Day 2: Agoda (2200 m) – Manjhi (2900 m)
3 Nov 2025
Despite the thick duvets, I only managed a so-so night of sleep. In fact, throughout the trek days this was to be the story of my life. And Vinay’s too – we exchanged notes on poor sleep patterns.
The call for morning lemon tea came at 6:40, despite being told it would be at 7:00. Only Ak and I were surprised – years in the Netherlands have made us forget how approximate Indian timings can be.
We all trooped down for breakfast, another elaborate spread: poha with mixed vegetables (healthy enough, though nothing can beat a proper Maharashtrian kanda poha for taste), dalia porridge with almonds, cashews and raisins, masala omelette and toast, regular milk tea. What struck me was how well-balanced every meal on the trek was – solid macros, plenty of micronutrients. Ashok says this is standard for most organized treks.
Vinay had brought a water purifier called “Medi-chlor” – a small bottle from which you add a few drops into your bottles of water to make it safe(r) for drinking. We brought down our big backpacks ready for the ponies, and we set off with our lunch packets and water in our day sacks.
This day is supposed to be a tough day with a 800 m net ascent. In reality, thanks to the up and down terrain, the cumulative ascent was more like 1600 m (according to my watch – link to my Garmin tracked activity).
Pawan was our guide, and he did a great job encouraging all of us, and throughout with realistic predictions of how long we would take to do each day’s hike. For the 6 of us to hike, we had a support crew of 6(!) and 3 “ponies” which I’m fairly sure were actually mules – they ran amok at the campsites, eating up the washing soap and braying.
The mountain path rose and dipped in gentle waves, starting with a climb out of Agoda, crossing different streams, all tributaries of the Assi Ganga river – literally “Eighty Ganga,” named for the many feeders that join it.
A beautiful black dog joined us at the start and stayed with us all the way – right till the end of the trek four days later. She kept getting underfoot, so Ak wanted to give her an annoying name. All I could come up with were “Bhairavi” (promptly rejected by Ak) and “Boo.” At Manjhi camp we learned her actual name was Nikki – but she did not respond to any name anyway.
After about an hour and 2 km in, we stopped at a chai shop for a rest – last point of civilization. Next was lunch stop at a shelter in another 1.5 hrs. I ate the banana and drank the Frooti but could not eat the packed rice – Nikki-boo ate many of our portions of rice.
We made it to the Manjhi campsite in about 5 hrs. We all fell on the slope and dozed in the sun while the crew were busy putting up the tents. Didn’t realize it while walking, but I think I overdid the pace, as I had a bit of a headache when we reached. As a result, I sadly had to miss the sinfully oily (nausea invoking!) potato bajjis the camp cook had provided.
Luckily a paracetamol and a nap fixed my headache, and I could eat dinner.
Dinner was another balanced meal (for me roti, sabji, dal, plus vermicelli kheer dessert).
They got a campfire going, which we gratefully crowded around before and after dinner, conversation flowing quite easily, even without alcohol 😉 At Manjhi camp the rising moon was a bit hidden by the tall pines, not the best view. We were promised a better view of the skies from Dodi tal camp tomorrow. Everyone turned in early.
