Most people don’t know what goes on before a trekking season begins. Our team conducts a high-stakes recce of every route, often with just a small crew moving at a rapid pace. These recces are critical to assess trail accessibility, identify risk zones, and prepare for sections where technical support might be needed. It’s one of the many ways we ensure safety at high altitudes.
Here’s an unfiltered, behind-the-scenes account from the team in the field. A lot of it might sound casual since it was sent on an informal WhatsApp chat, but it takes a high order of experience and skill to pull off something like this:
Written by Faizan Devdi
Experience Manager, Indiahikes
Yesterday, Trek Leaders Shivam, Yashwant, and I went on a speed hike to Kedartal.
We couldn’t make it to the lake. We had to turn back just 500 metres before it due to extreme weather conditions. We were also running a little late because we hadn’t anticipated how tricky the Spider Wall and the stream crossings would be and ended up spending a lot of time there.
Kedartal is such an underrated trek—seriously. I feel bad for not knowing earlier how raw and thrilling the experience is.
According to our plan, we were supposed to start from Gangotri at 5 in the morning and return to base by 6 in the evening. With this plan, we would’ve covered 24 km and approximately 5,000 ft of elevation gain.
Each section of the trail had an adventure waiting for us. The beginning itself is a steep ascent for about two hours.
I’d only heard about the Spider Wall on this trek. I finally got to witness it yesterday, and what an adventure it was! It completely tested our skills. We tried to navigate the wall for almost 45 minutes. Every step demanded full focus.
There are multiple rockfall zones, too. Thankfully, we were carrying helmets. Miss a sight, and a rock could easily come rolling over your head. Since it was just the three of us, we made sure to cross these sections carefully and look out for each other.
In just one day’s hike, we had to cross the river four times.
The streams weren’t too wide—they were fairly narrow—but the current was strong. A couple of times, we stepped in but had to come right back because the water went above our waists. Eventually, we found the right spots and crossed all sections safely.
And honestly, I’ve never seen such majestic mountain views on an Uttarakhand trek before. I said what I had to say.
There were so many huge mountains, one after the other—almost all of them above 6,000 metres.
On the way, we saw herds of blue sheep—so many of them! They stared at us, looking all confused, while we just got more and more excited seeing them.
The idea behind the speed hike was to do a quick recce since we had limited time. But it was also to push our limits and see where we stand as Trek Leaders. More than anything, it was just about enjoying the trail for what it is.
Even while struggling at the Spider Wall, navigating the streams, and staying alert in rockfall zones, we kept smiling and laughing throughout the day. We shared stories and got to know each other a little better. It gave us space to talk about our trek-leading journeys at Indiahikes and our future aspirations—openly and without judgment.
Despite all the challenges, the trek made us fall in love with trekking a little more.
While we’re a bit sad that we couldn’t make it to the lake, we have no regrets about turning back just 500 metres short—safety comes first.
Proud of Shivam and Yashwant. Both of them showed incredible leadership and outdoor skills yesterday. I was happy to see the amount of knowledge they both have. I personally learnt a lot of things from them.
It’s a story added to our backpack now, and this shall be shared with a lot of pride for years to come.