Back Bagini Glacier Trek

Bagini Glacier Trek

It was in the month of April, that we embarked upon yet another journey to the mountains, in an attempt to quench our insatiable thirst for adventure and to feel the ever-so-enlivening, adrenaline rush. This time we chose a place that offered us all of that and much more.And by “more”,

I mean…much much more. We waded our way across snow covered slopes, ravaged through Pine and Deodar forests, strolled on beautiful lush green valley surrounded by snow capped mountains and zigzagged through asea of boulders that tested our mettle in every way possible. We made it to the glacier and back. Almost 15,000 feet. For me it is nothing less than an accomplishment. Let me share this experience, and then you can judge for yourselves.

I will start off from the time the actual fun began. It was 27thApril, 2013. We reached Joshimoth, a beautiful hamlet surrounded by mountains.It itself is a very nice place for vacations. It is situated on the slope of a mountain, and the Guesthouse we stayed there is just below the Rope way cables,facing towards the picturesque snow capped mountains.
We got a warm welcome with an introductory session with the Trek Leader (Sandeep), Asst. Trek Leader, Cook, Porter and other members of a very popular trekking agency “Trek The Himalayas (TTH)”. Everybody was sharing their story of different trekking activities and adventures. It was nice to be in such an enthusiastic group with very helpful members of TTH.
Next day was the starting of actual trekking… Started with ariver crossing and then climbing up till Ruing village (9,184 feet). Going down till the river was very fun. Rest of the day was full of fun and different activities. Sandeep brought different indoor sport items for us. We started with tug-of-war then moved on to playing cards and U no, which was the most enjoyable of all. After lunch we explored the full village. Surprisingly, there were no villagers, later we came to know that they used to take shelter in other low altitude areas during winter season. In the evening we had a bonfire and to add to the fun and frolic we started off with random music. As time passed, from evening onwards, we realized why those villagers left the village;we were getting blue because of the cold and chilling winds. At that moment some body announced that dinner is ready. Having hot and spicy soup inside the kitchen tent brought us back to our colors and made us realize that even Mainland China, could not have satisfied us as much.
Next day we planned to go till Dronagiri, a village having lotof story. Local guides used to play a good role in storytelling. Following isthe story we came to know from our local guide:
When Hanuman was searching for Gandhomadon Parvat, he found it here in this village of Dronagiri. Hanuman uprooted the whole mountain from this village and flew away; he never returned it back. While uprooting it, the mountain felt pain since it has life, and blood came out of it. While flying with the mountain, blood dropped on some pebbles and stones, and those stones got some kind of life; to be more specific, special characteristics like the ability to change its own color. Even the local guide had shown us some stones which can change its color once you touch it. There might be other scientific explanation behind this, but what we understood is that the local people and villagers hate Hanuman like anything.
Anyways, we started the morning lazily and covered few ascend and descend. We had packed lunch on our way. After a lot of walking and talking and laughing and not to forget, ‘PANTING’, we reached Dronagiri village. This village was empty as well.  You will be surprised to see some grand design in the doors, windows and shades of most of the huts over there, on 11,840 feet. The village is on the slope of a peak and looks nice from the front side. However, after the long day, it felt like bliss to get in to the sleeping bag.
Next day our plan was to reach Lower Bagini Campsite, though we ended up finding some other place to pitch tent. This day was the most strenuous day and the longest walking of this trek. Few times I got trapped in ice holes but somehow managed to get up and a local guide/cooking helper helped me out in the last part of the trail. It was evening already when we reached the campsite. According to me this was the best camp site covered with snow peaks around and full of snow everywhere in the ground. In the morning, when I heard one of the cooking guys, calling for tea, I opened up the zip of my tent;it was amazing beauty with a view of Rishi peak and Bagini Glacier directly from my tent.
The group went further till the glacier to enjoy the ultimate snow, keeping the bags and all other stuff in this camp. Few people preferred to take rest in the camp because of nausea and headache.
Written By:
Saikat-Adak
Saikat Adak