Day One - The Legend of Deoria Tal!

Ever since the story of Pandavas meeting their doom at the hands of Yaksha for their lack of wisdom in answering some questions (and their subsequent ressurection when the last one standing, Yudhishtira, answered them) at Deoria Tal gave legendary status to this Tal of the Gods, the locals have reverred this lake and they still speak of its deep divinity with high reverence. This lake high up in the mountains is known by many names such as Devariya Tal, Indra Sarovar etc throughout our mythological history and the now locally it came to be known as DeoriaTal, the Tal of the Gods.

Apparenrly, this Tal or Lake or  Pond was being used by the Gods as a bathing place especially considering how close it was to the sky and the protection of this devine bath tub was entrusted to Yaksha, A Nature-Spirit. It is said that Pandavas came across this lake during their exile while in dire need of water but Yaksha was protecting the lake for the Gods and demanded the Pandavas complete a quick Q&A session before they couls drink feom it. Yaksha told each Pandava who came to the water individually that the water will turn to poison if his questions were not answered. Every Pandava who ignored Yaksha's warning met their doom after drinking the water, except Yudhishtira who came in search of his brothers who went looking for water and did not return. Eventually Yudhishtira also found the Lake and Yaksha and Yudhishtira's answers pleased Yaksha to such an extent that he ended up resurrecting all of the Pandavas. This story set an interesting mythical vibe to the place and there were many interesting converstions that sprouted from this. 

The morning after Day Zero, this lake of legends was our destination. We started after a session of limbering up and not to forget a punishment session of planks as a few of us were late to assemble. I began the hike with mixed emotions. Excited a bit. Afraid a bit. Anxious too. Slow and steady we made our way to Deoriatal. The ascend was not easy but this was apparently the easiest day of the trek. I wondered how the Pandavas must have felt doing this for 12 years during their exile.

All of us needed to find our rhythms. Slow and steady we reached a point where Chaukhamba Ranges along with Kedarnath peak, Kedar Dome, Mandani Parbat, Janhukut and Neelkanth peak were all visible.Dhritiman's explation(Click for Video) of the range made things a bit clear. I still remember how I felt the first time I saw all those peaks together. And then I looked at Chandrashila summit on our far right and I was still not convinced I would be able to make it to that summit. I was unable to imagine the amount of resolve it would take for me, and each of us, to get on top of it, that too to see what it would look like when the first rays of sun hits the mountains at sunrise. 

We rested a bit and then moved again to our camp where our lunch was waiting for us. Rhododendrons were seen in patches and the anticipation of thicker patches kept me wondering.

The Rhodos were an edible flower and people of the mountains make many things out of them like squash and chuntey etc. I got my first taste of it in form of Squash back in 2019 when I was In Jibhi, Himachal Pradesh. So we ate few Rhodos as well on the way and after a pretty decent hike we finally reached Deoriatal by 12 pm approx. We rested there for a while when the Forest permissions and all were sorted. There were stories being shared. Everyone were  relaxed untill we saw a Russel Viper while trying to click pictures from around the lake and that was a bit alarming.

But Shachi was chill about it and told the group that she was even trained to get the poison out of us if at all we are bit by it. So all would be well if it comes to that.(Now we realise that she has no such training and it was just a white lie so as not to spook the group😂😂😂).

We then moved to the camp where our tents are set up. It was one of the times that I realised that one of the difficult parts of any trek is when you start to walk again after a longer than usual break. You need to find your rhythm all over again and the first few minutes are more difficult than the rest. Our Camp was just a few minutes away and finally we get to take our bags off our shoulders for the day.

Honestly, out of all the camps, this would rank the least in my list. This was not entirely an Indiahikes camp and they have leased this spot. All other camps were directly run by Indiahikes I was told and it showed. The assembly area was small and there was generally a lack of space for things. The dining area however could easily fit us all though. Tents were spacious. It was 4 person tents and Me, Akrosh, Suhas and Akshay were set up in a tent higher up than the rest and that made sense to me because of the height. We had a decent view of the valley below, unlike from rest of the tents as trees were blocking their veiw. Also there was a sort of Bench set up a bit further up on which me and Akrosh spend some time looking at the night sky later that night.

After sumptuous lunch we all rested a bit and then went back down to the lake to explore more. The grasslands around the lake, even with a possibility of Russel Vipers, were a great place to unwind and relax. There, we played Dishkyaon game which Shachi taught us, the goal of which was to learn each others names. It worked wonderfully. By the end of the game we knew each others names well. We also played Frisbee. Later we gathered at the lake at a point with great vantage of the Chaukhamba ranges but it was cloudy and we couldn't see as much of thr mountian ranges as we could have if it was clearer day. Stories about the Deoriatal were shared and we sat there in silence for a good few minutes.

It was a good day and we went back to camp. Our dinner was waiting for us and the dinner was so awesome, it was only topped by the dessert. Cant remember the name of it but I remember pineapple was invloved and it felt like out of the world.(it was called Shira, by the way).Shachi promissed ghost stories that night but she didnt deliver. 😂 But she did deliver from Syalmi Camp the next day. Intwresring session that was. Our breifing after dinner gave us an idea of what to expect the next day, our longest trek day of all, to Syalmi. Content with the day, all of us settled down waiting for the next day.

Sleep. 6-7-8.

To Syalmi (Click here)