Trekking Through the Ladakhi Outback part 3

Trip Start Jul 08, 2008
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Trip End Ongoing


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Saturday, August 2, 2008

After spending the night under the shooting stars we embarked past the halfway point of the hike. That morning we had to ford four streams and we learned what we wished we knew two nights ago. As the rivers are fed by melting snow and ice, the water levels fluctuate over the course of the day. After a full day of sun exposure the rivers reach their maximum flow in the evening but after a full night the melting slows and the rivers are reduced to a trickle by morning time; the ideal time to cross rivers in the Himalayan region. We had followed the advise of a guide book and we now had a bone to pick with the author.



Most of the day was spent walking through barren canyons baring a striking resemblance to the American Southwest but after a steady ascent through a pass we encountered a village with more bright green wheat fields, wild flowers all around, stone walls, houses with prayer flags, and hand-dug irrigation trenches routing the river water to the homes; all with unbelievable mountain views in the background. This reminded me of what a 'heaven' might look like and I felt like we stumbled into a Shangri La. A woman ran up to us seeking donations for the local school and offering a "home stay". I gave her some rupees and we continued down the trail, which winded down the valley. The trail dead-ended at a roaring river and not wanting a repeat of the Markha River incident we decided to take the woman up on the home stay as crossing the river would be a simple task in the morning.



The home appeared to be a complete wreck with piles of large stones strewn about in the courtyard. The woman's husband, who had built the house, was busy constructing a stone wall as we were shown to the simple room with mattresses on the floor. As the woman began sifting through some dry rice in a pan we knew the rice dahl was coming. The next morning Macheek had to set off early as he had a bus leaving Leh in a couple of days so we wished him well staying behind for the breakfast: a soup consisting of turnips and yak meat (I let the vegetarian thing slide for times like these).



After setting off, the next day and a half involved an uphill ascent, which led to the Kongmaru La pass, where there were prayer flags flapping in the strong winds. From this point on the trek was downhill. We finished at Martselang dropping our dusty packs in the well-stocked tea tent, sitting down and ordering some Rum and Coke. We did one last home stay as the bus back to Leh was to leave the next morning. In total the hike covered over 60 miles and the ascents combined with the general altitude added another dimension of challenge. I feel like I have officially been broken in.
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