Wikipedia Treks Madhyamaheshwar/Report

Wikipedia Treks Madhyamaheshwar event was completed successfully on 20th October, 2014. The full report of the event is provided below.

Cost

• Whether asked for sponsorship from Wikimedia India Chapter - Not done, event was self funded.
• Total cost (Travel + Accomodation + Food) - approx. 3,500 /- only per head

Participants

Six trekkers attended the event. The names are listed below.

1. Sumita Roy - The first Bengali lady who successfully completed Trans Himalayan expedition in 1997, Resident of New Delhi
2. Goutam Dutta - Resident of New Delhi
3. Bodhisattwa Mandal - Organizer of the event, Active in Bengali Wikipedia, Resident of Sarbari More, Purulia, West Bengal
4. Uttam Dutta - Teacher, Resident of Bankura, West Bengal
5. Debasri Rakshit - Teacher, Resident of Khatra, [[Bankura, West Bengal
6. Jhinuk Kar - Teacher, Resident of Bankura, West Bengal

Travel

Bodhisattwa Mandal, Uttam Dutta, Debasri Rakshit and Jhinuk Kar assembled at Asansol Railway Station at around 2 pm on 14th October, 2014 and boarded on Upasana Express at 3:30 pm, which took nearly 26 hours to reach Haridwar Railway Station. A room was booked at Marwari Kali Kamli Dharmashram near the station. Sumita Roy and Gautam Dutta boarded on Jansatabdi Express from New Delhi Railway Station at around 4 pm on 15th October and reached Haridwar at around 8 pm. The duo reached the Dharmashram room, where team members met with each other, briefed about the trek and luggage were repacked and checked for the last time according to the plan. Next day, at around 4 am, a vehicle was hired to reach Rishikesh, where another vehicle was shared to reach Rudraprayag. At Rudraprayag, another vehicle was hired to reach Ukhimath from wher another vehicle was shared to reach the village of Ransi. The team reached Ransi at around 3 pm.

Trek

The 7 kilometer trek from Ransi to Gaundar started just after leaving the vehicle. It was a gradual descent followed by steep trek at the end. The team reached Gaundar around 6 pm where a room was booked for the night. Here, unnecessary luggage of all the team were relieved and useful luggage were shared into two rucksacks. Next day, after breakfast, the team started for the 10 kilometer trek to Madhyamaheshwar. It was a picterusque trail from where the high peaks of Himalayas like Mandani were viewed clearly. The team reached Madhyamaheshwar at around 3 pm, where a room was booked for the night. Surrounding areas were explored and photographed. The evening Arati ceremony of Madhyamaheshwar Shiva was attended. Next day at around 4:30 am, ascend to Buda Madhyamaheshwar top was attempted. Panoramic view of Mount Chaukhamba, Mount Mandani, Mount Bishali, Mount Sumeru, Mount Kedarnath and other unnamed peaks were photographed. After the return to Madhyamaheshwar, the team attende d the Puja ceremony of Madhyamaheshwar Shiva and prepared for their return to Gaundar at 10 am. Gaundar was reached at 3 pm. Next day, Ransu was reached where Rakeshwari Temple was photographed hastily and vehicle was shared to reach Ukhimath.

Weather

Weather was sunny and comfortable. Temperature was around -5 degree centigrade at Madhyamaheshwar.

Success

• Second Wikipedia Treks Mountains event was organised successfully after successful completion of the first event of Wikipedia Treks Sammed Sikhar.
• Selected Photographs of Madhyamaheshwar temple; Rakeshwari Temple at Ransi; Mount Mandani, Mount Chaukhamba I,II,III, Mount Bishali, Mount Sumeru and other unnamed high peaks of Himalaya; Madhyamaheshari Ganga, Confluence of Madhyamaheshwari and Markandeya Ganga; Waterfall at Gaundar and other landscapes of the region has been uploaded to Wikimedia Commons.
• 3 teachers from Bankura, who were first in the Himalayas, enjoyed both the 42 kilometre trek and photographic event despite physical fatigue. Experienced members encouraged them during the trek, packed their luggage and even shared and carried them when they couldnt. Their childish and hearty joy was a big success to the team. :-)

Failure

• More photos of Rakeshwari Temple at Ransi should have been taken, but due to availability of very few vehicles, few photographs were taken hastily.
• Interor of Madhyamaheshwari Temple could not be photographed as it was not allowed to do so.