Roopkund - Tales from a Distant Land..

Aug 21
Bhagwabhasa --> Bedni Bugyal
We're going Home .. :)

Our Descent starts today.. Am so excited.. Really missing the city now.. Especially my Bangalore :).. The night was really cold with temperatures falling.. Could have even gone down to minus something judging from the frozen drops on our tents.
Yesterdays climb was the toughest I've done so far..and for the first time I had a painkiller.. Didn't sleep great..didnt sleep badly either.. But woke up with this feeling of elation :)..We had done Roopkund and now it was time to head back home..yaaaay! :))
Hot tea greeted me..Used wet wipes for a pseudo bath.. That felt so god..Mental math on how far away I am from washing my hair. My appetite is gone. Have some breakfast and we're off..
Brilliant sunshine.... It was raining all the way on our way up .. So really welcome the sunshine.
The trek is wonderful. The views which were all fogged out last time are bathed in sunlight.
We stop at the Kalvinayak temple.. The little shrine of last time has been transformed into a world of activity.. The locals are doing some sort of reconstruction though I can't tell how big the final structure will be by looking at what they've achieved so far. Its amazing to see how much has changed in the last two days.




Stop for pics. And then move on..Still carrying the energy bars and chocolates that I got from home. So that makes the meal for our next break.. We walk on..
The view of Bedni from this height is spectacular.. Green as green can get..
I don't have to worry about making my battery last as we've already seen Roopkund. So get loads of pics.
Suddenly the lake jumps into view. We are here.. Bedni feels more like home.. :))
The green magic spell is so strong that I just want to keep looking.






I try to make a call from the satellite phone in GMKV. But the signal isn't strong enough. So decide to come back after lunch. Hot kichidi and we retire to our tents. Rearrange my bag and decide to have a nap..Just as i doze off we hear the phone ring in a distance ..Quickly run outside to make a call.. It Works!..What a relief. :)
The evening is a celebration of hot tea .. The old hag who lives down the hill has come by with a supply of buffalo milk... Such a stark difference between that and milk powder that we normally use... You can instantly tell apart the real thing..
That and mineral water.. The real mineral water..The ones from the stream ..Has a taste to it that can never be recreated in the bottled impostors that hit the market.

Stroll around with my camera..The sun sets over Bedni..What a breathtaking sight..The silhouettes of cattle moving.. The hills in a distance.. Retiring for the night..And the sun on her way out to another world..

Dinner and we call it a day.. Tomorrow we move down to Wan.

-Meena