With around 16 days off, Karthik made up a plan to trek Bhabha pass and Pin Parvati Pass. My initial reaction was a mix of enthusiastic yes and an unenthusiastic yes. With a long break in hand, I would have loved to attempt a peak (some 6000er would have been possible), but just the idea to go to the himalayas brought about the enthusiasm. I was into the plan though would have considered an amendment in favour of a peak any moment. But the plan remained intact.
All of the planning was carried out by Karthik and for the first time that I had completely ignored the planning. I was unaware of the altitudes or the location on a map for a long time. It seemed that the plan laid out was pretty ambitious. Karthik would be trekking in the Himalayas for the first time though his knowledge based on experience of others is vast. He was aware of AMS but had ignored it in his plans. Later during the trek I was questioned as to why I did not point the 1000m climbs. I somehow avoided the answer and did not mention that I hadn't paid much attention to many other details as well. In the last week preceding the trek, the ration and many other supplies were managed. I had repeatedly mentioned matchsticks and lighter which always marks a significant role.
Most of the logistics like the stove and fuel and the corresponding trials were also carried out by the planning mate who notified the details regularly. Possibly the trust on his plans was so high that I usually was least concerned except for the matchsticks and the lighter.
We made are departure and towards one of the last villages en route the matchsticks were picked up. I was relieved there after.
Day0:
Kafnu
I wanted to camp a certain distance from the village and so we just marched. I saw a campsite near by but my buddy had gained momentum marching and we carried on. The night was about to fall and I was some how not worried. There were orchards... apple orchards and farm huts at sight almost througout. We could have crashed in at any place. While Karthik marched with his heavy pack and determination, I was swayed away by tempting apples. I showed immense self control and did not pluck a single apple. Just after around a couple of kms of walk, Karthik shows me a prospective camping site- just besides an orchard. I agreed. Not because it was besides the orchard but we had to camp somewhere and it seemed a perfect place. Stream near by and apples near by... and perhaps it was flat and soft too. The tent was pitched and stove was ready to prepare the dinner. While the dinner was in preparation, I went for a pee towards the orchard and was seduced by the apples. This is when I reached up to the apples and took some of them. Firm, hard, crisp and sweet. By the time I left the campsite, I had plucked about 13 apples... some carried over to future camps.
Day1:
With a plan for 2 weeks plus and with a safety freak planning guy, we were high on ration. Also, self sustaining for two weeks had made the back packs pretty heavy. This was the only camp where the weight of the bags increased-the apples.
Though on a start it wasn't a problem. The low altitude, and the trees were helpful. The trail was almost prominent except for a section where we climbed and a section where I some difficulty with a bag in front as well. The path through the shrubs and trees presented a glance of a civet cat and a pica. The complete route on this day was diversely scenic. The valleys suddenly opening up for a new view to the forests. The climbs were gentle through out. We hadn't walked for long but then there was a campsite which made us stop just for the charm it had - Mulling.
In the evening after our lunch cum dinner, we took a hike as an acclimatization trek which revealed Karthik's first experience with mild AMS : headaches which he wasn't certain if it was AMS. He seemed disappointed for not having reached the day's target site though both were pleased to be at Mulling. There was a shepherd's hut near by which could have helped as a survival shelter. This was the first time we wanted to cross the river and get on the other side. The attempt was a weak one and I instantly gave up after putting my foot in the cold water. I could not have endured it through out the river- so I thought. The night was a comfortable one. We had a flat and soft ground below and it wasn't very cold either. Next morning however seemed tough. Hydration was important and we had to drink the cold water. Karthik moved to the shepherd hut with the stove for breakfast and claimed that he had misplaced the matchstick! After a while, all ready for breakfast I went into the hut. The pressure cooker did not open and there was force used to create the blast. Fortunately my cook was fine but the bfast was gone. We scavenged through whatever little was left in the cooker and left for Kara.
Day2:
Acquiring some matchsticks
The walk to Kara was relaxed except for the heavy backpacks and hunger everything seemed comfortable. On the way we met a shepherd from whom we acquired some matchsticks. Kara had some shepherds but I was reluctant to camp anywhere near to them. The place had less of mud and grass and more of goat shit. Now we were to cross a stream that we could have crossed the next morning under much less flow had we camped with the shepherds. Removed my shoes and put them a top my rucksack. I made the first attempt to cross the river and a few steps inside felt the pain. Turned around and came up to the bank to take a breath of courage. This time i thought I would speed up the process but that seemed like a bad option. We crossed many branches of the stream one after the other to reach a small flat patch of land where we could halt for the night. It was too windy and a good place to wash and dry clothes.
The acclimatization trek as planned was to reach up to a possible glacier field which seemed like a source of the tributary of satluj. Failing to reach the target though it was a wonderful area to run.. soft ground... pasteurs and hilly terrain. I could not run much as the oxygen levels had turned low. Karthik did express his disappointment over the speed of the trek though nothing could be done, though I was happy at the eased out pace.
On the return there was pasta that I made and the guy next to me loved it. This was the only time we had 2 lunches or to say a lunch and a dinner separately but then there was a scarcity felt during the breakfast.
The night sky showed a very prominent milkyway and far too many stars. Karthik's first time at that altitude also made it his first time under a sky with that many visible stars. I got some astronomy gyan which I hope to retain.
Day3:
The landscape gradually was losing the green content though there were many small flowers enroute. The trail remained prominent till the end though there were guesses where to have the camp site. Finally I chose for a flat land some distance ahead and felt pleased at my decision. It was the site I loved and were about to spend 4 nights there until a sudden decision on my end made it to 3 nights.
This campsite, Mushtirang, was just next to Bhabha pass. And if I were alone, I would have ignored it. It seemed a vertical scree slope but the GPS maniac buddy I had looked up from his GPS and confidently spoke of that feature to be crossed. I caught him staring the slope many times and on many of the occasions, he also asked how we would cross it. I was expecting some tough stretches on that path and decided to better acclimatize than to attempt it directly. It was a wise decision. The evening saw us follow the routine acclimatization trek to the valley I admired and named it as Kashyap Valley :)
Plans for next day hike came in and it was a chance to break away from schedule and get over some peak and check the views around. The GPS maniac pulled out the GPS and started mentioning the heights of the peaks. The next morning we still went with a vague plan that changed and a different path was taken.
The height gain was comfortable and the weather supported us. It was essentially sunny throughout and we reached close to 4900m which was the altitude of Bhabha pass. It was a great confidence booster for Karthik. The peak was missed out but the views were spectacular from the place. It showed us some more peaks far away. Both of us felt comfortable at the altitude- without load.
Reaching back at the camp after a long downhill and a sense of confidence for the following day, we spotted some furry black animals on a far away slope- must be yaks but they seemed too rounded. Were they bears?
After we reached the camp, thing on priority was to prepare dinner. As we prepared we saw the black animals and their coexistence meant they were Yaks- around 5-6 together. Soon as we engaged in our activities, we lost sight of them. I tried looking around and they seemed heading back towards their home. Surprisingly, we hadn't spotted any shepherd in the Kashyap Valley though their were some shelters that could be used. Dinner was ready and I was hungry. Karthik let me eat some Kaju sparingly. He was saving it for Pin Parvati Pass- higher altitude. The black animals came running heading in our direction. Some of them looked huge and aggresively fast. They were kicking with their hind legs while they ran. Bisons by any chance? They looked like Yaks. I grabbed the ice axe and asked Karthik to get one too. They slowed down near our camp and I charged towards them trying to appear wild. While I managed to scare them off, one of them turned around which brought a sudden shock to me and that in return scared it again. The Yaks were successfully chased till quite some distance. I felt relieved and brave to chase away an aggressive group of Yaks. It seemed as an accomplishment that I could not relish for long. The group returned and seemed even more fierce. They seemed to be attacking for no reason. I hoped they did not crush our tents or us. We were face to face when I admitted to my buddy: " I have no clue what to do". We could not out run them. We weren't as fast al least not on that terrain. If it was one of them who came for the attack I would have fought. If it were more, I would have tried my chance at running. This was my plan when I realised that it was the khichdi that would have attracted them. I notified about the same to Karthik who was behind and suggested we move out of the way. It was a big relief. The cooker was under high pressure and could not be opened though in my vengence, I hoped that they managed and it blasted. The group licked the delicious cooker to no joy. There was however only kaju that might have pleased them to some extent. Soon they quit but we waited for half an hour till they were completely out of sight. The kaju had been crushed and we disposed them :( Rest all was fine. Had the wonderful dinner and while Karthik may have been wondering how to cross the pass I was wondering how to face some other attack. The Yaks were the most frightening moment in the trek.
The next day we decided to leave early and cross the pass. We woke up at 5 and had planned to leave by 6 and Karthik had for the first time packed his stuff in advance so that our departure could be quick. In the morning while I packed my stuff he comes up and reports that only 2 matchsticks are left. There were 11 the previous day. I reached out and lighted the stove. 1 matchstick left. The lighter had gone bad by then. The crisis of machis despite my special concern in this regard. The breakfast was done but the tent was icy and wet. I did not want to pack it in that way. There would have been a risk of wetting my sleeping bag. We waited and it was so cold that we waited till we were warm. I dried and packed the tent and was astonished to see Karthik still packing! He had already packed his stuff at night! As we climbed the scree slopes, I insisted to follow a trail but the GPS operator suggested a different approach based on his study of a blog. Though that was a goof up, and a wrong route selection, I had to be grateful to the duo for navigating so far. The scree was not manageable and return to the trail was decided. As I headed back, I was short on water (weight management) and tried to hurry up to the pass before dehydration could hit me. Around 70m below the boy shouts out:" I am sleepy". I was confused if he wanted to attempt the pass or not. All this while when I asked him he had shown determination. I had doubts over his acclimatization with the load, but he had agreed to manage. I stood their waiting to see if he started to ascend. He later shouted back..."Lets head to Kara". I knew what he meant. The previous camp... that's where we could ask the shepherds for machis. The trek had been revolving around machis. It would have been possible to thrive on ready to eat packs that we had but I was unaware of the situation ahead. How far was the civilization after the pass?
As we started to descend, I picked up the ration that we had planned to leave and reduce our loads. While on the descend we saw a group of around 14 men. The machis crisis was to end soon. The descend also meant that Pin Parvati was out. This would be our 3rd day at Mushtirang. I reached the camp site again and went up to meet the larger group. It was the Indian Army group. Had a chat with the members and asked for the machis. The problem was resolved. We had the Machis. We returned and set up our tent. The one crucial machis was now used for lunch. As our lunch + dinner got ready, we got an invite from the army camp for lunch. We left the khichdi for dinner and went up to the army camp and had a great meal. We got invited again for dinner but in the evening it started to drizzle and later snow. So chucking the idea of dinner, We ate our day meal- the khichdi. Soon after dinner, we felt the need to notify them that we would not be joining for dinner. Karthik had doubts if they would be cooking in such weather. We reached their kitchen and surprisingly they were making rotis. They asked us to eat and eventually we both ate as if we had not had dinner. Dal Roti after a long time it seemed. They asked us to return after a while for kheer but we were now actually full.
Having given up on the Pin-Parvati Pass, we had a lot of time and decided to have a relaxed next day. I had plans to do the peak but also wanted to just relax. Early next morning after breakfast in the fauji camp, we saw the group leave. The valley was again completely ours. The peaks had gained some snow now. As we relaxed and lazed that morning, I saw more clouds coming up from the direction. I asked Karthik if he wanted to leave. He agreed and we all of a sudden planned to reach a camp site just before the pass so that the pass could be crossed the day after. I again hurried so as to manage my hydration. Within an hour I had climbed around 400m and what was declared as a campsite by Karthik consisted of staggered rocks and sharp stones. There was no patch of land where a tent could be put up. Karthik with his load was slow again. I wished to inform him that we would need to cross the pass on that very day. The delayed start was a problem in itself. I waited and as he reached I hurried to him. In a firm tone(hoping he would not fuss about environment over there) I made him get rid of much of his ration(weight) so that he could move faster. From there to the pass was relatively faster for him which would not have been otherwise. There had been some signs of snowfall and we needed to cross over the pass quickly. Just after the pass we saw the Mud Valley. Dry, brown and sunny. After hours of cold, the warm sight was a treat. But the clouds had caught up and snowed on us till the very end of the day. A lot of downhill and a lot of snow. The sunny valley turned snowy. We could see some patch ahead of us as sunny while the clouds and snow chased us and we failed to outrun. Now comes another misinterpretation of what Karthik read from the book. Instead of crossing the river over and reach a campsite, he argued to cross 2 streams and then carry on with the walk. So we ended up camping near Paldor and pitched the tent pretty quickly while it snowed heavily. Cold that we were, none of us bothered to get water. I even skipped dinner at night. The stream to be crossed was witnessed and I wished to cross it as early as possible in the morning when the river wasn't as furious.
Day6:
As per plan we woke up early. No water to rehydrate, No breakfast. The wet socks had hardened to ice. Some how I put it on and was ready to pack the tent and cross the river. Karthik seemed too sluggish and that annoyed me. I started throwing his stuff and had a heated time with him. Finally as I descended the slopes to reach the river, my feet felt numb and I could not balance well. I wondered if it was a good idea to cross the river. It seemed as wild. We searched for a place to cross over and kept heading upstream. Meanwhile Karthik stepped into the river accidently and once wet, he made a wise choice for himself. I headed few kms upstream and it seemed as a scenic pass I was heading to. the river showed no signs of calming down untill a place where it flattened and widened. But there were frozen patches that could be very slippery. I decided to cross at that point. There was a road-trail on the other end and suggested that there after the route was evident. It had been a long time and after the cross over I walked downstream. The sun had come out and I was assured that the cold would not be a problem. But there was one more stream to be crossed and this was the pin river!
We walked close to the road-trail and reached to the point where we would have to cross the river. Many suggestions were brought forward by both of us and in the end I went with Karthik's choice of path. As we crossed with him in front, I saw him going off balance and anticipated he would fall and flow any moment but somehow, he managed. I took much smaller steps and took longer to cross the river. The crossing was the last tough point of the trek and we could take some time to dry our shoes (my shoes dried up the next morning) and my trackpant. While we enjoyed the sun, we also had the ready to eat packet for lunch.
A steady and flat kind of road thereafter took us to Mud where we stayed in a cafe and the tent stayed curled up for some more days to come.
More:
Catching up a room in Mud so that we could spread out during sleep. We ate not from our rations. We had electricity to charge the devices. The army team and some other group also reached Mud. Next morning a bus to Kaza via some villages and it was from the bus that I got a glance of the Tibetan red fox. The terrain seemed diverse in the 40-50km ride. Kaza didnot seem an interesting town. Plans for the remaining vacation continued and we ended up visiting the higher villages near kaza: Langza, Komic and Hikkim. The highest village of Komic had a monastery which I briefly saw and a volleyball court where a good game was played.
By evening we were back to Kaza and finalized on the plan to trek towards Parang la. We were sure to not make it till Parang La but just a journey towards it. Parang la is the pass that separates Ladakh and Himachal. The trek is a long one that ends up near Tso Moriri.
The first morning from Kaza, we had an easy road-march till the Ki monastery. We decided to stay there instead of pitching a tent. A decision we are glad we had. The food and hospitality was commendable. More so the cook was very friendly and usually it was the kitchen where we felt homely. But the next morning we left Ki and were back after some time.
Meanwhile, we followed the road to Kibber and beyond, until Dumla, the last village on this route. Here we pitched the tent which felt as if it was after a long time. That evening we felt safe of our stocks and prepared dinner for ourselves and the locals at their house. The later period of this trek showed us a lot about their culture. Even the breakfast next morning was prepared by us at their home. after which we made a late and lazy start towards Parang la just following some faded trails which led us somewhere. As the trails merged with vast plains and as we grew clueless of further paths, it was time to return and head back to Ki. Dumla home would have been vacated as 'our folks' had informed about their plans to go to Kibber. We had promised to meet them on our way back and went to Shereng Thopgay's home at Kibber. A quick tea and we left for Ki as it was getting dark. Being just a road march, we fortunately got a ride on jeep and my worry partner who always notified me of required Vs current pace was at ease.
Back to the kitchen!!! Yes the kitchen. We hadn't visited the monastery yet. At the kitchen, we planned to repeat a hike that we had done during our earlier stay as acclimatization and we had also spotted a hill which we summitted the next morning and was one of the very interesting hikes in terms of villages, vegetation, wildlife witnessed. The view from the heights were pleasing and we enjoyed a good photo session atop. By lunch time we reached the kitchen, Ki. The discussions and photographs inspired an old lady from Taiwan to ascent a little to get a pic of Ki monastery from the top. We welcomed her though with doubts. Carefully we guided her till the top and she was over excited almost through out. The way back to the kitchen and next morning hike plans were to not hike but descend to the river bed. Karthik declared that it would not be a wise idea as it would take 2 hours to return and said that the altitude of the riverbed was 700m less than the current point. I had held several doubts regarding his elevation facts and towards the end decided to challenge it. It turned out to be 300m of difference. It was play time at the river bed and both of us competed in stone throwing across the river. It was an easy task to cross the wide river here but there was no motive. We were to return back to Kaza on a tight schedule since it was a struggle to get tickets for Manali.
The quick road march and we barely managed to be on time to get the tickets for Manali. The tour was ending and we still had some time. The plans for Manali were drafted along the way to Manali though on reaching Manali and seeing the crunch on bus tickets and places to stay we backed out and moved to New Delhi thereby providing an abrupt end to the trip (like this post).
All of the planning was carried out by Karthik and for the first time that I had completely ignored the planning. I was unaware of the altitudes or the location on a map for a long time. It seemed that the plan laid out was pretty ambitious. Karthik would be trekking in the Himalayas for the first time though his knowledge based on experience of others is vast. He was aware of AMS but had ignored it in his plans. Later during the trek I was questioned as to why I did not point the 1000m climbs. I somehow avoided the answer and did not mention that I hadn't paid much attention to many other details as well. In the last week preceding the trek, the ration and many other supplies were managed. I had repeatedly mentioned matchsticks and lighter which always marks a significant role.
Most of the logistics like the stove and fuel and the corresponding trials were also carried out by the planning mate who notified the details regularly. Possibly the trust on his plans was so high that I usually was least concerned except for the matchsticks and the lighter.
We made are departure and towards one of the last villages en route the matchsticks were picked up. I was relieved there after.
Day0:
Kafnu
I wanted to camp a certain distance from the village and so we just marched. I saw a campsite near by but my buddy had gained momentum marching and we carried on. The night was about to fall and I was some how not worried. There were orchards... apple orchards and farm huts at sight almost througout. We could have crashed in at any place. While Karthik marched with his heavy pack and determination, I was swayed away by tempting apples. I showed immense self control and did not pluck a single apple. Just after around a couple of kms of walk, Karthik shows me a prospective camping site- just besides an orchard. I agreed. Not because it was besides the orchard but we had to camp somewhere and it seemed a perfect place. Stream near by and apples near by... and perhaps it was flat and soft too. The tent was pitched and stove was ready to prepare the dinner. While the dinner was in preparation, I went for a pee towards the orchard and was seduced by the apples. This is when I reached up to the apples and took some of them. Firm, hard, crisp and sweet. By the time I left the campsite, I had plucked about 13 apples... some carried over to future camps.
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| The tent wasn't as inclined as it seems in the pic though it wasn't a very comfortable sleep either. |
With a plan for 2 weeks plus and with a safety freak planning guy, we were high on ration. Also, self sustaining for two weeks had made the back packs pretty heavy. This was the only camp where the weight of the bags increased-the apples.
Though on a start it wasn't a problem. The low altitude, and the trees were helpful. The trail was almost prominent except for a section where we climbed and a section where I some difficulty with a bag in front as well. The path through the shrubs and trees presented a glance of a civet cat and a pica. The complete route on this day was diversely scenic. The valleys suddenly opening up for a new view to the forests. The climbs were gentle through out. We hadn't walked for long but then there was a campsite which made us stop just for the charm it had - Mulling.
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| while waiting for Karthik |
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| Fernland near Mulling: the campsite |
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| Mulling |
Day2:
Acquiring some matchsticks
The walk to Kara was relaxed except for the heavy backpacks and hunger everything seemed comfortable. On the way we met a shepherd from whom we acquired some matchsticks. Kara had some shepherds but I was reluctant to camp anywhere near to them. The place had less of mud and grass and more of goat shit. Now we were to cross a stream that we could have crossed the next morning under much less flow had we camped with the shepherds. Removed my shoes and put them a top my rucksack. I made the first attempt to cross the river and a few steps inside felt the pain. Turned around and came up to the bank to take a breath of courage. This time i thought I would speed up the process but that seemed like a bad option. We crossed many branches of the stream one after the other to reach a small flat patch of land where we could halt for the night. It was too windy and a good place to wash and dry clothes.
The acclimatization trek as planned was to reach up to a possible glacier field which seemed like a source of the tributary of satluj. Failing to reach the target though it was a wonderful area to run.. soft ground... pasteurs and hilly terrain. I could not run much as the oxygen levels had turned low. Karthik did express his disappointment over the speed of the trek though nothing could be done, though I was happy at the eased out pace.
On the return there was pasta that I made and the guy next to me loved it. This was the only time we had 2 lunches or to say a lunch and a dinner separately but then there was a scarcity felt during the breakfast.
The night sky showed a very prominent milkyway and far too many stars. Karthik's first time at that altitude also made it his first time under a sky with that many visible stars. I got some astronomy gyan which I hope to retain.
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| Acclimatisation walk from Kara |
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| Shepherd shelters and the Palak are correlated. Had frequent bites of Palak. |
The landscape gradually was losing the green content though there were many small flowers enroute. The trail remained prominent till the end though there were guesses where to have the camp site. Finally I chose for a flat land some distance ahead and felt pleased at my decision. It was the site I loved and were about to spend 4 nights there until a sudden decision on my end made it to 3 nights.
This campsite, Mushtirang, was just next to Bhabha pass. And if I were alone, I would have ignored it. It seemed a vertical scree slope but the GPS maniac buddy I had looked up from his GPS and confidently spoke of that feature to be crossed. I caught him staring the slope many times and on many of the occasions, he also asked how we would cross it. I was expecting some tough stretches on that path and decided to better acclimatize than to attempt it directly. It was a wise decision. The evening saw us follow the routine acclimatization trek to the valley I admired and named it as Kashyap Valley :)
Plans for next day hike came in and it was a chance to break away from schedule and get over some peak and check the views around. The GPS maniac pulled out the GPS and started mentioning the heights of the peaks. The next morning we still went with a vague plan that changed and a different path was taken.
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| The Kashyap Valley and the peaks in background that I wished to summit |
The height gain was comfortable and the weather supported us. It was essentially sunny throughout and we reached close to 4900m which was the altitude of Bhabha pass. It was a great confidence booster for Karthik. The peak was missed out but the views were spectacular from the place. It showed us some more peaks far away. Both of us felt comfortable at the altitude- without load.
Reaching back at the camp after a long downhill and a sense of confidence for the following day, we spotted some furry black animals on a far away slope- must be yaks but they seemed too rounded. Were they bears?
After we reached the camp, thing on priority was to prepare dinner. As we prepared we saw the black animals and their coexistence meant they were Yaks- around 5-6 together. Soon as we engaged in our activities, we lost sight of them. I tried looking around and they seemed heading back towards their home. Surprisingly, we hadn't spotted any shepherd in the Kashyap Valley though their were some shelters that could be used. Dinner was ready and I was hungry. Karthik let me eat some Kaju sparingly. He was saving it for Pin Parvati Pass- higher altitude. The black animals came running heading in our direction. Some of them looked huge and aggresively fast. They were kicking with their hind legs while they ran. Bisons by any chance? They looked like Yaks. I grabbed the ice axe and asked Karthik to get one too. They slowed down near our camp and I charged towards them trying to appear wild. While I managed to scare them off, one of them turned around which brought a sudden shock to me and that in return scared it again. The Yaks were successfully chased till quite some distance. I felt relieved and brave to chase away an aggressive group of Yaks. It seemed as an accomplishment that I could not relish for long. The group returned and seemed even more fierce. They seemed to be attacking for no reason. I hoped they did not crush our tents or us. We were face to face when I admitted to my buddy: " I have no clue what to do". We could not out run them. We weren't as fast al least not on that terrain. If it was one of them who came for the attack I would have fought. If it were more, I would have tried my chance at running. This was my plan when I realised that it was the khichdi that would have attracted them. I notified about the same to Karthik who was behind and suggested we move out of the way. It was a big relief. The cooker was under high pressure and could not be opened though in my vengence, I hoped that they managed and it blasted. The group licked the delicious cooker to no joy. There was however only kaju that might have pleased them to some extent. Soon they quit but we waited for half an hour till they were completely out of sight. The kaju had been crushed and we disposed them :( Rest all was fine. Had the wonderful dinner and while Karthik may have been wondering how to cross the pass I was wondering how to face some other attack. The Yaks were the most frightening moment in the trek.
The next day we decided to leave early and cross the pass. We woke up at 5 and had planned to leave by 6 and Karthik had for the first time packed his stuff in advance so that our departure could be quick. In the morning while I packed my stuff he comes up and reports that only 2 matchsticks are left. There were 11 the previous day. I reached out and lighted the stove. 1 matchstick left. The lighter had gone bad by then. The crisis of machis despite my special concern in this regard. The breakfast was done but the tent was icy and wet. I did not want to pack it in that way. There would have been a risk of wetting my sleeping bag. We waited and it was so cold that we waited till we were warm. I dried and packed the tent and was astonished to see Karthik still packing! He had already packed his stuff at night! As we climbed the scree slopes, I insisted to follow a trail but the GPS operator suggested a different approach based on his study of a blog. Though that was a goof up, and a wrong route selection, I had to be grateful to the duo for navigating so far. The scree was not manageable and return to the trail was decided. As I headed back, I was short on water (weight management) and tried to hurry up to the pass before dehydration could hit me. Around 70m below the boy shouts out:" I am sleepy". I was confused if he wanted to attempt the pass or not. All this while when I asked him he had shown determination. I had doubts over his acclimatization with the load, but he had agreed to manage. I stood their waiting to see if he started to ascend. He later shouted back..."Lets head to Kara". I knew what he meant. The previous camp... that's where we could ask the shepherds for machis. The trek had been revolving around machis. It would have been possible to thrive on ready to eat packs that we had but I was unaware of the situation ahead. How far was the civilization after the pass?
As we started to descend, I picked up the ration that we had planned to leave and reduce our loads. While on the descend we saw a group of around 14 men. The machis crisis was to end soon. The descend also meant that Pin Parvati was out. This would be our 3rd day at Mushtirang. I reached the camp site again and went up to meet the larger group. It was the Indian Army group. Had a chat with the members and asked for the machis. The problem was resolved. We had the Machis. We returned and set up our tent. The one crucial machis was now used for lunch. As our lunch + dinner got ready, we got an invite from the army camp for lunch. We left the khichdi for dinner and went up to the army camp and had a great meal. We got invited again for dinner but in the evening it started to drizzle and later snow. So chucking the idea of dinner, We ate our day meal- the khichdi. Soon after dinner, we felt the need to notify them that we would not be joining for dinner. Karthik had doubts if they would be cooking in such weather. We reached their kitchen and surprisingly they were making rotis. They asked us to eat and eventually we both ate as if we had not had dinner. Dal Roti after a long time it seemed. They asked us to return after a while for kheer but we were now actually full.
Having given up on the Pin-Parvati Pass, we had a lot of time and decided to have a relaxed next day. I had plans to do the peak but also wanted to just relax. Early next morning after breakfast in the fauji camp, we saw the group leave. The valley was again completely ours. The peaks had gained some snow now. As we relaxed and lazed that morning, I saw more clouds coming up from the direction. I asked Karthik if he wanted to leave. He agreed and we all of a sudden planned to reach a camp site just before the pass so that the pass could be crossed the day after. I again hurried so as to manage my hydration. Within an hour I had climbed around 400m and what was declared as a campsite by Karthik consisted of staggered rocks and sharp stones. There was no patch of land where a tent could be put up. Karthik with his load was slow again. I wished to inform him that we would need to cross the pass on that very day. The delayed start was a problem in itself. I waited and as he reached I hurried to him. In a firm tone(hoping he would not fuss about environment over there) I made him get rid of much of his ration(weight) so that he could move faster. From there to the pass was relatively faster for him which would not have been otherwise. There had been some signs of snowfall and we needed to cross over the pass quickly. Just after the pass we saw the Mud Valley. Dry, brown and sunny. After hours of cold, the warm sight was a treat. But the clouds had caught up and snowed on us till the very end of the day. A lot of downhill and a lot of snow. The sunny valley turned snowy. We could see some patch ahead of us as sunny while the clouds and snow chased us and we failed to outrun. Now comes another misinterpretation of what Karthik read from the book. Instead of crossing the river over and reach a campsite, he argued to cross 2 streams and then carry on with the walk. So we ended up camping near Paldor and pitched the tent pretty quickly while it snowed heavily. Cold that we were, none of us bothered to get water. I even skipped dinner at night. The stream to be crossed was witnessed and I wished to cross it as early as possible in the morning when the river wasn't as furious.
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| Bhabha pass |
Day6:
As per plan we woke up early. No water to rehydrate, No breakfast. The wet socks had hardened to ice. Some how I put it on and was ready to pack the tent and cross the river. Karthik seemed too sluggish and that annoyed me. I started throwing his stuff and had a heated time with him. Finally as I descended the slopes to reach the river, my feet felt numb and I could not balance well. I wondered if it was a good idea to cross the river. It seemed as wild. We searched for a place to cross over and kept heading upstream. Meanwhile Karthik stepped into the river accidently and once wet, he made a wise choice for himself. I headed few kms upstream and it seemed as a scenic pass I was heading to. the river showed no signs of calming down untill a place where it flattened and widened. But there were frozen patches that could be very slippery. I decided to cross at that point. There was a road-trail on the other end and suggested that there after the route was evident. It had been a long time and after the cross over I walked downstream. The sun had come out and I was assured that the cold would not be a problem. But there was one more stream to be crossed and this was the pin river!
We walked close to the road-trail and reached to the point where we would have to cross the river. Many suggestions were brought forward by both of us and in the end I went with Karthik's choice of path. As we crossed with him in front, I saw him going off balance and anticipated he would fall and flow any moment but somehow, he managed. I took much smaller steps and took longer to cross the river. The crossing was the last tough point of the trek and we could take some time to dry our shoes (my shoes dried up the next morning) and my trackpant. While we enjoyed the sun, we also had the ready to eat packet for lunch.
A steady and flat kind of road thereafter took us to Mud where we stayed in a cafe and the tent stayed curled up for some more days to come.
More:
Catching up a room in Mud so that we could spread out during sleep. We ate not from our rations. We had electricity to charge the devices. The army team and some other group also reached Mud. Next morning a bus to Kaza via some villages and it was from the bus that I got a glance of the Tibetan red fox. The terrain seemed diverse in the 40-50km ride. Kaza didnot seem an interesting town. Plans for the remaining vacation continued and we ended up visiting the higher villages near kaza: Langza, Komic and Hikkim. The highest village of Komic had a monastery which I briefly saw and a volleyball court where a good game was played.
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| Volleyball at Komic |
By evening we were back to Kaza and finalized on the plan to trek towards Parang la. We were sure to not make it till Parang La but just a journey towards it. Parang la is the pass that separates Ladakh and Himachal. The trek is a long one that ends up near Tso Moriri.
The first morning from Kaza, we had an easy road-march till the Ki monastery. We decided to stay there instead of pitching a tent. A decision we are glad we had. The food and hospitality was commendable. More so the cook was very friendly and usually it was the kitchen where we felt homely. But the next morning we left Ki and were back after some time.
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| Gette Village above Ki |
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| Ki Monastery |
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| Kunga the cook and I at the KI-tchen |
Meanwhile, we followed the road to Kibber and beyond, until Dumla, the last village on this route. Here we pitched the tent which felt as if it was after a long time. That evening we felt safe of our stocks and prepared dinner for ourselves and the locals at their house. The later period of this trek showed us a lot about their culture. Even the breakfast next morning was prepared by us at their home. after which we made a late and lazy start towards Parang la just following some faded trails which led us somewhere. As the trails merged with vast plains and as we grew clueless of further paths, it was time to return and head back to Ki. Dumla home would have been vacated as 'our folks' had informed about their plans to go to Kibber. We had promised to meet them on our way back and went to Shereng Thopgay's home at Kibber. A quick tea and we left for Ki as it was getting dark. Being just a road march, we fortunately got a ride on jeep and my worry partner who always notified me of required Vs current pace was at ease.
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| Preparing dinner at Dumla home )of Shereng Thopgay) |
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| At Shereng Thopgay's home at Kibber |
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| At a peak near Ki |
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| Karthik admiring the trans Himalayan terrain |
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| little monks at Ki playing |
The quick road march and we barely managed to be on time to get the tickets for Manali. The tour was ending and we still had some time. The plans for Manali were drafted along the way to Manali though on reaching Manali and seeing the crunch on bus tickets and places to stay we backed out and moved to New Delhi thereby providing an abrupt end to the trip (like this post).
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