Wondering where I have been the last week??? Well, I was trekking in the Himalayas of course. To be more specific I was trekking in the Himalayas walking through grassy nulls and across frozen rivers and up steep mountain terrain hyperventilating the whole way through.
The crew: Jessica from NY
Sara from California – I am traveling with her after the hike around India
Matt, Clayton, and Jen- all from Mississippi- they all go to med school together there
Alia- Roommate from the program from Vermont
Day -2: My CFHI group left aside from Alia, my self and Kate. We headed back to Dehradun and picked up some snacks for the following days.
Day -1: Leave Dehradun and go to Missouri to meet Sara so we can all take a 6 hour ride to the trail head.
Day 0: Meet the Mississippi kids in Uttarkachi and stay at a really nice hostel along with some English guys. We all had a roof top dinner.
Hike Day 1: 2 hour hike mostly uphill- Turns out I have asthma (well not really but I may as well).
Lunch- soggy white bread with cucumbers, tomato and black pepper, juice box (like I was 5) and a squished banana ( same lunch for the rest of the days and secretly I liked it)
Camped a top a mountain overlooking some gorgeous scenery. Played a lot of cards as we had hours before it got dark. The porters (there are 4 of them and 3ish donkeys who carry our stuff) made a scrumptious snack of friend pakora and a delicious dinner of daal, rice, and chapatti ( well the porters made it not the donkeys). I tented with Sara and it stormed like I have never experienced before. Thunder, lighting and rain ahhhhhhh and I could have sworn that we were going to get washed off the mountain top by a flash flood.
Day 2: 6 hour hike. I was in better shape today probably because my lungs were no longer in shock and because it was a much flatter hike. Camped next to a holy lake called Doti Tal. During our free time we played cards, sat by the camp fire, ate food, laughed. Good time had by all
Day 3: 4 hour hike. Camped on top of the most magnificent green mountain covered with yellow flowers. Oh yeah there were plenty of cows and goats and the mountain too. The mountain looked out at even larger snowcapped mountains. It was almost ridiculous when the guide told us to stop hiking that we were sleeping on that mountain because it looked like it was out of a movie and should be illegal. Thankfully it was legal. The porters set up an extra tent for us because of the rain and because it was going to be cold. They also set up a latrine tent for us to go to the bathroom in- akward. So, aside from a short hike which I struggled through (damn altitude) to see some more mountains we spent most of our time in the tent bonding and playing cards. However, for dinner the porters set up a camp fire which was great and quit helpful with drying our shoes.
Day 4: Today’s hike was a lot of up and a medium amount of down. However, we hiked through really beautiful pastures with some crazy looking mammals (cows who were looking at me funny- because their irises are sideways, mountain men who would show up out of nowhere and would scamper by me in sandals, whole families of pilgrims who seemed to be going right past me too). Oh yes I almost forgot. I fell and my knee is purple and bumpy (very attractive). Really though the whole thing was quite dramatic as the grass was wet because it was drizzling and chilly and had I not been so limber and agile I would have for sure slid down the mountain. For this final night we camped on a mountain next to a babbling brook and a home of some nomadic families who had brought their cows to the area to eat some grass. Some of the younger girls tried to befriend us but once again the Hindi/ English barrier was juts too great.
Day 5: The final day yahooooo. Today’s hike would have been steep and slippery if it had not rained. But since it did pour for an hour in the morning it was extremely slippery and steep. Basically we hiked down a dry river bed/ hilly river/ waterfall with minor falls. By the end of the 4.5 hours my knees were poooooping out and I was starting to hallucinate the jeep that was coming to pick us up. But really once we stopped walking though the rocks there were nice organized rocks almost step like that went through towns and past drunk men coming back from a wedding. The day ended with a 5 hour drive to Dehradun and then a 2 hour search for the bus station so we could buy our tickets for the next day.
This morning I woke up at 5:15 to make a 7:30 bus that was to take 6 hours to Chandigarh. The bus was of the local variety and was quite packed by the time we hit hour #3. Thankfully I had a window seat because there was no A/C and it was really quite warm. By the time I got to Chandigarh I pretty much had black streaks all over me from dust that was flying in the window. My contacts were so dry that I may as well have taken them out because things were so blurry. But, I made it (well sort of we did miss our stop and some small English speaking India boy had to help us out) and I did it India style- like a local. I think the most fantastic part of the trip was when some older man started freaking out about our bags being on the seat and got the conductor to make us put our bags on the roof of the bus. Yes, he wanted us to launch our huge bags over our heads and put them on the roof for the remaining 3 hours. So, being the easy going girl I am I sat quietly in my seat and let Sara lift my 300 pound bag on the roof while I pretended that I could not get out of my window seat. Dear Sarah, Thanks. Love, Jessica
Upon arrival in Chandigarh we found our selves surrounded by 15 men all who thought they could help us best to find our hotel. Dear 15 men, Please go away. Love, Jessica and Sarah
Well, we found our hotel and the room is juts fine, TV, A/C … they even gave us towels which is quite rare :O)
We spent the afternoon eating huge amounts of India food and walking around a famous rock garden which was quite beautiful. I think my time at the rock garden may go down as the most famous I will ever be. Basically, there were 10 school girls who wanted to be our BFF and talk about life and take pictures. Also, the guys in the class would constantly flash pictures of us like paparazzi. Little did they know I would have struck a pose if they asked. We also, spent some time at a lake looking at the India families paddle boating and India men trying to ride a mechanical bull. So, that brings you up to date. I am sitting in a really really hot internet café dreaming of going back to my A/C room and getting good nights sleep before I have to wake up at 5 to take another 6 hour train ride. Oh the joys of India!!!!
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