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Old 29th December 2021, 21:34   #1
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Road Less Travelled | Great Lakes Of Kashmir

There is a known KGL (Kashmir Great Lakes) trek route, this travelogue speaks about the same. To start with the great lakes which get covered are Vishansar, Krishansar, Gadsar, Satsar and Gangbal (in that order)
It had been a year since my angioplasty and i was itching for some real deal action, pre angioplasty i was regular on the running circuit, the 10k's and 21k's were my forte, but post procedure i was advised to go easy about it and to be honest running was getting a bit monotonous, took up cycling as process of recuperation and started enjoying it, on weekends i used to do the Solan-Chandigarh stretch with my daughter and her friends, definitely easier and better then running i cycled kind of everywhere, to work, to meet friends and family and even the routine cardio visit for checkup, however a year had passed and i was keen on some real action, so the brainstorming began
1. How about Scuba Diving, a friend ran a scuba diving resort in the adamans and was calling for long, however i am not a very keen water person
2. Motorcycling in the hills, again exciting but not challenging as physical involvement is restricted, albeit this was an easier option.
3. Daughter was itching for a road trip for long, our last one as a family was to Tawang and 5 years had passed over, but again not that involving
4. 4 friends called over a weekend and put the idea of a local trek over the hills, with due permission from the cardiologist i joined and did it at my own pace, all went well, enjoyed and for a moment felt this option can be explored a bit more scientifically.

I studied options of treks, from easy to moderate were the ones i could go for was for certain, i had served well in the mountain scape of the nation so nothing as such was alien, however Kashmir was one place i had served in a very different era and under very different circumstances, so when the option of KGL was read it interested me right out, finding like minded folks to join was easy but regaining the strength and confidence to complete a trek of that proportion post procedure was a challenge to consider

I got in touch with a known face who in his prime had been an instructor with NIM, he was a trainer par excellence and being from a medical background was even more helpful, with his suggestions and further inputs from my cardiologist and most importantly blessings from my wife i began the process of gaining strength and stamina and other vital parameters as required, in a dose of 8 months i was in much better shape, all vital parameters stood in control and satisfied cardio to give a green signal, however as matter of caution i continued to train for further 4 months leaving nothing to chance

Once physically and mentally ready made a call to my old buddies, all 6 of them agreed to join, we had acquaintances in the valley who helped making arrangements on logistics, which basically meant a guide, two cooks and a mule, cook was important as i was off the general food. As all came from uniform background in some form or other the general understanding part was sorted.

July was the month shortlisted, the trek would be over 9 days Home-Srinagar-Trek-Srinagar-Home, the weather lord was favorable and general turmoil restricted to the valley, the trek route was fairly secure.

Day 1 - We landed at Srinagar and drove to Sonmarg, an ex colleague had set up a local trekking center, his enterprise gave vocational training and further employment to local youth thereby keeping them occupied, had interaction with some old faces who post retirement had joined him, the guide, porter, cook and most importantly the mule came from his bearing !! For some reasons unknown the Mule was named Sultan, it reminded me of a general whose Pug was named Hulk !!!

Day 2 - Day started with the 'Para' aarti, coconut broken, curd served, essence sticks lighted (some habits die hard) and hail marry. As we had mutually decided to carry our bags on own the mule was left carrying stoves and other kitchen plus tent related stuff, off course we were well trained to pitch our tents but that was two decades back, as a trial we pitched a tent on own but it ended being a architects marvel and mockery of proportions, so that was left to the locals. Some young college kids were joining as part of a group from Mumbai so they tagged along, more we narrated them our reasons for this trek more they got convinced we had lost our mind !!! So this day we covered 13kms and pitched at Nichnai (approx 3500mtrs), once all pitched and fed excellent food Para Tiny Singh started with his guitar and retinue of English songs, after two decades of pondering on same, his guitar tunes and voice remained as horrible as i could recollect, but nothing stopped Tiny from going on like a Duracell bunny. Sleeping in a tent without worries and fears which had consumed a large part of my life was blessing, i made videos for my wife and daughter and had a good night of sleep

Day 3- Para Apple (Apple had a habit of falling from places so during one such event a JCO yelled 'Newton Ka Apple Aaya Hain Aaj", from that day he was Apple) woke us all with earl grey, he had a large portion of tea packed as it helped him morning ablutions !!! Destination was from Nichnai to Vishansar (approx 3700 mtrs) and 15kms, this included a grueling ascent over the Nichnai pass (approx 4100 mtrs), i had to do this slow, Para Ajit tagged along, whole time he kept telling me tales on how he lost money on markets and online rummy, the toughness of the trek was diluted listening to his non stop rants over money market characters !! However Ajit was a man par excellence, he had married a textile heiress so in many terms these rants were superficial and the money lost was not his !!! At Vishansar the view was magnificent, it beats me why tourism hasn't taken shape in India, we have so much to offer and wide scope to offer from. Again had excellent dinner, Para Tiny killed it with Beatles for the night !! Made a small video for the day and slept again like a baby.

Day 4 - Same stuff on waking up with earl greys and missing apple in the woods, some girls from the college gang wanted selfies, i obliged and when they said they would telegram me, got confused as to why teenagers for the day would be into telegrams. later was educated telegram is a chat engine !!!
The day would take us from Vishansar to Gadsar (approx 4200 Mtrs) and 13kms of walk, this begins with a steep climb to see Krishansar Lake about 1/2 Kms distance apart, then begins assiduous climb to Gadsar pass, seeing the twin lakes from Gadsar pass is pure bliss however for me the climb was torture !! slowly at snails pace and after letting the last of the mules pass by i made to the top, we gathered for a group photo, i was exhausted and continually checking vital parameters for any anomaly, but so far so good so post a cuppa tea we decided to carry on, however almighty had plans, so it began to rain, what was a drizzle soon went into thundershower and all we had was a big rock to take solace under, just two decades ago we would be all suited tackling this weather and braving so many tougher obstacles passed my mind. Once the rain gods smiled we passed through flushing meadows to reach Gadsar and again heavenly paradise of a site it was, sheer breathtaking. By gods grace wet tiny was in no mood to sing so i got busy in game of cards and post teaching tricks of trade to shocked students went off to bed post making a small video for family. Was really tired so slept well.

Day 5 - Apple lost his earl greys in the rains so he was duly pissed and sounding expletives in Bengali, they sounded cute more then harsh so we had good laugh to his expense !! Today was to be from Gadsar to Satsar (approx 3600 Mtrs) and 12kms, There is a steep two hours like of a climb and then relative flat beds to cross before destination arrives, the entire view was simple scenic, Tiny was singing Dev Anand numbers but he was exempted was thoroughly mystic, Para Dev was group photographer and he was carrying lenses that looked like a bazooka, the soft spoken and highly mild mannered dev was all busy clicking photos, college students made a bee line to check the outcome and Dev was hot favorite amongst the lot. To reach Satsar one passes through Indian Army camp whereby one has to produce ID's and relevant information gets noted etc, when 6 of us showed our respective ID's the entire lot of the camp went into action mode !! Wasn't our intention but we got treated like kings, the impression we made on the younger lot compensated Tiny's singing torture Campsite was visual treat, it was Ajit's birthday and the cook had dished Carrot cake, how he did it remains a mystery but it was sumptuous to the core, we did what we did to every Birthday mate, carried Ajit to the nearby river and threw him in the freezing water !!! Made customary video, thanked god my birthday didn't coincide with trek dates and slept well.

Day 6 - The Army guys welcomed us to their do for tea and offered packed food which was flatly refused, we had absolutely no intentions to disturb their ration. Today we would go to Gangbal twin lakes (approx 3505 Mtrs) and 10kms of walk, this was by far the worst day in offering, one had to cross rocky boulders for majority of the distance, as the area was covered with thick layer of mist, the trek became more assiduous by every moment, it was treat to see the locals were crossing over as if one moves within ones apartment, i was happy my ex colleague had gotten them the right kind of employment, albeit if educated through proper channels there was no reason why they couldn't perform any white collared jobs. But politics apart passing through the terrain was challenge extraordinaire and reminded me of a exercise i had done in similar proportions in Alaska, i had completed it in a smoking manner as the trainer was very clear "Last of you morons would be bear feed" !!! Finally reached the destination, it was biting cold but my vitals were still going good, Para Tom the group medic was more worried as my wife had made it clear to him "If he goes you, i will send you to join him" We had rajma, sumptuous and made my brief video only to have Tom disturbing with some pill he said he had not carried for me, post 5 days this was status and competency i was dealing with !!!

Day 7 - Was supposed to be extra one but we thought to be weathering along, the college group were going to take day off so we bid them well, wished them grand success in respective life and moved, today was final day, Gangbal to Naranag to waiting vehicles which would take us to Srinagar, this was to be an easy descent of over 7 kms but rains had pondered hard and the route was mushy to the core, we slipped more then once and so did Sultan, Tom albeit a human medic became the vet for the day, post some time it was Sultan holding himself whereas we kept sliding continually, if he could he would have fallen laughing wondering who gave these fools 'Special Forces' tags !!!

Finally we made it to the end of the village, our colleague the trek organizer had come with vehicles he was simply delighted to see his group and his mule had all returned in one piece, as for us he was least bothered !!! Post sumptuous meal we left to meet a retired general who had made Sringar his home, he and his wife were excellent hosts for the evening, we shared photos and stories of personal life before calling it a night

The next day bidding farewells one took respective flight home, i was looking utmost goofy so when my daughter opened the door she took me for the amazon delivery guy and blasted over some mistaken delivery So much for a warm welcome

Posting some photos for the trek, hopefully the above was a good read
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Old 29th December 2021, 23:17   #2
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re: Road Less Travelled | Great Lakes Of Kashmir

Quote:
Originally Posted by tatafanatic View Post
Posting some photos for the trek, hopefully the above was a good read
My takeaways from this brilliant piece apart from the surreal beauty of our land : Respect, Admiration and Inspiration.

This has to be experienced in person, photos won't do justice.

A friend who had completed the courses at HAWS and Commandos, when asked about Para said that "you need a different league of craziness to be in SF and I don't have that."
Your build up and reasoning for the trek gave a glimpse of what he meant

I was hooked until I finished reading it, looking forward to reading more, at your comfort of course.

PS : The style of narration instantly reminded me of Bravo Two Zero, different setting but similar style.

Last edited by Aditya : 31st December 2021 at 08:22. Reason: As requested
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Old 30th December 2021, 21:49   #3
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Re: Road Less Travelled | Great Lakes Of Kashmir

Quote:
Originally Posted by tatafanatic View Post
Posting some photos for the trek, hopefully the abovewas a good read
Not just good, ‘twas smashing and straight from the heart (god bless that yours is recovered now fully)!

Quote:
Originally Posted by shancz View Post
when asked about Para said that "you need a different league of craziness to be in SF and I don't have that."
.
My distant frogman cousin says that unless you ARE crazy, you cannot be in SF.
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Old 31st December 2021, 15:05   #4
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Re: Road Less Travelled | Great Lakes Of Kashmir

A friend who had completed the courses at HAWS and Commandos, when asked about Para said that "you need a different league of craziness to be in SF and I don't have that."

My distant frogman cousin says that unless you ARE crazy, you cannot be in SF.


Hear Hear !!

1. We as a family are holidaying in Mauritius, my wife and daughter go for Para Sailing, when done in Mauritius it's just heavenly , crystal clear water beneath, amazing beaches and general landscape, perfect weather etc, the activity ends my daughter walks to me and says "If that's what you do for a living i don't understand the fuss, its simple"

2. I am in this flight to Chandigarh from national capital and behold i find myself seated next to a retired admiral, i am all guns speaking about this and that and all, he calmly waits for me to finish and says "That's good son, now can you open this sachet of ketchup for me, my hands are oily"

So bottom line, in eyes of those who feed me and who fed me before i am nothing more then a useless bum !!
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Old 31st December 2021, 17:27   #5
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Re: Road Less Travelled | Great Lakes Of Kashmir

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Originally Posted by tatafanatic View Post
So bottom line, in eyes of those who feed me and who fed me before i am nothing more then a useless bum !!
Hilarious anecdotes, your daughter's statement was epic.
Reminded me of the popular saying in Hindi, "Ghar ki murgi daal barabar".

Wish you a Happy New Year and more importantly the craziest (if applicable) of drives with the Isuzu.

Looking forward to more write ups in the coming year.

Last edited by Aditya : 1st January 2022 at 12:00. Reason: As requested
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Old 1st January 2022, 12:36   #6
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Re: Road Less Travelled | Great Lakes Of Kashmir

You're write up took me back in time. From the pictures they still look pristine. Did you get a fishing permit from Srinagar or were you not tempted by all that trout..
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Old 1st January 2022, 20:35   #7
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Re: Road Less Travelled | Great Lakes Of Kashmir

Wonderful writeup.

Amazing snaps.

It is certainly heaven on earth as they call it.

Recently in November visited Lake districts while staying in England with daughter.Done 2 one day treks there.
It revived my memories of 70s to 90s when used to trek extensively in Sahyadris & Himalayas.

Felt strongly,we could have such good infrastructure & well advertised, mapped trek routes in these beautiful indian lake districts.

Look forward to read more of such posts with breathtaking fotos.
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Old 2nd January 2022, 00:11   #8
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Re: Road Less Travelled | Great Lakes Of Kashmir

Beautiful Kashmir. Proud to be Kashmiri
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Old 8th February 2022, 01:00   #9
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Re: Road Less Travelled | Great Lakes Of Kashmir

Dear Sir,

It's a pleasure to read your posts. Witty, with dollops of anecdotes and excellent photos to go with that!

Please do share more - whatever you freely can in the public domain.
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