Bali Pass- Stirred with magic

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Bali pass, Trails woven in magic.

I'm still struggling to untangle what I actually felt, straining to define when did the hypnotic greens merged into gigantic whites, the cute looking boulders turned into pain in ***; no, pain in knee and toes and when were we able to distinguish the haunting tune in the dry rasping of wind . It's still muddled and it's a beautiful one. The emotions are like various splash of colours coming together to make an satisfying art and I'm not sure if I'll be able to compartmentalize it any soon.😂

After battling covid couple of months earlier, I had developed asthmatic and severe allergic symptoms. Initially I had planned for Rupin pass with few of my Sandakphu batchmates which somehow didn't materialize and I was still mulling whether I should go with these symptoms. But, when mountains summons, you follow. Buying my inhaler (in case of emergency), I went to website and booked Bali pass for next month.

Here I'm sitting in Howrah station at 7pm for my train to Dehradun. There was better options of availing flight to Delhi, but in due years I've found that one or other mishap always occur whenever I'm in city capital; therefore no Delhi.

I had my fav seat, side lower. As usual, I pulled open the window curtains and leaned back with my eBook. It was raining hard, though I couldn't hear the beats of water, was seeing the rhythmic beats of lightning. For hours, We were being accompanied by long streaks of lightning

Train Journey was algamy of stories, wonderful stories. We were lucky to have a story teller who shared his travelling experiences. we were listening to him in awe and hours passed by, so much so that we didn't grudge (much) the 7hrs delay in reaching our destination.

Since it was 2am when we reached Dehradun, I felt its better to stay in waiting room then go to hotel booked near ISBT

Left station at around 6am for ISBT.

We had to reach there by 7am and unlike last ( buran ghati), I reached on time 😁

After everybody had arrived, we boarded the bus for Sankri. We were joined by our Trek lead Pankaj along with two cartoon of eggs

Notes of caution:

This time this article is filled with endless pics of trails, so be gentle with it😊

Day1

Drive from Dehradun to Sankri

30 mins into the journey and 😂

(our batchmates will understand)

After pestering Pankaj every 15 mins, we stopped for breakfast. He must have thought kyu! and who are these people!!😂😂

No, I had proper breakfast , DoNot go by facevalue (chilis and lassi)

oh, it's three cartoon of eggs

Traffic jam

Lunch time. Trying curd and pickle under the expert guidance of Bharat and Shree

Since I had heavy breakfast, I had two ice cream for lunch

Back on track

There's something captivating with turnings. you never know what it brings next

only 9km! you guys were doing all wrong for these many years 😝

Our backpack daata Nishanth

After settling down in our rooms, we three, Uma and shree; good rhyme, ventured out. we couldn't find Bali pass in this map. Anyone reading this is going there next, take a marker and correct the map. we had pen, but didn't know where to make the correction 😀

Uma buying and sharing biscuits

Now seeing the exp, I'm not sure whether the dog is happy or scared. Uma! which is it?

Sunset captured by shree

After or before having our dinner, I went out with Jack to tour him the marketplace.

We girls had grand plans on seeing geyser in our room for next day but everything went astray when current went out after 7pm. So, without charging our phones, we went to sleep.

Day2

Sankri to Gangaad

6,398 ft to 8,160 ft

1st day of trek

Morning venture

This little guy kept following to ensure that I don't get lost

Symphony of chirping of birds and call of rooster

Assembly point

Expert maneuver

After stretching and "do and don't session" by TL, we set off

Was passing through the volleys of scattered stone steps and greenery. Pretty trails. Each frame looked like a scene from fairy tales, Fairies must have come or used to visit this place.

I never thought I would use this word but it was "sparkling pretty".

Golden rule- always make way for mules

Shree- "what are they discussing with such enthusiasm?"

R- "How to skin goat."

seems somebody heard us

trails and more pretty trails

Our accommodation

Pranshu keeping us in suspense for 36 hrs with his Captain and Duck story

Why did captain shoot himself

Day3

Rest day

8,160 ft

It was good thing to get up in morning not knowing what to do

Gift from Bharat 😂

Slumbering start of day

Attentive brother of protective sister

Perks of being temporary owner of the stall 😂 receiving gifts both up and down

Pankaj made our first half happening, through chain of games where

we laughed,

shouted, argued and

almost cursed!

After these activities the four TL (Trek leaders) came forward to share basic info on knots, valves and others. All good info but was TMI. Having a limited capacity in my brain, I opted out and went for village visit 😅

Shree with gangaad village in backdrop

three soldiers onward march toward the village

the elderly gentleman who gave us GREAT advices on bali pass

Village common ground

Temple with interesting curvatures. it is said that descendants of kauravas resided in these villages, so they worship Duryodhan as their deity. on asking people, they mostly say that it's of Shiva. we were not sure what to believe. personally I thought it was cool to see such unique tradition, there is no absolute right or wrong and they should claim it proudly inspite of what others believe

can you hear the tinkering of bells?

Kids. Here we were challenged to play kabadi

obviously we (only me) went for it

These kids somehow managed to keep me outside fence after 2 rounds

My other three comrades enjoying the play and snapping pics with leisure

See? no conscious attempt to save me from this kinderarm

🙂 and the JOY of winning on their faces 😃

courageous attempt for this pic goes to Jack

Checkout the three mermen basking in the sun in pic below

Us in our own elements

start of photo session

Uma- "kids, gaze into each others eyes lovingly"

Our frozen expression, trying to process what we just heard. no kidding, that was actual instruction

and as usual,

us (not) following the order😂

Sunil ji- "TL,TL. Emergency. Hello TL"

Meanwhile " Kitne khacchar mile"

We were duped with refreshing roohafza instead of buurash sherbet

Day4

Gangaad to Devsu Thaach

8,160 ft to 10,016 ft

Everyone watching Sunil performing wonder as shown in below pic

I've literally downloaded the synonyms for pretty, to paste in every alternate trail pics

This setting reminded me of song from outlander- sing me a song song of a lass that is gone🎶 ( book series on time travel)

the stones, trees, roots seen on steps were so enchanting, as if, if we leave the spots, little fairies from maleficent will flutter around with their glittering wands

Here every things seemed alive, pulsing with such an energy. Slanting trees, vibrant earth, prodding roots, calm stones, as if it will start speaking any moment

our lunch spot

on way to devsu bugyal

our most energetic Usha ji

when we were told by two trek leads (below) Aman and Preeyam to lie down and let go

nobody wanted to leave the dear ground

😂

we got to see a wild hen during our evening stroll.

In below event, Preeyam auctioning his place with few bidders. Though his last call was for 3lacs, we somehow managed to oust him for free 😂

Day5

Devsu Thaach to Thanga via Ruinsara lake

10,016 ft to 12,000 ft

start of our day along with the muddy trails

my phone was dead on day 2. Check out end of blog for credits

walk along the burbling river

our lunch spot

though the above pic is not that clear but it's special. Usha ji had got blisters and her foot was paining. Her son, I think it was Yash, came down, remained by her to check her health and massaged her feet. It was such a beautiful gesture

see the yellow tents there? IH tents

everchanging landscapes

Nitin- "Is it so?"

S- "You don't know? they give hot water every 30 mins"

Ruinsara taal

some serene place

landscape suddenly shifted from lush forest to wavy grasslands

shifting sceneries with ever shifting weather. one moment it's clear and suddenly it starts drizzling

our camping ground

walk for acclimatization

In this camp, I found clear night sky unlike others where it was always cloudy. At 3am, the moon was splattering landscape with silver.

Day6

Thanga toBase Camp via Odari

12,000 ft to 13,287 ft

second in command

towards base camp

we never knew when to tuck aside or wear the poncho. It was snowing like the ads in youtube

lunch break

long walk along the ridges

Brace yourself. you are about to see action sequence for free.

Presenting, our trek lead

Sachin

finally, our camp

Day7

Base Camp to Lower Damini via Bali Pass

13,287 ft to 11,076 ft via 16,207 ft (Bali pass)

Yesterday, after snowing like hell, the sky seemed better today

Jack leading our batch

Sachin making steps in lead

our ever spirited Sunil capturing moments

the snow was hard and fine. the force with which it was blowing, looked like it could cut stuff. The cliffs were almost like a desert where sand was replaced with snow. This was one of the best part of trek.

on top, while standing in waitlist, it was erringly quiet. You can hear surprising tune of the blown sands. some other realm, another time. It was Magic

Summit 🙂

The team did small ritual, offering prayer to mountains for safety

Group pic and to descend

and the besiege of snow

and more

And it kept goin

Pankaj with his live updates

the path after torrent snow and rain was messy and slippery. it was task to navigate without fall

the vast canvass of lands were splashed with colours. it was treat to look at

Finally, our camp with our temple tents

Day8

Lower Damini to Janakichatti to Dehradun

11,076 ft to 10,797 ft

acknowledgement session and we started descend for Jaanki chatti

Sheer crazy crowd for yamunotri dham

our lunch break- where 10 mins turned into an hour. Reason- sab fresh milta hai. everything was made from scratch

Selfie time!

we halted in below place for dinner. It was like the world is coming to end and we need to eat

Nightshot of Dehradun from somewhere in Mussourie

A memorable journey and the only trek (out of few done by me) which I would like to repeat again.

Came across some wonderful people.

The ever positive Pankaj with his musical jukebox, who can encourage people to any extent; the true head of clan Sachin, who never shy away from any added responsibility, be it carrying the discarded shoes of Siddharth or the strap broken backpack of sankalpa; Pragmatic Preeyam, always there in emergency, be it with Shree or anyone else; the final TL Heart on sleeves Aman, filled with enthusiasm and rush to conquer the world.

and Cool team mates whose guts and dreams to take leash of their own life was aspiring. Their enthusiasm to load me with chocolates was commendable 😜They were sweet and caring enough to simply donate their half of chocolates. Even after stuffing these sweetmeats, I still had few left! Never in my life I had spare chocolates. Thanks a ton!

and finally Shree, who never complained when I couldn't sleep in tent, tossing and turning in way waking her up numerous times. you are an angel! loads of love 😘

To more journeys and brighter adventure with lasting health.🥂

PC- Komal, Shree, Uma, Jack, Sunil, Nishanth

VC- Sunil, Jack, Preeyam, Pankaj

Note:

• Train fare ( Howrah to Dehradun) + flight ( Dehradun to Kolkata) + local travel= Rs10,000 (The cost is high because I had booked flight on previous day of travel)

• You can find the trek cost in the below mentioned link- https://www.bikatadventures.com/Home/Itinerary/bali-pass-trek

• In dehradun, visit the forest research institute, explore the streets foods; you can buy the balmithai from kumar's and melting eclairs from ellora

• You can plan visit to Rishikesh for adventure activities after the trek

• Cab usually take Rs1000 from Dehradun to Airport. carry your own food from city because there is only one snack shop in the premises

• Have a walk through dense trees towards the shiv temple situated on hilltop (near tapovan ashram)