TheFreeBird
Stok Kangri Trek Blog
Trek Day 1 | To Chang Ma | 5.5 kms | 3500m to 3988m
Sleep continued to play hide and seek. Woke up at 0300 after 3 hrs of sleep. Counted a million sheep , still was unable to sleep. Got another 2 hrs of sleep and woke up at 0600.
Kept the excess stuff at the hotel and my sleepless ass got in the vehicle taking us to the Stok Kangri base village. On the way to the Stok base village, there were huge posters welcoming his holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet. Thousands of people, many dressed in the finest attires holding traditional scarves, flowers and incense, lined the road.
Our trek was blessed by Dalai Lama’s presence !
Further blessings were received from the huge Buddha idol at the base Stok village. I was only able to get a glimpse of it.
The Stok village looks beautiful with small yellow flowers all over the place & huge high trees (without any branches). The beautiful magpie birds embellish the view even further. At the base location the other group of trekkers joined us taking out strength to 21.The mules looked sad on our arrival, yet another tough day for them 😀
After a small round of briefing and some refreshments we started towards our first campsite, Chang Ma . The elevation difference would be from 3500m to 3988m. The elevation would be achieved by walking 5.5 kms. I hoped that acclimatization wont hit me in the face.
The bag I packed was above 10Kg+ . I am sure it was the heaviest in the group. People were walking light with their main bags on mules. But I have my own trekkers oath, “ I am a trekker – I will carry my own stuff – I wont dirty the surroundings “
The bag should have been lighter. But I had not learned my lesson from Chadar trek, where I had carried an equally heavy bag. Anyways, the bag was properly packed and weight was properly distributed. I tightened the shoulder belt and the waist belt .I was good to go.
Bro Tip
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The waist/hip belt is very critical to any trek, please adjust it as tight as possible. The shoulder belts are just the holders and should not be actually carrying all the weight. Most of the weight should be directed through the hip belts
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Carry only the required stuff. The weight of non-essentials tend to feel heavier with the height physically and psychologically.
I was my usual energetic self and went trigger happy.
The start was fairly normal and was just a plain walk with a heavy bag. After a while we entered a completely barren area.
Soon enough we reached the first climb of our trek, a steep hill. It looked like a strenuous climb. As the height increased the walking become tougher. The breath was going haywire and had to stop to control it. It was a good chance to take pics . Slowly and steadily we reached the top and heaved a huge sigh of relief.
Add Video for slowly climbing the hill
From the top of that hillock , I could see a track which went by the river used by the mules, which made this hill climb unnecessary. A quick question revealed that this was done for proper acclimatization. I had no further questions. Whatever it takes man.
After a quick stop we restarted. The first day of walk with all that heat definitely took its toll on everyone. So it was not a doubt that after we decided to stop the next time we were very happy.
Had an ORS while we were waiting in the tree’s shadow. Felt much better & started towards the camp with a new surge of energy.
Soon enough the first glimpses of the Changma camp become visible. Also visible were the unique rocks , which resembled the serrated fins on the back of a dinosaur/Godzilla. I termed them as Godzilla rocks
Reached the campsite at around 1500 hrs. On removing my rucksack I felt like 50kilos lighter. Well a lot lighter. And finally the first pics for the trek with the Godzilla Rocks.:P
We headed to the Changma Café (A permanent tent is set up) where we had tea. The First day trek was completed with little huffing and puffing.
At the campsite , the guides had an elaborate planning to screw us further :P. We had some stretching exercises followed by the strength gaining exercise. We were made to stand, then asked to touch the ground with our hands forming a cave of sorts and all of us had to pass through it crawling . I am not sure if it helped in improving our strength but definitely bruised our hands and the egos of those who couldn’t 😛
Lunch was served at around 1600 hrs with dal ,rice & veggies. I was hungry as hell, but just couldn’t eat much. I had lost appetite for the normal food. Wierd.
After the lunch , we set up the tents. Kartik, Hardik and myself shared a 3 person tent. After the tent were set up, we just huddled up and discussed stuff. Got to know each other better.
Acclimatisation walk
Went to a near by hill for our acclimatisation walk ( this would be the same route we traverse tomorrow to reach the next camp).
Even without any bags the task seemed daunting. Huffing and puffing I made my way to the top. The view is a sight for sore eyes.
From this height the chang ma camp appeared as ants. We are a mere blip in the scheme of larger things
Came back , the first of the oxymeter test. i aced it at 86.
At 1800 hrs soup was served, the tastiest soup ever. I guzzled down 3-4 bowls. Felt better.Much Better. Dinner was announced at 1915 hrs.In the mean time few of us decided to do something adventurous and take a dip in the cold water stream. Settled for a feet wash instead.
The water was ice cold, but the therapy was refreshing nonetheless. Dinner had hot shevaiya( sweet noodles), daal, mix vegetable, chapatti. The hot sweet was making the cold weather wither away. It was only 2000 hrs, people were off to sleep. How the hell am i supposed to sleep at freaking 8 oclock at night, its almost evening.
The tent was cramped with 3 of us. While others slept like dead logs I was awake as an owl.
2 hrs passed by i was still up. A wild horse neighed loudly waking up everyone. I wondered whether a wild horse would come running at us. Nothing happened.
Hardik went for a pee break. Coming back to the tent , the inner tent chain gave up. The cold winds now entered the tent carefree. Turned out that’s what i needed, i slept almost immediately.
Woke up at 0200 hrs.I couldn’t sleep .I listened to the soothing sound of the flowing water, the rain drops and the silence in my mind.
Couldn’t sleep , hence wrote a blog update at 0303 hrs. Slept after a brief blog update, woke up at 0500 hrs, tried sleeping again , woke up at 0645. Thats it for my sleep quota.
Good one man…
Thnx man
Awesome Niraj! Sounds like a great experience. And knowing how tough you are, this sounds way too tough for folks like me.
Hey Swati, it’s a brilliant trek.
Its a difficult trek owing to the lack of oxygen.
Real test of your mettle.
YOu can definitely try with the a fit body and motivated mind. 🙂
Loved it! Hope to be able to add my own spin to your story soon! 🙂
Sup Susan,
Good to see your interest.
I hope to put up your Roopkund trek soon 😛 😀
you’re really a good blogger. you’ve done a wonderful job about this tough trek!
Thnx a lot Shelly.
Hope this provides you good insight
Hello Free Bird!
I would like to know how is it like for a smoker to attempt this trek?
Thanks
Hey Aakarsh,
First i would like to say that NEVER EVER has smoking done anyone any good.
Breathing is always a problem at high altitude for a healthy person. Smoking can only make it worse.
I would recommend that if any smoker wants to sucessfully summit this 20000ft monster, its better to stop smoking all together atleast two months before the trek
The sun shines, the wind speaks and the bird is off to another adventure..
Hope u enjoyed the blog NiTiN 🙂
Awesome bro … Keep it up 🙂
thnx man
Great account. Planning to do this summer 2017.
Who was your outfitter and would you recommend them or key things to ask while negotiating a guide/outfitter? and how much did it cost?
Hello Vikas,
The things you would like to check before confirming any organiser is
1) whether they would be organising it themselves or sub-contracting.
2) what would be the batch size of the trek . Smaller the group , merrier the trek.
3) I had selected an organiser who had sub contracted to the local guys.
4) Also need to check on the expenditures incurred if one decides to return back from the trek in between.These costs are mostly not mentioend anywhere on any organisers site
You can go ahead with any trusted organisation. However i believe that the real fun in doing such a trek is with the local agencies.
Once u book the seat, just get your stamina to the mark & carry lots of dry fruits with you. Drink plenty of water
Hope this is useful.
Cheers
Outstanding description of the trek..!!! Congratulations..!!! Brought back memories of my stok kangri trek..
Can you share the name of treking agency that you in this case.
So glad you could relive your glory moments. The batch size of only 3 people turned up for our organiser , hence our group was merged with a bigger group from local organiser. To mention there name would be unfair given the small size of our group. what happens on the trek stays within the trek 😛
This is very interesting, You’re a very skilled blogger.
I’ve joined your feed and look forward to seeking more of your
magnificent post. Also, I’ve shared your website in my social
networks!
thats one hell of a description of the stok kangri trek. It was like a virtual tour for me..pretty insightful and informative…I am planning for stok kangri summit in august 2017. wish me luck TheFreeBird. 🙂
Any more Bro (not literally :P) Tips would be highly appreciated. TIA…
Sorry for the delayed response, i was out of network reach (in Goa and loving it).
I really appreciate your comments. The sleepless nights does help you jot down the nuances of the trek.
I have tried to put in all tips i could personally think of.
Just stay mentally strong, carry enough quick energy food & lots of water. Try to get as much sleep as possible on summit rest day.
May the force be with you. Godspeed. \m/
Heyy Freebird,I am planning Stok Kangri trek this year. Your blog is most helpful so far!!
Had few questions
1)Was walking stick was really helpful throughout the trek?
2)If I am not wrong 8 of 23 people summitted. So what were the preparations done by other members who completed trek with much ease?
Thanks for your kind words.Sorry for the late reply, was on the move.
1)The height does take a toll on your body/stamina. You can breeze past the first two camps without the need of a walking stick. However after that at the last part of reaching the base camp and then onwards to the summit the walking stick does come in very handy. Not necessarily as an aid for walking , but as an extra support for your tired body. During the glacial climb , it is of utmost importance.
2)No one completed the trek with ease. Every one had to put in lot of efforts. A fit body and a strong mind is very much a necessity.
With thanks, Plenty of advice.
I really like your blog.. very nice pics. Did you create this website yourself or did you hire someone to do it for you ? kudos
Thanks for your kind words. i did create it my self
Superb blog, the incessant headache, heavy backpack and early morning ascend reminds of my trek to roopkund.!! Stok-Kangri has been on my mind for quite some time now….your blog just gave it a push!!
Thnx Devyani. Go summit. Best of Luck \m/
I loved n inspired by ur blog…awesme.
Wish to be a mountaineer nd nature lvr.
Lyk as u😊😊
Thanks Dinesh for the kind words 🙂
Many thanks for an awesome blog…. definitely motivated me. I’ve booked to do the trek in August this year, so looking forward to it. My highest altitude climb was Everest Base. Regards from South africa
Thanks a lot Sushie for your kind words. Having done EBC trek, I am confident that you will summit Stok Kangri pretty easily.
Best Of Luck \m/
Awesome blog buddy. Felt as if I was along with you all the way in the trek. Kudos to your NIMAS vlog as well, which is what brought me here. Looking forward to more such blogs and vlogs. Cheers.
Thanks Dhairya for such motivating words \m/
Hopefully the adventures will continue.
Hi!
Lovely blog with tons of info.
Pls can you advise if we will need crampons for our Stok Kangri trek in July end?
Thanks!
Hey Anand,
Thanks a lots for your kind words. You will require crampons from the glacier.
Cheers
Hey,
Nice pictures and details.
I also did it and it was amazing!
Hello Gan,
Thanks for your kind words. It was good to read about your experience too.
Keep Climbing,
Cheers
I HAVE DONE 3 TREKS IN PAST 10 YEARS BACK IN HIMALAYA RANGES (PABBAR VALLEY, PANCHACHULI &PUNWALI BUGYAL). I M GOING FOR STOK KANGARI TREK THIS JULY AND ONLY WORRY FOR MY SINUS PROBLEM . I M TRYING TO DO ALL REMEDIES FOR IT. I HAVE CHECK MY FITNESS LEVEL NOT THAT BAD CAN RUN ON TREDMILL FOR 20 MIN COVERING 3 KM. CAN DO CRUNCHES 3SET OF 15 REP . WEIGHT SQAUTS TOTAL WEIGHT UPTO 25 2 SET 8-9 REP AND WITH LESSER WAIT AROUNF 10 -15 4-5 SETS OF 10-12 REP . FOLLOW OTHER GROUP EXERCISE REGULARLY. NEED YOUR SUGGESTION I M WORREID AS I M GETTING ON TREK AFTER 10YEARS AND THIS COLD COUGH SINUS ISSUE.
Hello Ashish,
Sorry for the late reply, I was out on a trek.i think you are on the right path towards fitness.
For the breathing part I suggest you immediately start with yoga – anulom vinulom and omkara. You might want to add other breathing exercises as well.
To combat breathing issues, you can add climbing floors to your training regime. Start with a 10 kilo backpack for 5 floors and gradually increase resistance.
Hope that helps.
Cheers
thank you bro
Awesome dude… Reminds me of my time in first week of August 2017. Julay!!!
Thanks man. Glad it bought back memories. Keep exploring. Cheers 🙂
बहुत ही सुंदर वर्णन । आपकी हिम्मत और मनोबल को सलाम 👏
Thanks Pragna 🙂
In response to Stok Kangri’s rapid degradation, the Stok Village Committee and ALTOA (All Ladakh Tour Operators’ Association) have announced a three-year ban on trekking and climbing on Stok Kangri peak. Stok Kangri will remain closed from 2020 to 2022