I started in McLeod Ganj, the part of Dharamsala where the Tibetan stuff and our monastery are, which is at 2,082m (6,831ft). Triund is at 2,875, or 9,432ft. So this was going to be a whole lotta climbin’.
The first 50 minutes or so of the trail was pretty uneventful. It was uphill, but wide paths. Aside from the scenery, it was similar to any State Park trail in the US. I did eventually see some 4-wheelers on this path, which helps explain how the shops along the way get supplied. This part of the trail was pretty obvious in its layout. You couldn’t get lost. So when I passed two Americans who had come with a guide, I briefly considered slowing down and keeping them in sight, but I figured that would only slow me down. The two women were middle-aged, and I figured I had to go faster than them to make good time. Famous last words.
After about 50 minutes of this winding uphill, I got to a temple, café, rest house, and general clearing. The café was called "Rest a While." I wasn’t much in the mood for rest yet, so I took some photos and trudged on. Soon after this I hit the only confusing part of the trail, and I chose wrong. Compare these two photos, and tell me which you think is the right way (no markings):
I came from the left, on this shot:
This was what was staring at me, the alternative to winding back up the hill on that path:
I chose to wind back up the hill. While this did result in some cool photography, it also resulted in me walking along increasingly bootleg paths, without a soul in sight, such as this:
I was having my doubts about this detour being the right path, but just when I considered returning to Rest a While, I started seeing some odd trash. Unlike most of India, there wasn’t much trash in Dharamsala. So when I saw mostly-empty water bottles sitting around, I assumed they were some sort of trail market. Note that I had seen no trail markings at this point–there had been no need early on. So I assumed this was just some sort of "you’re in the right place, people have been here" sort of deal. Wrong.
Eventually this path wound back on itself. Most things looked the same, but when I recognized the same bottle of AquaFina that I’d seen earlier, I knew I was in trouble. And that’s when it dawned on me: these mostly empty water bottles weren’t trail markers, and they certainly weren’t trash. They were last-ditch provisions for lost hikers, and I was a lost hiker.
This was definitely a reality check moment. I still had plenty of water, and it was daylight, but I was still in the middle of the Himalayas, off the trail, and on some pretty sketchy territory. Fortunately, I was still able to easily retrace my steps back to Rest a While, and as luck would have it, I saw a hiker coming down the path I should have taken as I approached it. This put me back on my way, albeit another hour and a half in the hole. The timing wasn’t a big deal, though, since I was making good time. I would have about an hour at the top, eventually, and that would be enough.
The rest of the trail was fairly clean and well-marked, but it got tougher and tougher as I went on. I had over 800m to climb, upwards. That’s a lot of work. The scenery was beautiful along the way (see the Flickr stream), which helped, but all of this combined with the already high altitude made this a tough hike towards the end. The path was basically stretches of slope followed by stretches of steps, and as I got closer to the end, it became all steps. But this was all worth it when I hit the top. The last stretch is walking straight up the last hill. At this point, all of the mountain tips are blocked. All you see is hill. But then you crest, and it just all opens up into this:
At the top, there were more shops. One was cooking rice and daal, and I partook. There were also a bunch of dogs, as well as hippies singing various songs. Note the video on flickr of them ad-libbing a verse to Don’t Worry, Be Happy.
It would be dark by 6:00, and although the trip down would be much quicker, I set out at 3:30. I got back to Rest a While at 5:00, and ran into an Israeli named Alon, who had two dogs with him. They weren’t his. They’d just followed him down from the top. When we made it back to Dharamkot, the village at the start of the trail, one dog was still with us (the other had fallen behind and joined another group). When we got to the end of the trail, three local dogs were waiting, and instantly recognized our dog as an outsider. They didn’t just bark, though–they chased after this mountain dog. He sidestepped and bolted into town, chased at full speed by the three local dogs. That’s the last I saw of him. I figure he probably owed the other dogs money,
and had been hiding out on the mountain all summer. Either that or he just really stunk.
If anyone’s found this page as a result of searching for more info in the Triund hike, drop me a line. I found a dearth of reliable info online, and I’d be happy to answer anybody’s questions.
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