Valley of Flowers, Uttaranchal

Epilogue, gear notes and other geeky stuff

A lot of thought and preparation has gone in to create the images you see here. This trip was planned from a photography point of view right from day 1. I always knew that the trek would be physically demanding, so I planned around it. Luckily in the age of e-commerce, it is no longer difficult to access tried and tested gear. Real world feedback from genuine users means that you can know what to expect from your investment. Some of you may be interested in knowing what gear I used on this trip. I’ll list them here, along with a short explanation.

Camera Gear

I used the following camera equipment on this trip:

• Canon EOS 5D Mark II – The best camera body I have used till date. Full frame and full of awesomeness. When coupled with the right lenses, the images out of this baby are top class.
• Canon EF 100mm F2.8L USM Macro with Hybrid IS – My first field trip with this lens. Replaces my 100mm non-IS macro lens. The old one set a pretty high standard. This one raises it higher.
• Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0 L IS USM – My tried and trusted go-to travel lens. Works great for everything from macros to portraits. L-sweetness and versatility in a package which no other lens can beat.
• Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM – The wide-angle miracle worker that every landscape photographer trusts.

I carried all this, along with my 580EX II and ETs and 35mm f/2 in a new Clik Elite Nature medium backpack. I took the plunge and invested in this camera backpack just before the trip, after owning several others previously. The Clik Elite really belongs to an elite class of packs – a rare breed of a camera backpacks made exclusively for hiking. Featuring a highly technical support system and a hydration sleeve, this backpack not only held my gear safely, but also made it easy for me to trek with a full load of camera gear and other personal stuff like a raincoat, fleece jacket, snacks etc.  It comes with a built in rain cover and has as many pockets as I need. I was so pleased with Clik Elite’s quality that after the trek I went ahead and purchased their chestpack to compliment the Nature Medium. Camera support was the Benro C-269 Travel Angel Carbon Fiber Tripod with J-1 head which has seen quite a lot of action in the field. I used a cheap plastic rain cover which was completely destroyed after 4 days of abuse. My field backup strategy was a Creative Zen Vision W which unfortunately gave me problems because I had forgotten to format it using a computer before the trip. Failing to have a backup device, I had to control my shooting.

Clothing and accessories

Previous treks in the Himalayan region have taught me a thing or two about using the right footwear and clothing in the outdoors. I made new additions to my hiking kit before the VoF trek and they all performed great.

• Raincoat – The North Face Venture. Waterproof for the rains, and breathable to allow perspiration to evaporate. Lightweight and  packs into itself. Loved it!
• Warm clothing – Fleece jacket and beanie cap from Decathlon. Gloves from Lowepro (which I hardly used) and a multipurpose cotton shemag.
• Footwear – My year old gore-tex waterproof and breathable hiking boots from Adidas. Hiking socks from Decathlon and Woolmax.
• Hydration  – A Platypus water bottle and a Steripen Classic hand held water purifier.  None of us fell sick during the entire trip so the Steripen most probably did its job . We always sterilized water before consumption, and trust me – water after Joshimath is horribly impure.
• Timekeeping – My year old Decathlon MW 600 watch. Incidentally, this was the only thing that didn’t perform. The watch was supposed to measure altitude and predict weather, but it totally failed. I returned the watch once back in Bangalore and got a refund.

In spite of all this preparedness, I was not oblivious to the fact that many others on this trek barely paid attention to clothing and footwear. It was not uncommon to see sikhs on the Govindghat-Ghangaria route walking with hawaii chappals, and wearing no protective rain gear. Nothing beats the advantage of having a good immune system and being physically strong. This is can be achieved only by practice. Physical conditioning is a challenge for most city slickers, and doubly difficult for those in the IT field. Relatively speaking, the VoF trek was not very physically challenging. Also, we were never too far from a petty shop selling essentials like snacks and water. The abundance of porters meant that we had a choice of doing this trek in utmost luxury. We were almost always walking on clearly marked routes and were in the company of other travelers to get inspired by, or give inspiration to. Electricity to charge all our gadgets was also not a problem at Ghangaria. Speaking of which, I am unable to fathom how the first settlers at Ghangaria would have transported generators up the mountains!

All through the trek, we were reminded of the need for emergency medical services, but did not find any. There were no hospitals or emergency rescue teams. The presence of a military base in Ghangaria was reassuring. Various locals had mentioned that pilgrims dying while climbing up to Hemkund was not uncommon. The route is treacherous, with the thin air and high altitude adding to the risk. I cannot think of any other Indian hiking route that is any better, so I suppose here in our country your fate is entirely your problem.