Ali Bedni Bugyal Trek Day 03


CONTINUED FROM  - Ali Bedni Bugyal Trek - Day 02

Day 03 - 13-Oct-2021

Route - Ali Bugyal -> Bedni Peak -> Gairoli Pathal

Distance - 8 KM


I always wake up before the alarm goes off. Does that happen to you as well? So, just before the clock showed 5AM, I woke up and got ready to walk up to the sunrise point. Everyone else except Raksha was sound asleep and clearly did not want to join. So the two of us climbed up a neighbouring peak. We were accompanied by Bimba, who showed us the way. 

It was still dark when we got to the view point. Slowly, the sky colours began to change and Mt Mrigthuni and Trisul began to show up. On the other side, we could see Bandarpunch, Neelkant and other Himalayan mountains in the range. However, it was a bit cloudy. 


Slowly, the others gathered. It was truly a blissful moment up there. There was nothing but mountains around us. I decided that, Putta, a figurine, will now feature in all my travels. I took his pictures with this interesting backdrop.


After enjoying the views for as long as we could, we got down to the camp, where, some tea, Poha and Semolina kheer was waiting for us. By 8:30AM, we were all packed and ready to leave. Rolling back the sleeping bags into its sack seemed like an Herculean task, but Divyesh and I mastered it by the end of third bag. 


Like ants on a trail, we slowly made our way towards the Bedni peak. We stopped at few viewpoints.


Two of our trekkers wanted to continue on the Roopkund trail and skip Bedni peak. So they went ahead. The rest of us left our backpacks at the base and began our hike up to Bedni summit. 

It was a steep and tough climb. The spectacular views of the mountains on the side kept us going. 


Once at the summit, we were welcomed by a 360 degree view of the majestic mountains. Our guide Bhuwan Bisth helped me identify all the mountains in the range. I explored the Bedni summit and got as many pictures as I could. We relaxed there for more than an hour. It was undoubtedly the best moment of this trek. 


Back at the base, Bhuwan ji narrated the folktale related to Roopkund trail. The tragedy of Roopkund tells the story behind the human skeletons found by the pond.  A local king took up a precarious journey of going to Kailash via this trail. He and his men are believed to have been killed by a heavy hailstorm at Roopkund. Bhuwan Ji says that the skeletons are huge; almost 9 feet long. Some studies, done later, suggest that these were Persian travellers. However, the folktale is much more interesting. The way Bhuwan ji narrated it was even more interesting. The images of this journey flashed forth my eyes as he described it. 


"A study result can be based on certain assumptions, but these folktales have been traveling from one generation to another." Concluded Bhuwan Ji, thus allowing us to decide which version we wanted to believe in. 



We then walked down to Bedni Bugyal where there are a few temples dedicated to Matha rani and Shiva. Bhuwan Ji performed a pooja (prayers). Once in 12 years, thousands of villagers gather here during the time of Badar Pada. The journey begins at Wan village, stops at Bedni and then continues till Roopkund and ends at Homkund. The next yatra (journey) is scheduled to happen in 2024. 


The pond at Bedni Bugyal, the temples around it, create an idyllic setting. We had our packed lunch there and relaxed until the other two trekkers returned. 


Bimba, one of the dogs had come all the way along with us. It was a result of our pampering. Our guides joked that the shepherds would come chasing us. These dogs are meant to guard the sheep, but they often follow the affectionate trekkers down the trail. 

At around 2PM, we began our descent to Gairoli Pathal. We left the meadows behind and made our way down through the forest. To be honest, this stretch was a bit tiring for me. As you walk down, all the load lands on your knee joints and ankle. But we had enough time, so slowly, we reached our camp at Gairoli pathal.


I chose a perfect place to lie down on the grass and relax for a while. We had had no cellphone network for two days and it was a boon. 

Apart from us, there was one more team of three people, again from Bangalore. We spent the evening chatting and discussing life in general. The spray I had carried came handy as two of the group members had developed a joint pain along the way. We were served maggie, soup and tea. For dinner, we had a good meal - Roti-Sabji, Rice-Dhal and a sweet. There was egg curry for non-vegetarians. 


It was terribly cold that night, so almost immediately after dinner, we retuned to our tents and called it a day. 


CONTINUED HERE - Ali Bedni Bugyal Trek Day 04



Checkout my video on this trekking experience - 





Comments

  1. You must have enjoyed and had a great experience. Loved these beautiful photos. My unsolicited advice is you should watermark your photos when publishing them.

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    Replies
    1. I did. Thanks. About the pictures, I had thought about it before, but then now, I do not feel a need for it. Most of my content is for free anyways. Also, I am a bit lazy to do that. :-)

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