DAY 2 - Lahesh Cave
Trekking Route:
Triund - Snowline Cafe - Illaka - Lahesh Cave
Triund - Snowline Cafe - Illaka - Lahesh Cave
25 May 2013
I woke up at 8 AM. We were in no hurry . We were to trek till Illaka or Lahesh for today. We had decided to start from Triund by 10 AM. I went to relieve myself in the woods. There are no toilets at Triund. One has to seek nature to attend natures call.
After getting ready and packing my bag, Mahendra and I winded up my tent. Sukhwinder had prepared Aalu Parathas by that time. We had our breakfast and left Triund exactly at 10.
Within two hours we reached show line café. I didn’t know why but I was feeling extremely energetic, probably due to the pleasant atmosphere. My guides were planning to trek till Illaka and camp there for night. But I wanted to trek further till Lahesh and spend the night there. This would serve two purposes. Firstly, I wanted the thrill to spend a night inside a cave which is even above the snow line situated at a height of 4000 meters above sea level. Secondly, as I was feeling energetic I wanted to cover as much distance as possible that day itself so that I get a head start for my trek to Indrahara the next day. Somehow I managed to convince my guides to halt at Lahesh.
Within two hours we reached show line café. I didn’t know why but I was feeling extremely energetic, probably due to the pleasant atmosphere. My guides were planning to trek till Illaka and camp there for night. But I wanted to trek further till Lahesh and spend the night there. This would serve two purposes. Firstly, I wanted the thrill to spend a night inside a cave which is even above the snow line situated at a height of 4000 meters above sea level. Secondly, as I was feeling energetic I wanted to cover as much distance as possible that day itself so that I get a head start for my trek to Indrahara the next day. Somehow I managed to convince my guides to halt at Lahesh.
My route for today was Triund-Snowline Café-Illaka-Lahesh Cave. We reached Illaka by about 1 PM. Illaka is actually the valley between the Snowcapped Dhauladhars and Triund Hill. But the scenery is entirely different here. Gone are the green trees and lush grass. Everything is now a shade of grey. Grey rocky mountains which are a distinctive feature of Dhauladhar, white cloudy sky and the view of a giant white glacier flowing down the mountain passes and breaking away into a water stream in the Illaka region.
At Illaka we halted for lunch in a small hut made by local shepherds who stay in it while on their way to Chamba valley or back. The place was perfect for having our lunch as water was available from the glacier stream flowing beside the hut and a lot of dry wood was available to make fire and cook our food.
My guides busied themselves in preparing vegetable pulav for lunch while I went near the stream to have a closer look. The water was ice cold as it had just broken from a glacier and crystal clear. I dipped my palm in the stream to take a sip of glacial water and my hand went numb. I was sure that if I fall in this freezing cold water even for a minute I would definitely catch hypothermia. I sat there on a rock admiring natures beauty waiting for a lunch call from my guides.
I could now see Indrahara pass which is situated in between two peaks of the Dhauladhar range and at a height of 4300 meters. I could even spot a black spot on the mountain somewhere mid-way which my guide told me was Lahesh cave. Shephards with their herds have been crossing Indrahara pass for centuries generally after the month of May to reach the other side of the range where Chamba valley is situated. They say that the grass on the other side is of a superior quality and the goats and sheep tend to prefer that grass over the grass of Kangra valley. Even a little amount of Chamba grass provides them enormous energy. A shepherd had mentioned that goats are so fond of the grass in Chamba valley that the goats and sheep start to get desperate and head towards the pass at appropriate time of the year. I was more enthralled knowing that these shepherds cross this pass without any equipment wearing just plastic shoes, sometimes as early as May start when the pass is heavily snowed. Even the Army who is first to climb the pass every year is able to do so with all the fancy equipment not before April.
I was immersed in my thoughts when Mahendra gave me a call for lunch. I joined them inside the hut and enjoyed the spicy vegetable pulav. After eating we cleaned plates and packed our bags. It was decided to carry wood to Lahesh from Illaka itself. No wood is available at the height of Lahesh cave. We collected and distributed the wood sticks, tied them to our rucksacks and headed for the cave.
Lahesh is on the other side of the Glacier. We crossed the Glacier at the mountain foot and started the steep climb through the white rocks towards Lahesh cave. After a tiring and exhaustive trek we reached Lahesh at about 3:30 PM. A slight rain had started by now and the temperature dropped drastically. I began to shiver and quickly took out my jacket and woolen cap. The view was spine chilling. Everything was a shade of white. A glacier flowing down at a distance, white rocks, white peaks covered by white clouds in such a fashion that one could not distinguish where the snow ends and where the clouds start. Obviously, there was no sign of tress or human habitation for miles in any direction.
(Above: Can you feel the chill looking at the pictures? Picture taken from Lahesh Cave)
I went inside the cave and dropped my rucksack. The bottom of the cave was still wet. I could see a small patch of ice still inside the cave which had not melted yet. Fortunately one corner of the cave was dry and sufficient enough for three persons to sleep. The cave is hardly 4 feet high and one has to crawl his way through it. The cave was created in early 1900’s during an earthquake. The cave is created as a result of a rock slab falling on another slab creating a small gap in between. They call this gap a cave. The cave is sufficient enough for 20-30 persons to sleep.
My guides as usual sprung back to action. We had wood but no water to cook. They took empty bottles and went towards a distant water stream, which was more of a water fall, broken from the glacier. While they were away I came out of the cave and sat on a slab adjacent to the cave. The slab was open on three sides, the fourth side towards the cave. The three sides ended as cliffs, so it seemed like a natural balcony to the cave. I sat in the balcony and began to wonder how the hell I would spend a night in such inhabitable condition. I sensed that this was the place I was seeking from last so many months. A place where there were no mobile phones, no distractions, no job and no career, just me in the lap of nature. One starts to fear and respect nature living in these inhospitable conditions. I began to sense a new found respect for my life.
The rain had stopped by now which was a welcome sign. My guides were back and had prepared tea. Nothing feels better than dipping marry gold biscuits in a hot cup of tea after a day’s hard work.
It was decided to cook and eat dinner before sunset. The menu for dinner was Dal and Chaval. By 7 PM the dinner was ready and by 7:30 PM we were in our sleeping bags.
It was decided to cook and eat dinner before sunset. The menu for dinner was Dal and Chaval. By 7 PM the dinner was ready and by 7:30 PM we were in our sleeping bags.
But it was difficult to sleep. Though there was no breeze and it was relatively not so cold. My Jacket, woolen cap and Sleeping bag had shielded me from cold to a great extent but a mild head ache had started. It is the first sign of altitude sickness. At last I came out of my sleeping bag at 1 AM in night after repeated failures to sleep. I went to the balcony and noticed that it was a full moon day. What a great coincidence! I could clearly see the distant peaks, the rocky terrain and the glacier shining in the moon light. I went to the balcony edge, stood there balancing my body and peed in the direction of the glacier thinking that I was peeing on the glacier itself! I went inside, took 500 mg paracetamol and 400 mg ibrufen, only then I was able to sleep.