Horse man - Guddu - paid. This morning he departed Manali and is on his way up to the start of our trek with the four horses that will carry our food and equipment for the next twenty days. We decided to keep things simple and avoid a guided trek; it means we don't get the mess tent, English-speaking guide and all that jazz, but we don't need all that! Stainless steel chai cups and other utensils bought in our local market. Muscle rub is a focus in our medical kit; I get the feeling it will do great things. Tomorrow we will do our fresh fruit shopping. In Keylong we buy fresh veg - 5kg of potatoes! Guddu will get the dal, tea, masala, kerosene, ghee and other bulk necessities up in Keylong. He will also provide a stove and pressure cooker. On top of all that there is just snacks to buy; I am thinking honey and tahini for our chapatis, dried Manali apricots, Jammu cashews and lollies for people we meet along the way (apparently 'bon bons' are frequently requested). Mum and I brought some snacks and brekkie food from home: Brookfarm Gluten Free Macadamia Muesli (yum!), quinoa flakes for porridge, chocolate coated macas and some other bits and bobs that are hard to find here.
So that is it.
We are heading north and Winter is not coming.
Our trek is classified as a twenty-one day-er, although apparently we will complete it in sixteen to seventeen days.We will try and draw it out as long as possible; it is not often one gets the opportunity to hang out in the Himalayas with few horses and a tent.
On Wednesday Mum and I depart from Manali on an early bus and will arrive in Keylong around seven hours later. There we do our veggie shopping and we can stay the night, but both of us think it will be ideal to head straight onto Jhankar Sumdo and camp out there. The altitude in Keylong is around 3000 metres, whereas it is around 3800 in Jhankar Sumdo. As we will be reaching 4800m within eight to ten hours on the first day , it seems as though the best option will be to sleep high up. I haven't had altitude sickness on a trek before but I don't think I have inclined this rapidly at such a high altitude. Fingers crossed I will be fine and dandy.
The first two days will be some of the toughest not only because we will be fresh little trekkers with tender tender thighs, but because we will be adjusting to the altitude without much of a rest in between. This is because we have to cross the Shingo La Pass and then into the Zanskar Valley in order to camp on Night Two. So Day One will get us to 4800m and on Day Two we hit 5200m. Exciting, right?
After the first two days, if I make it out alive, it is rumoured that the going gets easier. That is, until we reach the Singe La Pass. We will stroll (not likely) along, through valleys and over icy cold streams, through slippery snow and over more tall passes, camping out in our teensy tent under the stars. Apparently there is the occasional tea stall, but beside that we will be on our own when it comes to food and water. We have requested that our horse man cooks simple dal, sabji and rice or chapati dinners, which sounds delicious to me. In the morning we will cook our own breakfast and pack some snacks for lunch while our horse man, or Guddu is his name, goes out and finds the horses. Each night he will let them roam free, up into the jungles to find food and a nice place to sleep, and each morning he will leave at dawn and go to find them. Sometimes he will walk the distance Mum and I will walk in a day just to find his horses before we set out. Isn't that just great? Last time Mum did this trek the horse came back one morning with two huge gashes down its flank. Yep, there are mountain lions out there friends. But don't worry - they only like horses and I do know self defense.
Subhash, the guy who works for Himalayan Adventures and helped us organise our horses, said this trek will be closed within three years. They are building a road straight up to Leh, on top of the walking paths. On one side I can see that people living in hard-to-reach areas may benefit from the road, but I find it hard to see the positives in wiping out one of the most beautiful Himalayan treks to accommodate a vast increase in traffic, pollution and more infrastructural 'development'. I knew this trek would end soon, which was the reason we chose it, but it is happening much quicker than expected. Subhash said there are parts that have already been tarmacked, meaning we choose between walking on a boiling hot highway or catching a ride. We'll see what happens.
We will wind up in Leh in about three weeks time. I have booked a flight down to Delhi on the 22nd of July so if we arrive early there are supposed to be many beautiful day hikes around Leh. Mum is also a bit too excited to hire an Enfield...I don't know if I'd trust her motorbiking skills but I suppose they do say to live life dangerously. I also have plans to find some local hand-woven shawls and to fill my belly with many many momos, so that will take some time.
You'll hear from me tomorrow. My last day in civilisation...
After the first two days, if I make it out alive, it is rumoured that the going gets easier. That is, until we reach the Singe La Pass. We will stroll (not likely) along, through valleys and over icy cold streams, through slippery snow and over more tall passes, camping out in our teensy tent under the stars. Apparently there is the occasional tea stall, but beside that we will be on our own when it comes to food and water. We have requested that our horse man cooks simple dal, sabji and rice or chapati dinners, which sounds delicious to me. In the morning we will cook our own breakfast and pack some snacks for lunch while our horse man, or Guddu is his name, goes out and finds the horses. Each night he will let them roam free, up into the jungles to find food and a nice place to sleep, and each morning he will leave at dawn and go to find them. Sometimes he will walk the distance Mum and I will walk in a day just to find his horses before we set out. Isn't that just great? Last time Mum did this trek the horse came back one morning with two huge gashes down its flank. Yep, there are mountain lions out there friends. But don't worry - they only like horses and I do know self defense.
Subhash, the guy who works for Himalayan Adventures and helped us organise our horses, said this trek will be closed within three years. They are building a road straight up to Leh, on top of the walking paths. On one side I can see that people living in hard-to-reach areas may benefit from the road, but I find it hard to see the positives in wiping out one of the most beautiful Himalayan treks to accommodate a vast increase in traffic, pollution and more infrastructural 'development'. I knew this trek would end soon, which was the reason we chose it, but it is happening much quicker than expected. Subhash said there are parts that have already been tarmacked, meaning we choose between walking on a boiling hot highway or catching a ride. We'll see what happens.
We will wind up in Leh in about three weeks time. I have booked a flight down to Delhi on the 22nd of July so if we arrive early there are supposed to be many beautiful day hikes around Leh. Mum is also a bit too excited to hire an Enfield...I don't know if I'd trust her motorbiking skills but I suppose they do say to live life dangerously. I also have plans to find some local hand-woven shawls and to fill my belly with many many momos, so that will take some time.
You'll hear from me tomorrow. My last day in civilisation...
No comments:
Post a Comment