TheFreeBird
DAY 7 – Last Learning Day & Gaumukh Trek | Mt. Abu
Today was the last day we would learn something new. Today was also special since we were going to check out the SVIM mountaineering museum and then in the evening we were going to go for one of the must do thinngs in Mt Abu Gaumukh trek. Gaumukh trek would be hard on knees since there were some 700 steps to be descended and climbed back up again. We were ready for this big day.
If you missed the first 6 day in Mt. Abu. Read it here
That morning started with a target to set up a fastest time to reach Nakki lake. Being provided a target of 15 minutes I reached in 13 minutes with a bunch of other super athletic guys. We sure came a long way from taking 40 minutes to reach here to completing it under 15 minutes. Kudos !
That morning we were set up to climb the toughest rock patches of 13 A, B, C . Some super monkey spirits from our course climbed it with great ease . However my weight difference with them was outstanding. I was 85 kilos while they at 55-60 kilos. More weight meant more difficulty. I did climb 13 C but then inspite of best efforts slipped from 13 B twice. I bruised my right hand fingers & sprained my left forearm. More importantly it bruised my ego & confidence. Babu Sir however with his unique confidence building measures got me to climb again . Such a great soul . 48 year young and having experience equal to my age, Babu Sir is an athletic & charismatic personality. “ Sirji tussi great ho , Tofu Kabul karlo”
Museum Visit:
SVIM has a museum on its ground floor. I was unaware of this till that day. The museum has all the climbing equipments for rock , snow & ice craft. We had a equipment introduction session and we also got to see some high end equipment which we would probably not see again any time soon.
Gaumukh Trek:
By now our batch strength had reduced from 80 to 60 . Many of the present students were having sprained ankles & sore legs & fingers. For the Gaumukh trek the fittest of the remaining course were chosen so as to complete it quickly and safely as it had some 700 steps to be descended ( easy part ) & climbed back ( not the easy part).
How to reach Gaumukh from Main area of Mt. Abu.
We were lucky to be doing this as part of the course. For those who want to reach the Gaumukh from main market .
Ways to reach:
- If you are fit enough you can walk these 3 kms and then descend 700 steps to reach Gaumukh. Beware you have to climb these back and walk 3 kms again to reach main market
- Take a vehicle from main market. A jeep wont charge much if bargained properly
- Rent a vehicle for the day . Activa is available for Rs 180-250 per day and just fill the petrol for another 100. That should last you through the day.
The Gaumukh temple is dedicated to Saint Vashishtha. The 1000 year old Gaumukh Temple is named after the wish-fulfilling cow gifted to Sage Vashishtha by the Devas, after the famous Samudra Manthan (churning of the ocean). At the temple, a natural spring flows through a cow’s mouth carved in marble stone
Also there is an Agni Kund near by where Saint Vasishtha performed a yagna. This place is really peaceful and scenic.
We started off to the trek with the fittest team possible. And reached there within two hours . The forest is quite dense and filled with lots on monkeys & also expect a rare appearance of bears.
The kund is quite serene with that cold water flowing amidst the whistling winds. Our course really shot the peaceful ambience in the heart with our exhuberant calls for selfies .
I did try to go further down to the temple . . No pics are allowed here hence I did not take any , don’t want to enrage any Godly men. The place is really worth the efforts & the silence is really peaceful.
We started back immediately since the sun was about to set and darkness in such a dense forest can mean many possibilities for wild animals. We huffed & puffed and made to the top from where we enjoyed the sunset & moved further towards the institute singing the choicest of songs.
Lights off.
DAY 8 – Practice / Photo Day
The official photography day overlaps with the last practice day before the test the following day. I got so busy taking pics of others that I barely got any good pics of myself. This has always been the case where I take perfect pictures of others , while others take the shitiest possible pics of me
Anycase I reattempted rock 14 & 15 successfully. After that Shashi sir asked me to climb 31 which I did. But that brought back the sprain in my left hand from yesterdays fall. With that I called it a day in climbing and just focussed on climbing simpler rock 13 D only for the sake of getting good pics.
Back in the afternoon ropes were set up for rappelling and photo shoot \m/. This time I was well prepared for pictures & got tons of them in various poses of rappelling. I tried american side & stomach rappelling again & again for the best shot
Rage Rage against the dying of the light
Also Babu Sir agreed with us in setting up rope at a new rock which we had not been to before. Rock 1 was set up for long sling rappelling which was highest rock available with a steep drop. This made for some extra adrenaline pump & some terrific pics & vids.
That night after all the dust has settled I sat down to write the pending diary for last 4-5 days. People slept at 2200 hours & I was still writing my diary till midnight. Long live the head torch
The last 2 days in Mt. Abu were exciting as we had exam the next day and then we ventured to see Anchalgarh, Gurushikhar, Adhardevi ( abhuda Devi ), Redeemer….
Read about it the next blog.
Day 1 to 6 | Day 7 & 8 | Exam Day | Roaming Around Mt. Abu
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