Kuari Pass Trek 2014 :)

Reason to Smile:  What can be more exciting and thrilling when you know that you are going to spend the new years night at one of the most amazing places in the world :P

Yes, my new year plans were as exciting and thrilling as if a parent may feel for its new born. For me, it was a trek to Kuari Pass at Uttarakhand ! :)

The mere thought of the cold weather at 'UK' gave me chills and floored out the feet of my ground. The real feel of it gave me shivering and lots of woolen and winter jackets to move on :) I had a flight to Delhi to meet 30 mates at Haridwar. From Delhi Sumeet, Sarika and me took a bus to Haridwar. The step at Delhi gave me a feel of the starters of the cold menu I had to be served on ;) - weather updates from the whats app group helped to some extent to prepare myself :P

The drive from Haridwar to Joshimath (start point of our trek) was about 12 hours drive. Pictures, good food and cold hands on the way were giving me a feel of the real winters I tend to miss in Mumbai :) From Joshimath to Kuari Pass and back was about 25 kms trek. It was amazing to see the enthusiasm of all the mates including our very own 'Uncle' who at the age of 70 never quits ! Hats off to all those who made it to the top without any hassle or medical issues. Special mention of those who did not even give their bags to the porters ! :)

Card Games - Mafia, Bluff, Gamble, have always been fun with the new comers ;) Nilesh Patil to play 'blind' in the gamble gave us more energy to fight the winters too :P ;) The bonfire was a super bliss always during the trek. Dumbcherads, Antakshari, and the imprompto Garba and dance around the bonfire at the second base camp was a treat to watch and remember ! :) Special mention here - Pritish, Shalini, Ashwini and Swapnil for their Jukebox performances of the singing and the dancing to the tunes of most bollywood numbers ! :)
Some of the members who kept the energizer bunny in us going -
Sharmaji - The entertainer; Sarika - The evergreen Mafia; Swapnil - The Shammi Kapoor Dancer; Ashwini - The Jukebox; Debashish - The filmmaker - I will be eagerly waiting to see the documentary :P; Pankti / Shreya / Vinit / Ruchit / Hemali - Akshay / Me - The gujju gang; Nilesh Patil - The anytime almond man; Neelam / Saras / Manju - The beautiful long hairs ladies; Poorvaja - The bluff master; Shalini - The 'sorry' girl ;) and many others who kept the entire trip lively and happening ! :D

Food - Who would ever imagine that in the midst of the jungle, almost 3000 ft above, we would be served delicious dishes like - Chole Bature, Macaroni, Mushrooms, an exotic breakfast with Bread Toast, Eggs, Cornflakes, Porridge; to dine with the local roti with rice, dal and sweet dish - Halwa and Kheer ! Not to forget, the bed tea is also the highlight of this schedule everyday!
For me its heads down to the team who manages to give us such a luxurious experience of the food and the ambience!

Our schedule was led by Prakash and his team - Debashish, Pankaj, Anil Kaka and a few others. My heartiest Thanks to Anil Kaka who actually dragged me to the top - Tali Top (about 3000 ft) and helped me descend the entire trek !! Needless to mention, just because I had a hand so confident to hold, I was the first one to reach the top and descend the base ! ;) The frozen lake at the top indeed got me a glimpse of the Ladakh Chadar trek that people keep chanting about. I was awestruck with the scenic beauty Kuari Pass presents. Mystic meadows, snow lit mountains, the temperature dipping upto minus 7, only made me proud to have survived my second Himalayan trek by far !! :)

31st December 2014 was indeed a night to remember ! We were back to Joshimath at our hotels trying to unwind ourselves, cherish memories, etc that in no time we realize that a DJ has been arranged and its going to be equally superb to have the party going till mid night ! We all danced to the core after that tiring trek and rejuvinated ourselves to welcome the new years ! It was indeed one of the most happening 2015 to begin with !

1st Jan 2015 - we start for Hrishikesh to experience one of the most thrilling adventures of the lifetime - White Water River Rafting for 26 kms !! The rapids with their unusual names like - Good morning, Black Money, Roller Coaster, Double Trouble, 3 blue mice, and a few more only got our feets off our rafts - literally !! :)

Its surely going to be a hangover for some time of the memories we as 30 mates have build of the fun and the chills in those mountains of UK :P

Will miss the awesome food by Anil Kaka and also the almonds we always got munched on by Nilesh Patil.

Some pics and videos will be uploaded soon on FB :)

Till my next new year resolution event - Keep Smiling ! :)






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