Day 0 - 24th Dec'09 - 8pm
Christmas Eve... an evening full of excitement..
waiting or the weekend ahead full of adventure...
Were we ready to scale the peak... you bet...
but where was a good vehicle we could hire to reach our base camp at Khara Pathar?!
There were 9 of us for this trek.
CAT Paramjeet's car could accommodate 4 with some luggage.
My old car could also accommodate no more than 4 with a little luggage.
With my new car could easily sit remaining 5 CATS but
the car was still without papers, we had no choice but to hire
either an Innova or a Tempo Traveller. Additionally, we did not really
have a confident spare driver as the road beyond Shimla was rough.
Every Cab Company in town proclaimed to have purchased
6 new Innovas only a month ago, further claiming that even
the protective sheets had not been taken off them as yet...
OK but where were these Innovas? Story of Tempo Travellers was no different :(
CAT Paramjeet and I spent a whole day on a wild goose chase
to inspect and pass just one of the six Innovas
from Hallo Majra to Sec.22 to Sec.23 to ManiMajra..
The clock had turned 9 at night... still no success :(
Just as I had resigned to the fact that I might end up taking
the new car without papers or borrow my brother's prized possession,
I made one last phone call to our old Cab Company at 9.40pm.
BINGO.. we had an Innova available for the trip...
Luck does favour the ones who never say die :)
With cars sorted, there was atmosphere of joy all around.
CAT Mona suggested that CAT Aman dress as little Santa and
distribute the Christmas Stockings that had been prepared
as a surprised gift for all the CATS.
CAT Amanat immediately pulled out her precious Santa Bag,
CAT Aman pulled out his red jacket to complete the look.
We were on a roll here now :)
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DAY 1: Christmas Day
Don't we all love to get our Christmas stockings,
no matter what biological age we reach?!!
It was around 8.15am that we managed to pick all 9 CATS from
their respective homes or designated points of collection...
CAT Jyotika was the last one to be picked up and
unfortunately had to wait the longest.. she sat on the
boundary wall of Western Command around 7.30am and
given the she did not know which vehicle was coming to
pick her up, she kept on peering at every passing vehicle
of the morning rush hour with hope which were dashed for
the next half an hour... Eventually she sent me a text,
'Meko bhool to nahin gaye na?!!!'
If you think this is funny, I could narrate another hilarious story,
but I don't have CAT Jyotika's permission as yet...
O Honey ;-)
Around 9.30 we made our first scheduled pit stop to fill our bellies
Breakfast time at Modern Dhaba in Dharampur
Our next stop was a photo opportunity just beyond Shimla...
Do you notice the little Christmas Tree in our hands?
Given the luggage restrictions, CAT Rachna and CAT Ansh went
hunting for the smallest possible Christmas Tree
to celebrate Xmas in true spirit with all their fellow CATS...
We all are deeply touched by your gesture and cherish this little..
Our second Christmas surprise of the day :)
Seriously though, where would we be without such caring CATS around
to make it special for each one of us... MEOW
We finally reached our destination around 3.30pm..
and it was freezing cold.. brrrrr....
CAT Chat had a tender belly and soon we had CAT Rachna and
CAT Rajpal looking fussing over him to ensure he was in ship-shape
for the trek the following day.
There was a Dining Hall where we could have gathered together
after settling in our respective rooms, but my room was
designated as the living room for CATS throughout the trip..
Can you see CATS huddling as close to the heater as possible ;-)
After a round of warm and welcoming hot snacks,
the excitement of the travel caught up with some...
CAT Rachna, CAT Rajpal and CAT Chat went out to get
acclimatised to the weather change...
The ones who chose to stay indoors had another task at hand...
to decorate our precious little Christmas Tree :)
Now what do you say to that eh?
Improvisation Genius or what?!!!
If I taped Hajmola and Eclairs to decorate the tree,
CAT Rachna gave the thread to hang the little bells to the branches...
CAT Jyotika ran to her room to get the candles and
CAT Minnie emptied out her Christmas Stocking to complete the decorations
Finally the third Christmacy surprise for CATS
- Chocolate and Walnut Cake :)
The youngest of the Christmas brigade,
CAT Aman and CAT Ansh did the honours by cutting the cake...
which got demolished in no time...
In fact CAT Amanat called up just in time to request
that a slice be brought back for her... I just about managed to wrap
one little piece amongst the crumbs leftover in the plate ;-)
We were glad that our 'living room' was on the same floor as
the hotel's kitchen, as no soon would the piping hot food arrive,
that it would go cold!
With dinner over, it was time to fine tune the D-Day :)
After debating the points including whether we would be
able to reach the peak or merely the temple, whether we are
equipped to weather the snow/icy conditions beyond
the temple, the fitness level of all the CATS,
whether even the hotel staff would wake up early enough
even if we plan to leave half an hour earlier than scheduled.
After agreeing and disagreeing on many points,
I accepted that given the varied trekking experience
of all the CATS, we might not get to reach the peak.
However, we could not just give up so easily on our attempt
and accept defeat till we had at least made an honest effort
to make it to the top the following morning.
Why just assume defeat till we had tried?
For CAT Rajpal and myself, it was dejavu.
Exactly 2 years previously, an evening before our attempt to
scale Shali Peak we had been told by everyone from
shop keepers to our own guide, that we should just hike a
little hillock close by, enjoy a picnic and go back home.
No one then had much faith in the grit of CATS.
Few had questions about our ability this time also.
I did not mind if we had to abort our attempt in case
the weather conditions became treacherous or it became too dark.
Safety of all was absolutely paramount without an iota of doubt.
But at the very least we should make a wise and well directed
attempt to scale the peak.
We had not come this far for a picnic.
We eventually decided to take the hotel staff into confidence.
They assured us that bed tea would be served by 7am,
breakfast by 7.30am which would mean that we could leave by 8am.
We also requested for a guide to accompany us, which the hotel staff organised or us.
Half of us were in bed by 9.30pm...
Rest decided to make the most of the time together :)
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DAY 2: Boxing Day
CAT Paramjeet's fears came true the following morning.
Hotel staff was woken up by CAT Rachna at 7am and
the bed tea was served by 7.20am.
However, the cook soon made up for the lost time and
the breakfast was indeed ready by 7.30am.
Though most of us were ready by 8.15am, we realised that
our little CAT Ansh was having a rough time. He had not slept
well the previous night and had thrown up in the morning.
CAT Rachna was torn between cheering him up and
asking us to leave them behind.
If there is anything that is synonumous with CATS, it is one thing.
We do everything together.
None of us wanted to leave without him and even CAT Rachna
did not have the heart to make him stay. After watching over him
till 9am, it was decided that they will join the gang waiting outside.
However, CAT Ansh was to stay at which ever point
he felt uncomfortable. CAT Chat offered to keep him company
in case he could not reach the top and we had our cab driver
positioned comfortably along the way to bring them back to the hotel.
Despite a well debated time of departure the evening before,
we left the hotel at 9am and started trekking by 9.15am.
Look at that... One big family...
Don't we all look good enough to eat ;-)
With CAT Chat, the eldest of the gang leading the way and
an efficient guide in Naresh, CATS set their paws onto the dirt trek...
The whole trek was divided in to two parts;
first leg from Khara Pathar to Giri Ganga Temple and
second leg from Giri Ganga to Kuppar Peak at 11,050ft above sea level.
Hardly had we started trekking that we came across snow
spread over the orchard and fields on either side of the track.
Just as we gathered a little pace, our merry pack of CATS found a distraction!
However, we soon realised that all distractions are not pretty...
we quietly pussy-footed around this mulled wild dog..
probably the dinner of a bear or a leapord!
Happily as we trekked a little higher, CAT Minnie experienced a nose bleed.
Normally we would treat it as a sign of high altitude sickness,
but our doc on the trek, CAT Rachna advised against Diamox
in case of any further side effects.
Our brave CAT Minnie joined CAT Ansh in their quite endeavour
to keep trudging along, despite some health concerns.
Without being asked, CAT Paramjeet kept company with
young at heart CAT Chat, who was trailing a little behind...
Whilst CAT Rajpal and our guide Naresh kept an eye
on the young ones in front...
With CATS, we know everyone will be safe :)
and we trekked slowly, but surely, moving towards our goal...
Peak Kuppar
This bottle of Royal Stag perched on fallen log was the
identification mark for our driver to bring the Innova to,
which was also our rescue vehicle for the day!
Heaven forbid if we needed it :(
CAT Paramjeet challenging a fallen tree trunk ;-)
Any guesses what this is?
It is certainly not milk flowing from the source point of
Giri Ganga river. It is river itself frozen over from the
cold weather conditions!
Wondering what CAY Jyotika is peering at?
The stones barely visible through the frozen river.. Brrrrr....
Don't believe me?
Ok... here is some ice for you then ;-)
Breathtaking views of the valley welcomed us along the way...
By 11.15am we had reached the Giri Ganga Temple.
CAT Chat by the foundation stone laid a year ago of
a Tourise Facility Centre, which is yet to come up!
There we came across a dozen doctors from PGI Chandigarh,
most of whom were huffing and puffing by the time they reached the temple.
One look at CAT Chat, CAT Aman and CAT Ansh..
a second look at those young doctors and I wondered
how they advise their patients to remain it!
Or perhaps having unit patients for personal survival was their goal ;-)
After resting a while and having a round of sustenance,
we decided to have a photo shoot at the temple before
we marched ahead to find the temple priest :)
This river is considered to be as auspicious by the Himachalis
to perform all their religious borth till death rites,
as The Holy Ganges is or the rest of the Indians.
The temple pond completely frozen over!
One can walk over it provided you are brave enough to walk on ice bare footed ;-)
Do you notice the gargoyle (animal faced spout) towards the
left of the pond boundary wall? This is from where the holy river pours into the pond.
Holy deities painted in bright colours...
One final look at the temple before we move on...
CAT Chat decided to join us for as long as he felt comfortable as
we embarked on the second and more arduous leg of out journey.
Yes, icicles had formed where the river water had literally frozen into stillness!
Temptation was too hard to resist to walk over the
iced river... but sanity prevailed soon :)
This is the actual source of the origin of Giri Ganga river...
This little platform is considered to be even more holier
than the temple we had just visited..
This is the point where CAT Chat decided to walk back
towards the temple and wait for our descend...
Whilst we were waiting for CAT Paramjeet to return after
dropping him back over ice and snow... CAT Ansh and CAT Aman
decided invented a little game.
They started throwing stones onto the frozen sheet of river,
to see if they can break it and make water emerge
which we could hear gargling underneath!
Would you believe me that CAT Rachna joined them soon?!!!
It was around 1pm by now and I was getting anxious if we could touch the Peak or not.
I had a quite word with our guide who said that if we kept
trudging along, without making many stops, then we stood
a chance to make it through the short cut. However, I told him
very clearly, that despite our best efforts to reach the top,
I did not want us to trek once the sun went down.
In other words, he should make us do a U-turn even if we had not
reached the peak, when he felt that we had just enough time to
reach our car waiting for us. With two little kids, CAT Chat
waiting at the temple, CAT Minnie having trouble with the hike,
I did not want to take the chances.
However, this was to remain our little secret ;-)
I turned around to scream -
We can do it guys... just keep walking!
Mesmerised as we all were when we trekking along this
frozen river, we made a photo shoot stop... or a few minutes!
I know the time was ticking away... but this one was for posterity ;-)
We took a right turn to leave the frozen river behind..
CAT Minnie was having trouble by this time...
she had started saying that we should leave her behind and
keep trekking as she was holding the rest of us back...
She had come with us on a trek or the first time :)
The older CATS might have needed a hand to go higher...
The younger lot was found prancing around randomly..
Would anyone believe that CAT Ansh was sick as a parrot just 4 horus ago?
The abandoned summer home of shepards...
After walking through another valley full of inches deep snow...
this one was a well deserved rest!
not for long though as the challenges beackoned us to reach higher!
These two have a bond which is envious...
Neither can they stand each other during the car journeys...
nor can they live without each other on the treks!
I requested CAT Jyotika who was merrily skipping away to
stay behind with CAT Paramjeet to keep cheering up CAT Minnie.
I knew that if she had company, we could help her reach the peak
provided her health was on her side.
CAT Rachna was just ahead of these three and was doing fine...
I was ahead of her with the kittens and CAT Rajpal right in the front..
Kadam Kadam Barraaye Chal...
We were doing ok... The sun had not started sinking as yet...
WE COULD DO IT :)
I wonder if these two will ever forgive me and CAT Rachna
for putting them through so much at such a tender age ;-)
This is the point where the Peak became visible to us...
A ray of hope... but it was 15mins of straight hike through snowy trecherous path!
We wanted to rest a little.. take photos a plenty...
but the guide was nudging me to hurry up...
I could not be cruel.. 5mins I pleaded ;-)
If you wondered why the hell were we putting ourselves through this...
then just look at the view behind us... we could even see our hotel from here!
and take a look towards the left...
and one towards the right...
(notice the moon in the to right hand corner?)
If this is not worth every effort we had made thus far...
I wonder what would be?!!!
However, it would not have been possible to reach even this far
without everyone pooling in all their resources...
Physical... Mental... sheer will power...
It is one thing to believe that you cant give up without trying...
quite another to make it happen!
Hand in hand... we made it to the top of the Peak Kuppar at 2.40pm...
It might have taken us 5.30hrs to reach the top... but
WE DID IT...MEOW
You dont really blame us for gorging on food now.. do you?
5.5hrs of uphill hike guys... we were one satisfied lot :)
However, it was only half the job done...
we had to go downhill now which was far more slippery and taxing on the knees ;-)
Given that the wind had already becoming chillier, the sun
had lost its heat, and the dusk expected around 5pm...
we started making our way down after 15mins of recess.
Playing in the snow proved to be too irrestible for CAT Jyotika ;-)
CATS - Welcome to Kuppar Peak scribbled in snow :)
to hell with the sun dial for a few minutes!!
Time for some snow balls and snow showers ;-)
Sanity prevailed soon and we set our paws on the way down..
We kept yelling at each other... walk in a zig-zag manner
rather than tumbling down the hill...
Walk Like A Drunkard!
Infact the sudden flight downhill made me giddy!
Since I could not afford to make anyone trek in the dark,
I had to keep going. My stomach was in knots in fear of anything
untoward happening given how we were literally running downhill!
No time to prance around on the way down though..
despite the temptations ;-)
Looks like Girls will always be Girls :)
CAT Chat had taken a nap in the sun for a couple of hours
at the temple before deciding to walk back to the hotel
despite our driver waiting for him half way down...
The tourists, localites and our driver were equally surprised
at the strength and stamina of our otherwise frail looking CAT :)
We finished our trek at 5.15pm....
just as the sun was going down... all safe and all accounted for!
We ordered hot drinks and snacks as soon as we reached the hotel...
CAT Rachna and CAT Rajpal took prompt care of everyone's
aches and pains and bleeds ;-)
Dinner was also a rather quite affair as everyone was tired.
However, we still had to discuss our plans for the following day.
We could either visit renowned Mata Hateshwari Temple or
we could stop by in Shimla for lunch for which we needed
2-3hours, in addition to 6.5hours of journey back home.
Though Shimla sounded tempting, everyone eventually decided
on Mata Hateshwari Temple as we had to drive in a different
direction for it and many may not get another opportunity
to do so in near future.
Since my keenness to scale the peak had made everyone
wake up early, I left the decision of leaving hours to everyone :)
With the mission accomplished, I could put my feet up too for the night ;-)
I remember at 9pm CAT Aman asking me, 'Shall we watch
the finals of Big Boss?' I told him to suit himself and
that I was going to sleep! He was snoring before I could wink ;-)
The party gang landed up in CAT Rachna's room for the night :)
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DAY 3: Sunday
Everyone woke up leisurely the following morning,
had a sumptuous breakfast before we packed our bags...
Cars were loaded with luggage by 10.15am...
Last photo session was held at the hotel doorstep and we headed in
the direction of Mata Hateshwari Temple...
If you look closely, these are apple orchards where the trunks of
all apple tree have been painted white.. though we are sure of
the reason behind it... identification or termite medicine?
Though kilometers were less but it took us long since the road was bad...
CATS sharing their sustenance pack booty with the local kids :)
Way to the temple was equally adventrous!
Bhagwan ka paana itna asaan nahin hai!
towards the historic temple of great religious importance
for the Himachalis and outsiders alike belonging to the Mahabharta period...
The fifth kandh of Bhagvat gita describes about Mata Hateshwari
as the Shakti of Hateshwar, one of the main residences of Shiva and Shakti.
The people of Hatkoti believe that the temple was established by Guru Adi Shankracharya.
but not until you have met the cat first ;-)
The board at the maindoor prohibited any visitor wearing socks to enter the temple premises.. I had no choice but to stay outside since I had nicely packed by legs in tights!
However, this rule seems to have some exceptions too...
notice the cop sitting at the window ledge?? ..he's wearing socks!
Ah well.. I chose to guard the property of CATS, along with CAT Chat :)
The idol of Mata in the Temple
imagining the whole universe in this idol. The statue is made up of
a mixture of eight valuable metals. The statue is 1.20 meter in height.
The idol displays the destroyer expression of Mata.
The interesting fact about the idol is that it changes its expression,
sometimes it has a smiling face and some time it is in a angry posture,
the idol has such effect on the devotee that he take off his eyes from the idol.
On both sides of the idol there is something written in Brahmi script.
There are five stone “Deols” present in the temple premises
which makes us remember about the five pandavas.
These “Deols” are decreasing in size, first one being the
largest in size and then the decreasing ones.
Given the feedback received from the fellow CATS who did
visit every nook and cranny of the temple inside, it is indeed
one of the best kept temples they have ever come across...
It was 'nikat-darshan' or most but 'door-darshan' for the rest ;-)
Faith can find any place :)
Reeboks and Airboks are equally welcome ;-)
Whilst the others were taking their time inside the temple premises,
our kittens once again invented a game to keep themselves busy ;-)
They tested their might against each other as to who could fetch
most amount of water from the handpump!
However, they would only serve the girls, and not the boys/uncles ;-)
I wonder if CAT Chat was thinking about his own childhood with these two on either side :)
We can resist anything, but temptations ;-)
Faith hanging in abundance from the tree outside the temple courtyard!
I wonder if someone married the tree to ward off any evil from his life...
or offered his wife in return for something he wanted!
Holi Chunri being sold alongside eatables :P
while the world goes on with its mundane daily life at Jubbal...
Ah well... it was around 1pm and we had to head back to Chandigarh.. It was 2pm by the time we crossed Khara Pathar. Without stopping or lunch, we raced till we crossed Shimla and then stopped only or evening snacks. It was 10 at night by the time we hit Chandigarh.
Another memorable trip for CATS... Another Peak scaled..
Another feather added to our cap..
Thank you all for making it happen...
for reinforcing my faith that together we can achieve anything.
I would specifically like to thank CAT Paramjeet who helped in the
initial recce, planning and organising this trek. Special thanks to him
also for ensuring CAT Minnie did not give up during the trek.
Thanks to CAT Jyotika also for keeping company of Minnie
as well as bringing cheers to the group throughout the trip.
Thanks to CAT Rajpal and CAT Rachna for keeping everyone
in medical order. Thanks to CAT Ansh in specific for having the
grit and courage to complete this difficult trek despite being ill.
I would also like to thank CAT Minnie for having faith in
herself when the going got tough and reach the peak.
CAT Chat, you were the sole sane factor of the whole gang!
Three MEOWs for this special Christmas,
CAT Supreet
