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Two line Autorickshaws, a shared cab, one flight and two Metro trains later, I am writing this post from the ISBT bus terminus at Kashmiri Gate. My bus to Rishikesh will depart in two hours from now.
(Through
the clouds on the flight to Delhi)
This is the first day of a week long monsoon trek in the Himalayas. Me and this red backpack can’t wait to meet the majestic mountains 😄
Well before getting into a sketch the week ahead, let’s talk about the making of this plan.
Story so far
We started thinking about a summer break few months back. April and May were super crazy running an adventure at $work (series on that coming soon 😉). Our other big milestone was sending our toddler to play school. Two weeks back we checked both items.
Where should we go?
My last solo wandering in the Himalayas was a decade back just after the devastating 2013 Kedarnath floods. I had hitchhiked to the Uttarkashi area, got strangled in a landslide and got lucky with kindness of few strangers.
While the idea of a week in the mountains was exciting, we deliberated if our toddler is ready for hikes yet. Nope, the both of us unilaterally agreed. Monsoons usually have a knack for serendipity, especially in the mountains. You can never plan too much ahead. So our toddler got to visit his cousins and off I go to embrace the rains in the mountains.
My first choice this time was the Barot valley in Himachal. I created the itinerary over a weekend and booked the return tickets to Delhi. Well few days later I came across another old itinerary for the Chopta and Kedar valley. Why not do this one instead?
The tug of war between the unexplored Barot valley and the spiritually rejuvenating Kedar valley continued until yesterday. How big an obstacle are the Monsoons if we long for that little touch of energy? Guess we will find the answer soon 😇
Coming week
Immerse in the beauty of the valley. Trek to a few of the Panch Kedars if all goes well. Do nothing and take every minute as it comes. That’s all that is.
I will write every day.
Today
Monsoon has not touched Delhi yet. This profusely sweating body is staring hopefully at the lone fan sixty feet away, and equally amused at the budding economy of vendors selling hand fans. I did try to find a better source of air, turns out they are strategically located above the ticket counters or the restaurants. Though I am not sure if the fan dictated the restaurant location or vice versa.
I tried the Digi Yatri initiative at the airport today. Download the app, link to Aadhar, show your face at the airport and the gate opens majestically to welcome you aboard. Fast and awesome. They handover few coupons to treat yourself as a gesture for being an early adopter.
Delhi Airport is pretty well connected to the old city via metro. Use the One Delhi app to plan your route, get a metro ticket at the vending machine and off you go. It’s probably a good idea to wait at the Kashmiri Gate metro instead of the bus terminus.
I also learned that buses to Haridwar and Rishikesh leave from the bay 14 here. There is a bus every 30 mins.
One more hour to go. I will go and grab a piece of sandwich. See you tomorrow!
This post is the first in this week long solo backpacking series. All posts are below: