop and talk to village folks, I chat with fellow travelers and I sit down to gossip with chai-walas on the way. Each one of them, I feel, has a wealth of knowledge gained through their experiences and wanderings that when shared will make my life immeasurably richer. I hope that they would let me in all the secrets learnt by their close association with Mother Nature. I also find it much easier to connect with everyone. Perhaps, its because in hills you meet people who are much more simple-minded. May be its just me being more open towards everyone, and that feeling being reciprocated back.
Another definite change that I have always noticed, is that I feel much more lively and energetic. I constantly feel a surge of energy and well-being rise within me from somewhere deep inside. I go to sleep much later than my exhausted friends, only to wake up with the dawn, refreshed after only 5-6 hours of sleep. Imagine my delight when the same sentiments were shared by Paul Brunton in his book ‘A Hermit in the Himalayas’ which I was reading during the trek. To quote his experience – “One day a scientist will give us the mathematics of slumber, working out to precise fractions the ratio of the degree of fatigue to the period of unconsciousness. But whatever ratio he produces for the delectation of the curious, I am certain that he will need to revise his figures in the case of the dwellers on the Himalayan highlands. For both of us awake after a briefer sleep than we normally enjoy, yet more refreshed and more vital than heretofore. It may be that the clean crisp air, when inhaled, assists the body to restore its worn-out functions more rapidly than under other conditions”
As Joel caught up with us, we greeted each other with a warm smile and a handshake. We started walking together making general conversation. Joel had been in India for a month and had already been to Leh/Laddakh, Rajasthan, Agra and a few places in Uttarakhand. I told him I was planning to go to Leh this August and he suggested a small village near Leh that I must visit. He was planning to cover Shimla, Manali next. Having picked Pindari Glacier from the Lonely Planet he had set about on a solo trek. He admitted that at times he missed having company, but other times he really liked the freedom of being on his own. I have never been on a solo trek myself and decided that one day I might like to give it a shot. I asked him how did the Alps compared to the Himalayas, and as one would expect, he replied that the Himalayas were much mightier and hence evoke a feeling of profound awe and reverence.
We had been walking at a brisk pace for continuous 15 minutes now. Joel was a strong walker and had done almost 30 km the previous day. It had taken us two days to cover the same distance. I knew that the rest of the group would be lagging behind by a fair distance now. I thought about stopping and waiting for everyone else. But then I was really enjoying listening to Joel’s experiences and decided to accompany him till Phurkia. I also wanted to see if I would be able to keep up with him over a longer distance. So we kept up the pace and conversation till Phurkia. I learnt about his visits to China and Russia among other places. He liked China but felt that for a foreigner language was still a major problem there. We reached Phurkia around 8:30 am. The walk that leads up to Phurkia is a beautiful one, where you are on the edge of a valley, on your left you look down at the valley and across you see the opposite end of the valley. Just before Phurkia there is a slender, beautiful, delectable waterfall. In contrast to our groups strategy of taking frequent stops, Joel and I had walked continuously for a full hour. Yet, I realized that it was less tiring and a lot faster to walk non-stop than stopping too frequently. I remembered our guide’s advice during Roopkund trek urging us to walk as slowly as we liked but without stopping. His logic being that when you rest your muscles relax making the restart slower and more tiring. I decided to plant the same philosophy in our group as well.
I had been so engrossed in talking with Joel that my mind had been taken off the way. So I don’t remember much except crossing another one of those frozen streams and meeting a herd of 
sheep on the way. The frozen stream, this time, was at a very steep incline leading directly to the river below. I couldn’t help thinking about those rides in water parks along which you slide gaining speed till you hit the water below with a splash. This slide, however, was a 100 feet long and most likely not tested for safety. I concentrated on keeping my feet upright as I slowly got across. At Phurkia, we had a refreshing cup of tea, after which Joel left for Pindari, and I took perch on a wooden bench and settled down for an hour of reading. I had specially picked up “A Hermit in the Himalayas” by Paul Brunton for this trip thinking it would be apt to the surroundings. It was indeed wonderful to sit against a background of mountains, green valley, waterfall flowing into the Pindar and read Paul talk about the beauty of the Himalayas and spirituality. In between, I met a local man, who had arrived from Dwali just before us. He told me that he had done the 5 km in a little under two hours. The more amazing thing was that he was 75 yrs old. He said he had never taken any medicine all his life. I wondered if I would be able to walk straight at 75.
I also ran into an Australian couple. They had spent the night in Phurkia and were headed towards Pindari with huge rucksacks on their bag. The guy was in his late thirties with a tall big frame. His hair was dirty blonde and tied in two long braids that hung over the front of his shoulders (much like the cartoon character Obelix). He was dressed in loose fitting clothes and wore a funny hat that gave him an easy going comedian look. The girl was also about the same age and a natural blonde. She had a tall, lean but strong body. Her face was slightly wrinkled that gave her a humane kindly look. Her simple clothing and overall appearance suggested a sort of harmony with her surroundings that separated her from a regular tourist. The guy seemed surprisingly friendly with the local people, and at the time was hugging someone. He was bidding farewell to the locals in a loud gay voice. What really caught my attention was that he was talking to them in Hindi. Not very fluent, but he was able to get his point across with ease. I exchanged greetings with both of them. The guy’s name was Scott and girl’s Anna. Further conversation revealed that they were from Australia but were settled in Khati for over an year now. Anna was teaching English and Science at the village school. Scott helped Anna at the school and also acted as a small mechanic/engineer for the village folks. They were taking a leave from their work to trek till Nandakot’s base via Pindari. As they left, I admired there courage for leaving a materialistic life to work for something they believed in. I can’t imagine they would be having a very comfortable existence in that small village that had no electricity, no telephones and was nearly 20 km from the road. Yet, I was sure that they found a lot of happiness and satisfaction in their work and surroundings. I have always believed that our happiness is not always determined by how much comfort and luxuries we have in life, rather by how much meaning and satisfaction we have.
Engrossed among these thoughts and my book, I was joined by the rest around 9:30 am. Diggu expressed his mock anger at my running away and I told him my side of the story. We settled down for a cup of tea followed by a breakfast of maggi and boiled eggs. The weather was taking a bad turn all this while. Thick clouds had descended into the valley and had blocked off everything from view. There was a chill in the air and it seemed certain it will rain. We knew we had missed the opportunity of an early morning view at Pindari. All of us decided it was best to take a shot at Pindari early next morning. Meanwhile we were spending time out in the open near the chai-shop making idle chitchat.
It was then we were joined by another personality that was to leave a lasting impression on me. She was a young girl, in mid twenties, around 5’ 3 tall with a lovely smile and cute intelligent face. She was dressed in a black jacket and a red bandana was wrapped smartly around her head. What made her dressing slightly amusing were a pair of thick old brown pyjama bottoms and a pair of bathroom slippers. The combination worked to gave her the look of a tourist and a local at the same time. She gave us all a big smile in greeting and started talking to Mehtaji. Meanwhile, a local updated us that she was doing research at Pindari Glacier for her PhD. Apparently, she wanted to discuss the local flora and fauna with a forest official. My attention was drawn to their conversation at the mention of snow leopards. I had recently read “The Snow Leopard” by Peter Matthiessen in which the writer goes into the heart of Himalayas in search of what he describes as the world’s most elusive big cat. He devotes a number of years to his search but returns having seen many signs of the snow leopard but not the cat itself. I was immediately curious to find out if this girl has actually seen a snow leopard here. I jumped up from my seat to join the discussion and we started talking about her work.
She was doing her PhD from Forest Research Institute, Dehradun. Her area of research was endangered animals with primary interest in snow leopards. She was just starting her field work and had arrived at Pindari a week ago. Her dad had accompanied her and they had pitched up a couple of tents at Pindari. This morning she had climbed a nearby hill to collect data but had been caught in a sudden downpour. So she had come down to Phurkia where she had borrowed the pyjamas and slippers from a local while trying to dry off her shoes and clothes. I asked her if she had spotted any snow leopard so far. Expectedly, she hadn’t but had spotted a lot of snow leopard’s droppings. She was also planning to go to Roopkund for her research and I shared my experiences of that trek. Meanwhile, others joined in on the conversation and seemed everyone had a query related to her work and the local fauna. She answered everyone with complete patience and certainty, always a friendly smile on her face. Her primary mode of research was to collect data on animals by studying their droppings, pug marks and other signs. Kailash asked why she didn't install cameras to capture the animals. At this she confessed that she was actually funding her whole research herself and would not be able to afford too many equipment. Instead she preferred setting up a high vantage point for herself near possible food and water sources. This exchange of information continued till 11:00 am, after which she quietly slipped away. It was only later that we realized that amidst all the questions we had completely forgotten to ask the most basic one – her name !!
After a while, we all moved to the PWD guest-house. It was a small two room guest house with a front corridor connecting the two rooms. The rooms were spacious and had a fireplace and attached bathroom and a separate dressing space in front of the bathroom. Knowing we still had the whole day in hand, we decided to go to Pindari that day itself and to go back the next morning as well. Vikas and Geetika decided to give it a rest. So, the rest of us packed our bags. I added a sweater and raincoat to my back-pack and we set off around 12 pm. Outside, we met the PhD girl again. She asked us to tell her father that she would be coming back in the evening. I offered her to join us but she said she still needed to dry her shoes.
We started our climb for the last leg of the trek. The weather continued to be a bit dodgy with thick clouds looming around. However, it also gave the whole place a misty magical look and the 
trek a “walk in the clouds” feel. We crossed a stream stepping carefully on the stones trying not to get our shoes wet. The terrain had started to get rockier with altitude, the only vegetation in the form of grasslands and small shrubs. Earlier, my conversation with the girl had given everyone something to tease me with, and I joined in on the harmless fun. Kavita said that I should have given her my shoes so that she could have joined us. I put up a filmy dialog – “Mere pyar me kasak hogi to wo nange paav bhi daudi chali aayegi”. Kailash pinched in suggesting I should have stayed back and come later with her. I said he was right and I am going back. I turned around and actually pretended to walk back a fair distance. The teasing and comments continued not only through out the day but for the rest of the trek as it soon became everyone’s favorite joke.
We passed another beautiful frozen stream on the way. This stream was wider and bigger than 
any we had come across so far, and looked splendid with snow stretching a long distance in both directions. We clicked a lot of photographs as we roamed around on the snow. Immediately after the stream, there was a sharp ascent leading into a beautiful meadow of small spinach like growth. The view from the top was beautiful looking down the frozen stream on one side and merging into the meadow on the other. We decided to enjoy the view for a while and sat down for a round of Lehar Kurkure. Mehtaji insisted after a while to get moving as we were making very slow progress and taking frequent stops. As we gained altitude, the air was getting 
noticeably thinner. Each step was requiring more effort and the 7 km to Pindari was appearing longer and longer. Diggu who had been suffering from cold since day one, was now having real trouble keeping his breath. Every 100m he was starting to crash down on the ground, and every time it took longer to get him on his feet again. I told him that it would be far less tiring and faster if he slows down his pace but walk non-stop. Infact, I laid down the rules that we would stop only after half hour intervals. It was difficult to resist the temptation of taking a rest intially, but pretty soon everyone realized the merit of this strategy. Walking consistently helped us through out the rest of the trek and later on we actually were able to walk for hours at a stretch without stopping.
Mid way to Pindari, we noticed another of those huge snow depositions on the opposite side of the river. From the distance, we could make out numerous bodies moving on top. We realized it was a herd of sheep crossing the snow. I took Diggu’s camera and ran like crazy to get a closer shot. I was just in time to get a shot as the herd crossed over from the snow into the grass covered hills, no doubt looking for good grazing grounds. A km ahead was a spot with a number of white rhodendron plants. All of us got ourselves clicked in front of the lovely flowers. A little later, we ran into Joel coming back from Pindari. He told us that he had gone till Babaji’s 
ashram but didn’t go further as it was too clouded. He only got a partial view of the Glacier. He was now going back till Khati. He was a little disappointed at not getting a better view but had enjoyed the whole journey a lot. I think this was a real wise thing to say. I have seen so many tourists feeling totally disappointed at reaching the final spot. Often they would burst out in their frustration – ‘did I travel so far for this’. What they often fail to see is the infinite beauty scattered through out the way. The long journey in most cases is not the price they had to pay to arrive somewhere splendid, but the reward in itself.
Clouds continued to play hide and seek with us. One moment a thick layer of clouds would swallow up the whole scenery and replace it with a giant white screen. Staring at this complete whiteness, I often got the feeling that we have traveled to the end of God’s creation and nothing exists beyond this point, even time has come to a standstill. I would have to just step off the narrow trail into the cold whiteness and I would be embraced in the nothingness for all eternity. Just as soon as I would be convinced that this nothingness stretches till infinity, the clouds will clear in an instant filling the blank canvas with the splendid colors of white mountains, blue sky, green grass and a thousand blooming flowers. You would be filled with an awe at the beauty of the surroundings, a waterfall springing from among a solid wall of rocks, a snow capped peak visible above the cloud that hides the rest of the mountain, river being eaten alive by huge mass of snow, grasslands covered with thousands of small colorful flowers. You wonder if all this beauty exists just by chance. Mountains were created just because long back two huge masses of lands collided, rivers flow because the snow melts and sky is blue because it reflects the color of the oceans. And if all this combined together appears so beautiful, its just an amazing coincidence. However, scientific is your bent of mind, you cannot help believing that all this is so beautiful because it was meant to be no other way. Its no mere coincidence but God himself took the role of an interior decorator and designed and built everything with infinite passion and patience, creating masterpieces that no human creation can ever hope to equal. And if a non-believer like me, suddenly starts talking about God, its only because I have never felt a stronger presence of Him than in the lap of the Himalayas where his Greatness is for all to see. It doesn’t take all the temples and churches, priests and Popes but the mountains and oceans, flowers and animals to make me believe in the presence of a Force more powerful than anything we know and more mysterious than anything we can comprehend.
Finally, after 3 hours of trek from Phurkia, we walked
into a beautiful valley that was surrounded by snow capped mountains on all side. In the centre of the valley, there was Babaji’s ashram built out of stones. A couple of tents were pitched near the ashram. A small temple stood some distance from the ashram. We were all elated at the sight of our destination. We got a faint glimpse of the Pindari Glacier before it was lost behind a thick curtain of clouds. All of us walked towards the ashram. The ashram was built around a small cave that was extended by a couple of small stone rooms. The whole ashram was built by stacking big stones on top of each other. A big open courtyard was built in front of the construction. The courtyard was separated into two sections by a passage. The courtyard had a stone bench built around the periphery. Mats were laid down upon the seats. We were pleasantly surprised to see the Australian couple sitting in the outer courtyard. We introduced ourselves to them and also met Swami Dharmanand(Babaji). Babaji hailed from Orissa and looked surprisingly young and 
energetic. He was dressed in saffron colored lungi, shirt and a half jacket. His long hair was tied in a braid to the right side of his head. Babaji always seemed to carry a warm smile on his face and quite enjoyed serving his guests. Someone later told us that he never let anyone go back with out a meal from his ashram. We also met Phd girl’s father, Mr Kandpal. He had been staying at the Pindari for a few days now. Being a nature lover himself, he had decided to accompany his daughter for her research. He looked quite at home in the ashram and enjoyed helping Babaji serve the visitors. Meanwhile, he was making use of Babaji's small library to read books on religion and spirituality. Babaji offered us tea which we gladly accepted. While sipping on the refreshing tea, we talked to the Australians about their work. As I had already mentioned, they had been living in Khati for around a year. They were in love with the Himalayas and quite enjoyed their work in Khati. The admitted that they had taken a salary cut, and not everyone approved of their decision. They were planning to camp near Zero point today, and move towards NandaKot’s base camp in the morning. We expressed our appreciation of their work and exchanged contact address. We requested them to contact us whenever they were in Delhi as it would be a pleasure to meet them again. They swung their huge backpacks on their shoulders and took leave.
We were thinking about exploring the place ourselves. Babaji discouraged us from venturing too far, as the weather was turning worse every minute. The air had a terrible chill to it now. Babaji asked us for lunch. We were a bit hesitant to trouble him and were trying to decline the offer. However, the truth was that we were feeling really hungry and sapped of energy. Finally, I admitted that I am very hungry and lunch would be most welcome. Babaji smiled and said its no trouble at all and would only take a few minutes and meanwhile we can walk around a bit. I also asked him if it would be possible for us to stay in the ashram for the night. He apologized saying he can only accommodate a couple of people in his cave and it would be impossible for five people to stay back.
We left the ashram walking towards the Zero point. By this time, the valley was so thickly covered with clouds that we were not able to see more than 100m. The snow peaks and Pindari glacier had disappeared as if they never existed. We were not sure how long the valley extended. We had been walking for 15 minutes when it started drizzling lightly. Seeing no point in going further, we turned back towards the ashram disappointed. On the way back we discussed the idea of staying back at Pindari. We tried to find out if anyone was actually keen to go back but all of us were strongly in favor of spending the night here if such an opportunity exists. The desire was partly fuelled by a sense of adventure, partly by the idea of waking up to a beautiful early morning view and in no less amount by the prospect of avoiding a tiring return journey, only to come back the next morning. We decided to convince Babaji to let all of us stay. If that wasn’t possible a couple of us could stay back decided by mutual agreement or draw of lots. We even explored the possibility of getting some sleeping bags from Phurkia.
We went back to the ashram. At this point, I felt the first sign of AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness) hitting me. The first symptom is usually a terrible headache that sets itself in all corners of your head and refuses to go away. AMS is mainly caused by quick gain in altitude. The chilly weather and my hungry stomach were making things worst. I quickly put on a woolen cap to cover my head. I found out that the others were feeling a headache as well. Meanwhile, Babaji had prepared a lunch of Pooris and Aaloo bhaji. We had never hoped for Pooris at this height, and it was a real pleasant surprise. Either we were desperately hungry and tired, or they were the best Pooris we ever tasted. We gulped down plenty with a cup of refreshing tea, and then Babaji made us eat one extra. Babaji told us that he had put some jasmine and other herbs in the tea that helped with the altitude. While having lunch, we saw Phd girl coming back from Phurkia. She came into the ashram and soon sat down for lunch. Meanwhile, we tried to coax Babaji into letting us stay for the night but Babaji maintained the stand that it gets too cold in the night and he didn’t have sufficient sleeping bags or space for everyone. He urged us all to go back and come back the next morning. We also realized that its going to get fairly cold in the night and it would perhaps be better to get back to the comfort of warm blankets at Phurkia. It was around 5 and the weather continued to be cloudy. We decided to leave before it started raining again. So we took leave from Babaji and started back disappointed at not getting a clear view of the Glacier.
We had walked back till the edge of the valley. Another few metres would have taken us through a turn that would have blocked the sight of the valley and the glacier. Kailash and Kavita decided to sit down for a while. It was then a most miraculous thing happened. Within five minutes, the clouds started lifting and the view got clearer and clearer. After a while, the sun broke through the clouds and we could see sunlight reflected off the Pindari Glacier. The snow clad peaks added to the whole view. We couldn’t be more thrilled. It was almost as if Nature took pity on us and decided to unveil her beauty for us just before we were about to leave. We got our cameras out and began to click the Glacier and the surrounding peaks. Meanwhile we were jumping around looking for better angles to shoot from. The sun and the favorable turn of events rejuvenated us with a new source of energy. We spent around 30 – 40 minutes enjoying the view. When we were satisfied, we started back, this time with a new spring to our steps.
The return journey was fairly smooth and we made good grounds on the descent walking almost non-stop. On the way, we met a couple of groups who were going to Pindari for a night halt. They were carrying tents, sleeping bags and provisions with them. We decided that a tent and sleeping bag would indeed be a good investment. Just before Phurkia, we had to cross the 
flowing stream again. But this time the water level was much higher, and was flowing over the stones that had been put along the stream to form a bridge. We treaded across carefully struggling for balance on more than one step, finally managing to come through without getting swept away, but totally unsuccessful in avoiding our shoes from getting wet. We stopped before the last descent to Phurkia and sat down on a big rock. We could see Phurkia from our vantage point and felt relaxed at having almost completed the journey for the day. We would have sat there longer if it weren’t getting darker and colder every minute. I ran down the final descent as I usually like to do. We had another cup of tea at Phurkia (yes by this time we were almost addicted). We got ourselves a fire at the fireplace, put our shoes and socks for drying and shared our experiences with Vikas and Geetika. Meanwhile an interesting incident had happened outside. Chote had brought a flower with him from Pindari which he had tucked between his jacket. The flower fell down just outside the tea shop at Phurkia where is was noticed by one of the female members of the DDA trekking team. She immediately brought this to Chote’s attention. At this our romantic Chote gave the most daring reply – ‘Shayad aapke liye hi gir
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