We made it! This trek made our last one look like child's play. It was one of the most challenging backpacking trips either of us had ever been on. For one, the cold...we had fairly good rental gear, but nothing like what we would have normally brought for winter camping. Firewood, we knew, was scarce to non-existent after Day 2, and we didn't know what the weather had in store for us. We were totally okay with the knowledge that any number of factors could force us to turn around at any time. So, we took it day by day, became familiar with the weather patterns of the valley, and scavenged for resources. It was like detective work, problem solving with the environment to allow us safety, shelter, fire, and wind protection. In general, everyday started sunny, wind would really pick up by about 3pm, and light snow started by 4:30 depending on the direction the clouds came in. We would try and find camp, get firewood, and set up by this time...warm ourselves and cook on a fire...then clean pots, make a hot water bottle for the sleeping bag, and crawl in bed by 8:30 where we would shiver and hopefully sleep and not leave that spot for the next 12 hours until the sun came over the ridge again. Inevitably, we would have to pee at some point in the night and that was always The Worst.
The valley we followed was littered with small caves that shepherds sleep in during the summer months. These caves made for some miraculously enjoyable and snow protected evenings. Whenever we passed an abandoned fire ring, we would scavenge for remaining firewood and carry it with us. This tactic allowed us to actually have a fire and hot meal every night and almost every morning.
The actual 9-day trek follows the valley up and up in elevation until it goes over the 5300 meter pass on day 7. Then you end up in a small village on the other side and have to take a 12 hour bus ride on a sketchy road to loop back to your starting point. The problem is that the road closes this time of year because of snow, and while it was still open when we started the trek...we didn't want to risk getting stuck on the wrong side of a very high mountain pass. So instead we decided to do the 6 days in to the Pass, and then double our mileage on the way out (with delightfully lighter packs and downhill gravity on our side) and get out in 3 days. I broke down each day for those of you whom I know love the detailed accounts of things.
Day 1:
Took a bus to Barsheni and hiked 10 km up to some hot springs called Khir Ganga. This hippy place was hopping! There was actually a few small restaurants. We were very excited about the hot springs, but by the time we got there it was getting dark and we were way to cold to think about stripping down and getting wet, even in hot springs.
Day 2:
We left the hot springs, and that was the last time we saw any other people for 8 days. A dog followed us all day. We felt sure he would turn around after hours of hiking, but he faithfully stayed by our side. We named him "Hobo". I lost my sunglasses somewhere on the trail which is a bummer because they are the only expensive pair of polarized sunglasses I've ever bought. We made it to the next official camping spot, marked by 7 cascading waterfalls, and we had to reach it by crossing the river over the worst lopsided bridge I've ever seen. We actually crossed it one at a time, it was that bad. It started snowing pretty heavy and we freaked out because we were already above tree line (so not alot of good wood) and no shelter. So we backtracked 45 min to a 3-sided cabin we had seen that was back in the pine trees, and stayed the night there. Hobo stayed with us through it all, and we felt bad and fed him some oatmeal.
Day 3:
Got up and the sun was shining. Most of the snow actually melted so we decided to hike up one more day and see where that got us. We carried some firewood, just in case. We ascended above tree line and found there was little scrub bushes that we could burn if we found dead ones. We re-crossed over the sketchy bridge, and later had to cross the river again by cable car. That was a rush! Hobo was afraid of the cable car, and he howled and howled as we left him on the other side of the river. We felt horrible. Found a small cave that faced away from the wind and protected us from a light dusting of snow that came that night.
Day 4:
Sun shining again and melting all the snow at ground level, so we press on...carrying more firewood but always finding stashes of more along the way. Crossed the river two more times via huge boulder bridges. The landscape turned really arid and there was nothing but grasslands and rocks with huge snowy mountains all around us. We found one pile of huge boulders and within them a HUGE cave. Very sheltered and awesome fire! Also, found a broken pair of sunglasses and fixed them with duct-tape.
Day 5:
Made it to Mantalai Lake, where there is a small Hindu shrine to Lord Shiva. So beautiful here. Glaciers all around, and we found a small cave by the water to stay in. Too small to set up our 2-man tent, so this is the first night we sleep without it. My coldest night by far. The cave blocks ALL the wind, and we spent a glorious hour in the afternoon basking in the sun and being really warm. Later, we got smoked out because there is no place to have a fire in there without all the smoke going in and gagging you.
Day 6:
Woke up super early and hiked with only light packs with water and food up to the Pass. Scrambled up an ice-fall where we would have loved a pair of ice axes. Made it to the Pass and it was gloriously beautiful and so serene. We had lunch in the sun, taking in the Himalayan views. Then it started snowing, we started hiking down fast, we lost the minuscule trail. We finally found it and made it back to camp wet and cold. We realized that we needed to move our camp to where we could actually make a fire to dry off by it, so we packed up and moved to a different cave we saw earlier that morning, farther down the lake. En route, Clay slips and drops all the sleeping pads he is carrying, and they fall into the glacier water of Mantalai Lake. This is the WORST time for this to happen. I drop my pack and run back along the trail to try and save the pads with my trekking pole, but quickly realize this is stupid because the river is about 20 feet wide and my trekking pole is 4 feet long. Panicking, I look around for anything longer and all I see is the flagpole on top of the Shiva Shrine. I feel horrible to have disgraced the shrine, but I dislodged the pole and ran to the river, praying the pads would float by on my half of the river. The pole barely reached, and Clay sacrificed one foot in the water to make the final snatch...but we got our sleeping pads back, and were able to dry them off later that night!
Day 7:
Left Mantalai Lake and starting hiking back. Went a third of the way back, no cave to camp in...but stopped at a place with lots of leftover firewood. Weather was super clear and beautiful.
Day 8:
Hiked back to our beloved cabin and beloved pine trees. Collected so much firewood and had a fire for many many hours! I was about to crawl in my warm sleeping bad and realized that the hot water bottle had leaked. So we spent the next hour drying out the bag, sleeping pads, and fleece liner. Very frustrated at the bottle.
Day 9:
Hiked back to Khir Ganga and this time arrived around noon. The place was nearly deserted, everyone having left for the winter. The sun and lower elevation made it super hot in the sun, and we soaked ourselves in the hot springs pools for a long time. It was, literally, amazing. Then we made a small fire and some spaghetti, and hiked the final portion of trail back to Barsheni. We caught the last bus back to Kasol, and made it back in time to get a phenomenal meal at our favorite restaurant in town. Then we slept super-well under 2 wool blankets each and didn't get up until the sun was streaming in through our windows this morning.
Soon we head to the hot weather in Rajasthan, where we spend our last weeks in India.
