Before Boots Hit the Trail

My trek to Kanamo Peak began on a lazy evening at home, long before I reached the mountain.

HYROX Delhi was coming up on 25 July 2026, and training for it had kept me from travelling. I was on a career break, and still am as I write this, but my days had narrowed into staying home and getting through hard workouts.

I needed something on the calendar for the other side of that finish line. Something to look forward to when HYROX was over and I no longer had a reason to organize my life around training.

That evening, I opened the Indiahikes website and found Kanamo Peak: the only difficult trek running in August that I had not already done.

The number caught me first: 19,553 feet, just shy of 6,000 metres. My friend Snigdha had often talked about climbing a 6,000-metre peak, and I had never understood the fixation. Would crossing that threshold really change anything? Wasn't every trek interesting in its own way? What was so special about a bigger number?

I had crossed several passes between 15,000 and 16,000 feet, but 19,553 was far beyond anything I had attempted. It felt like a good chance to find out firsthand what those extra few thousand feet actually changed, and how they would make me feel.

I registered in that sudden burst of excitement, then barely thought about Kanamo again until I crossed the HYROX Delhi finish line on 25 July. Three days later, the trek began to feel real.

Five Minutes to Spare

On the morning of 28 July, I was talking to Bharat about my overnight journey to Manali when he mentioned that our common friend Chirag had left his place in Mohali the previous day and was already there in Manali. A quick call revealed an even better coincidence: Chirag was staying at The Hosteller Old Manali, exactly where I planned to stay.

First, I had to survive the day.

Before I could even start packing, I had to visit the bank, buy two trekking poles and a rain cover from Decathlon, print my documents, and get a medical certificate signed. The new gear was necessary because a mule had broken one of my poles during the Bali Pass trek, and the broken pole had torn through my rucksack's rain cover.

Delhi was being drenched all day. I finished the last errand with barely five minutes left before my cab to Kashmiri Gate ISBT. Somehow, I completed everything and still managed to forget the water bottles. An impressive start for a trek where hydration was likely to matter.

The Night Bus to Manali

The overnight journey to Manali was unexpectedly easy. It was the off season, and ours felt like the only bus heading there that night. The fare made it even more improbable: just under ₹500 for a Laxami Holidays Volvo 9600. I had never expected a bus that comfortable to be that cheap.

The bus stopped twice. The first stop came late at night at a dhaba I had visited more times than I could count. It brought back memories of earlier trips and the people with whom I had shared midnight tea there. This time, the dhaba was the same, but I was travelling alone.

The second stop was for breakfast after we crossed Mandi. I had been to that restaurant only once, almost seven years earlier, while travelling for my first trek to Kheerganga. Back then, we were a group of thirteen strangers who had never met before.

The Beas from the morning bus stop, seven years later

I still remembered standing on the balcony, looking across the valley at the Beas. The view was exactly where I had left it. The company, and almost everything else, had changed.

Apart from those two stops, the road stayed quiet. There were no traffic jams, landslides, or heavy rain. The sky remained mostly bright and clear, with brief spells of drizzle that felt pleasant rather than threatening. It was the kind of journey that felt shorter than it was.

Three Cafes a Day

Chirag was waiting at the entrance when I reached The Hosteller. We were meeting after almost six months, having last spent a week skiing together in Gulmarg. I had until 1 August, when I was due to join the Kanamo Peak group at 3 p.m., and we spent those days eating our way through Old Manali. Three or four cafes a day became our routine.

Chirag is vegetarian, which is excellent news when you are hoping not to share your trout. We tried Mediterranean food at Dudu's Falafel, where the falafel and hummus platter was good enough to bring us back a second time. We also visited the German Bakery on Mall Road and wandered into several other cafes. Our first visit to Cafe 1946 landed on the only afternoon it closes during the week, so we returned the next day for coffee.

Working by the stream at Giri's Cafe — Exploring cafes in Manali.

A platter of falafel, hummus, fries, aubergine and salad at Dudu's Falafel — Exploring cafes in Manali.

For balance, or at least my definition of it, I ate freshwater trout three times. Each preparation was different, and each one was excellent.

I also found time to wander through the lively streets of Old Manali up to Manu Temple. I prayed for a safe and successful trek, then joined a volleyball game with people from the village for twenty minutes.

A quiet cedar-lined road from The Hosteller towards Old Manali — Old Manali to Manu Temple.

A narrow Old Manali lane lined with glowing shops and cafes — Old Manali to Manu Temple.

One Loose Plan

Between meals, Chirag and I tried to assemble a plan for the days ahead. Both of us had open calendars. Chirag wanted to explore Zanskar and Jispa while I was on the trek, and we liked the idea of meeting again in Spiti after I returned to Kibber. From there, we could travel home through Shimla. The idea was exciting, but it depended on where Chirag ended up while I was away.

We knew I would be back in Kibber on the morning of 7 August. What we did not know was where Chirag would be by then. So we kept the plan simple: once I had a phone signal again, we would call and decide where to meet.

On the afternoon of 1 August, Chirag and I both checked out of The Hosteller, then met Chandra for lunch at Johnson's Cafe. Chandra was the first person I met from the Kanamo Peak group. The food was delicious, and the cafe had a striking mix of Italian and Turkish character. Before we left, I bought apricot and plum jams from Johnson's Cafe for my trekmates. We later enjoyed both in Kibber.

Italian vibes at Johnson's Cafe — Lunch at Johnson's Cafe.

A quiet corner at Johnson's Cafe — Lunch at Johnson's Cafe.

After lunch, Chirag dropped me at Mall Road. I left with the trekking group for Kanamo, while Chirag continued towards Sissu. Our loose plan for after the trek would have to wait. My rucksack was packed, the group was assembled, and Kanamo was no longer a number on a website. The journey towards the mountain was finally beginning.

Continues in Road to Kibber.