Trek to Roopkund

The altitudinal zonation of flora was starkly visible here. Chir [Pinus roxburghii] and Oak [Quercus incana] giving way to Deodar [Cedrus deodara] and Blue Pine [Pinus wallichina] as we reached Sithail.

Weather was cold and breezy, it started drizzling towards the latter half of the trek. One peculiarity of the climate in the Himalayas is that during night time, as the temperature falls, the clouds condense and descend into the valley. The skies become clear, and stars come out, raising false expectations of a clear day ahead. However just after daybreak, clouds start forming again, and it becomes overcast within no time. Hence early mornings are the best time for trekking and photography since it invariably rains in the afternoons.

One subgroup got strayed inspite of having a local guide along with them and reached two hours late. It is advisable to mark ones direction with arrows on all forks, as an indicator to the subgroups following. The Forest Rest House is located three km from the village.

The harvesting operations in the village were in full swing. The crops being Ramdana, Marua, potato and tobacco. Due to the low level of solar radiation each of these crops takes around six months to mature.

Around one hour from Kannol, after the uphill climb, one comes across a beautiful Bugyal [meadow]. The view of Trishul [7120m] and Nanda Ghunti [6309m] piercing the heavens is absolutely breathtaking from here. We missed this sight because of the clouds. The wind was very chilly, and all of us pulled out our woollens and cold creams.

Along the trek there were stands of Oak [Quercus incana] almost leafless and sporting a colony of rusty coloured epiphytic ferns. The Burhans [Rhododendron sp.] trees which had completed their flowering for the season, soon took over.

The Wan Forest Rest House is located amidst centuries old giant Cypress [Cupressus torulosa] and Spruce [Picea smithiana] trees. A beautiful kitchen garden of multi-coloured Dahlias was maintained around the compound. We took our first bath in days in the nearby stream, and were soon greeted by a hailstorm and heavy drizzle. The chances of our reaching Roopkund, dimmed further, but we were still hoping for the best. All of us jettisoned our sundry items, in preparation of the back-breaking trek to Bedni Bugyal. The Wan village is located one km downhill from the Forest Rest House.

We packed our bags reluctantly, had Maggi and headed down. The snow flakes lodged in our woollens, caused numbness as it melted due to the body heat. We stumbled and slithered down the slippery trail. The Phyllitic clay caused water logging, and there was more than ankle deep slush at places.

The last leg of the trek to Mandoli was quite steep. On the mountain faces, due to the weathering action of running water, soil formation/deposition had taken place on the concave portions, making this macrohabitat suitable for the Pine trees which were the climax species. The convex portions of the mountain faces had just grass and no trees. The windward side of the Pine trunk served as an ideal microhabitat for the lichens, moss and epiphytic ferns. All along the trail, marble was amply available, indicating that limestone rock had undergone a high degree of metamorphosis.

The local children were very beautiful and shy. The standard norms of their greeting was, Namaste, mithai do and if you said, Nahin hain, back came the prompt reply, Paise do.

Kausani is famed for the breathtaking vista it affords of the whole Himalayan range. One can enjoy the whole range, [from West to East] Chaukhamba [7138m], Nanda Ghunti [6309m], Trishul [7120m], Nanda Devi [7817m], and Nanda Khat [6611m]. Our bad luck followed us here too, and we got up at 5 am only to find clouds masking the panoramic view.

After a tiring bus journey, reached the academy at midnight.