Trekking About

Wow, about a month has passed since my last post and I can hardly believe that my time here in India is almost over.

With my flight looming over my head on the 1st of July I have mixed feelings about leaving this place. There is still so much to see and do here in this massive country, but I have a great excuse to come back and visit.

After another 2 day bus journey I have landed back in Vashisht near Minali in Himanchal Pradesh. It is a relief to be back amongst the trees and nature of this place. Leh proved to be such a strange and lunar landscape. After spending a month there and taking various side trips I have a couple stories to share…

When I first arrived in Leh it was like a ghost town. Elections were in full swing and the town came to a grinding holt. Basically all the shops were closed and there were no tourists. Now this is quite hard to imagine happening in India, but it did. A river feeds this enormous valley and greenness extends to the foot of gripping mountain peaks. Contrast is the key word to hold onto here. My first segment was spent relaxing and watching the town slowly grow with each new tourist. After long it was obvious that I had to get out and do something productive. One friend of mine had done some trekking and loved it and after a few stories from her I was sold on the idea. Well in the end we really did find the best price in town at 25 dollars per day. Now this included: 5 horses, 1 guide, 2 helpers, all camping gear, and tons of food. With four people now roped in for this trek we were off, or at least I thought we were. I had been in contact with the head of the tour office and he was still unpaid by one in the group. Having just met the woman I did not know what to do. Luckily I ran into her at in a shop the night before our scheduled departure. Here she was shopping and no one had seen her for like 2 days. “What are you doing!?” I asked with much enthusiasm. She was caught like a deer in the head lights. Planning just to blow off the entire thing and never actually face any of us she had nothing to say. Apparently she had not been feeling well and was not confident enough to come with us. “Maybe you could have told someone in the last couple days and by the way you know you signed a contract agreeing to pay the full amount no matter what happens, right?” The conversation continued and she eventually agreed to go and try to fix things with the travel agent. Well we found out the next morning that she had done more harm than good and it was going to be a huge hassle for the owner to try and extract money from this crazy woman. So he sent us off into the new day and to say the least we were a bit shaken by this entire situation. Soon enough everyone was put at ease by our guide, Sichou. Standing about 5’5” and brandishing a golden tooth in the top front row of his teeth he appeared to be aged to perfection. Deep eyes and a wrinkled hard worn face spoke volumes of his life. Quite proficient in English, he had been doing this job for 23 years. Slowly he and the helper lead us into the blazing hot sun through and endless desert like landscape flanked by mountains and a beautiful azul river, the Indus. After about 5 hours of hiking we set up camp at a small oasis nestled in a little valley. Now after spending most of day hiking through plant deprived soil it was quite strange to have our camp be so fertile and green. A family lived nearby and had tamed the water and grown quite the assortment of foliage. Trees, flowers, grass everything was here and seemed so out of place. Ahhhh….

Breakfast and dinner were prepared every day by the guide and lunch was packed for us. Over the ten days we had quite a variety of food and we all agreed at the end that we could not have made food any tastier given the conditions. A typical day involved around 4 to 6 hours of trekking and an hour for lunch. Most nights were spent keeping warm in the main teepee made from an old parachute and drinking loads of chai. Luckily our tour company outfitted us with proper gear for the cold nights and my big puffy down sleeping bag never let me down. My two trekking buds were Jo and Inbal. Jo, from England, I had met in Minali and had been hanging with her for some time before the trip so we shared a tent. Inbal, from Israel, I had just known for a day or two. For the most part the three of us got along great and the trek was made that much better by their presence. Many days were quite challenging, but my spirits remained high throughout thanks to the beautiful scenery. Mountains upon mountains stretched as far as the eye could see. Green valleys surprised me when things seemed like they could not get any more barren. Colored rocks and Quarts decorated the many footpaths. Aqua blue and deep burgundy steaks of color randomly appeared upon cliff faces. Pretty much every 30 minutes of walking provided an entirely new palate of eye candy.

The most trying day was an ascent to 5,300 meters or about 17,000 feet. Oxygen at this height is quite scarce and I could most definitely feel lungs working at their top rate. Buddhist prayer flags greeted my arrival while faintly sending “Om Mani Padme Hum” out onto the winds whipping blow. I gave myself some quite time here and took in the amazing views my altitude afforded. Quite a long steep downward trek wore on the knees and I was so excited to see camp and drink chai that afternoon. By the last couple days of the trek I was going into robot mode. My mind would clear and the only thing that mattered was the next step. What an escape! Our last day at camp was spent thanking all of our help the horses, Sichou and the guides’ dog, Boobie. We even got to treat him to dinner in Leh one night which he was so grateful for.
All in all, the trek through Markha Valley was a life changing experience for me. Never have I been in such a remote place so far away from phones and internet. I saw many things that will stay by my side and many others that I could never truly express to you all. I have never been so consistently pushed physically and mentally. I thank Sichou for inspiring me to get more involved in these types of trips when I return to the States.

After several days of recuperation in Leh I hopped on a bus and here I am back in Vashisht…

Trip into Leh

Hello and greetings from 3,500 meters!

I just landed here in Leh yesterday after a very trying 12 hour bus journey in the very last bench seat. My journey placed me smack dab in the middle of some of the most breath taking scenery I have seen in my life and probably will ever see. Mountains of spectacular color jut up to great heights and the bleakness of high desert pulled at my innermost fears and fascinations. Up down, bumps here and there large enough to send me flying toward the ceiling of the public bus. This particular route from Minali to Keylong to Leh took me over the second highest road in the entire world. I think around 17,500+ feet high. Something inside me has shifted and I will never view nature in the same way again. Leh is a valley alive only due to various canals and a small river. Green trees give way to a totally barren land and peaks of mountains stretching up toward the sky.

From an ancient castle set into a mountainside I got an amazing 360 degree view of this impervious landscape. The mountains seem to laugh at the impermanence of life and stand very majestically and unwaveringly in their place. The castle was made back in the 17th century and is currently being repaired to serve as a monastery. We were allowed a small glimpse into a room of sacred objects lit only by the last remaining light of the day filtering in through windows high in the ceiling. Every molecule of air was dank, drenched with age and secrecy. I could hardly wrap my mind around what I was experiencing. Elaborate statues hide in shadows and masks of fright that conjure thoughts of Halloween hang on pillars. Tibetan books from the 16th century fill out a large shelf about 20ft by 8ft. I was overwhelmed by the feelings this room brought out in me. Such a strange fear and uneasiness gripped my soul and our aloof tour guide, a monk of 11 years did not help with his strange behavior and no English. He smiled at us totally accepting and unaffected by the mystical gravity of this small chamber. I must admit I was caught totally off guard when I made my way to a position behind the figures where I was almost sure a wall should be. A force of great power and secrecy lives here and it was a segment of time I shall not soon forget.

Off into the Mountains

Hello all,

I am giving you a quick update from a tiny Internet shop located in one of the many back alleys of Minali. India has continually impressed and I am still enjoying myself. Here are a few tidbits from my continued journey's.

Bhagsu greeted me with open arms and luckily I was able to begin a yoga course. There are many different schools in India, but I went for the Shivinanda style. I did about ten solid days with the same instructor. She was totally amazing and overwhelmed most of the class with her beautiful energy. Her vibe was the embodiment of the Hindi word “Shanti,” or chill. In the end I was blessed with a great base to continue from and still practice when I get a chance.

Mountains surround this small village and nature is right on my doorstep. I took several little treks into the surrounding hills and lounged by a couple beautiful waterfalls. Looking up from the city a huge ridge and snow capped mountain beyond was visible. A couple of buddies me made the trek up there one day which was about an 8 hour round trip. We were greatly rewarded when we finally crested the ridge. Fresh cool air floated from the snowy mountain before us. Eagles soared with pleasure on invisible highways. An audible silence rung in my ears and my lungs just could not get enough of the delicious oxygen. My mind cleared and I felt miles away from the town I had ventured from. Most of my time was spent meeting new people and eating around at the several villages within walking distance. I did get the rare opportunity to walk by his holiness the Dali Lama's abode. Even though he never showed up it was still quite a treat. Monks are everywhere in McCloud Ganj. Dressed in their usual red and saffron robes, they emanate quite a peaceful air. It was interesting to see the new emerging culture of the young Tibetan's. Dressed with much western influence they can be seen hanging with their buddies drinking chai most of the day. I was even invited one day to shoot a bit of hoop with these dudes on a very strange afternoon. With sandals on I played as well as could be expected, but it was incredible to be playing on a court with Tibetan's in Dharamsala...

My buddy Gilad from Israel and I were still engrossed with our yoga routine and the amazing instructor, but we were ready to keep trekking. So we hopped on a bus and ended up in Vashisht, next to Manali. Located on the side of a hill our guest house soaked up an amazing view. A winding river cut through huge mountains to form a beautiful valley. Snow still sat upon several mountains in the distance. With only a few restaurants in town and cows outnumbering the people you would think our time here would have been short, but we stayed for about a week. Hot water bubbles up from the ground into a public hot spring in the middle of town. Only men are allowed in the bath, but the women are busy doing laundry and cleaning dishes with the help of water pouring from pipes. It was these same pipes that I used on several freezing early morning baths. I would soap up and rinse all while watching snow covered peaks sleep softly in the distance. There is also a temple with a private male and female bath. I jumped right in with the locals and took several soaks. Surreal comes close to an explanation. Days began with yoga and consisted mostly of hanging with the locals and eating loads of different foods. Met a crazy French dude along the way named Cyril. He's still in the crew. Oh yes and my first American from Utah. He kind of reminded me of Uncle Steve and has a forest service job coming up this summer in North Fork. A 20 minute walk from the heart of town landed me at a breath taking waterfall. Its scale matched the surroundings at about 300 ft. I hiked a bit up to the base and found myself being blasted by the power of this giant. Cold wind shot an energy rich mist that saturated my entire being. I felt so alive. Added 20 more minutes to the same hike and a new level of the falls exposed itself. A huge fan of water exploded from its mouth into a serene pool studded with miscellaneous boulders. Mist hung silently in the air giving a mystical feeling to the place. It only got better as I walked behind the falls and saw reality through a veil of water. Easily the most impressive thing I have witnessed in Inida to date. Someone opened the Indian tourist floodgates and we knew it was time to go.

Everyone seemed to be pushing up to Leh, but with the pass freshly opened only jeeps are allowed and cost about $50 per person. So we headed in the exact opposite direction toward Parvatti valley. Kasol was a bit much and after a quick bite we were back on the bus to a smaller village, Jari. WOW! Situated on a sheltered hill this was the quintessential town that time forgot. No cars or scooters to speak of and only a few buildings. Authentic places like this have been hard to find on my trip so far and I was quite glad to just relax and hang. Children with great big white toothed smiles always want to know, "where from and how old?" Most of the kids ten and older spoke amazingly great English for such a young age. I only got in a couple days here because we caught wind that the road to Leh was now officially open to buses.

So today we all came back to Manali. Bus to Keylong in the morn around 5 then up up up to Leh. Hope everyone is happy and great. Much love and peace to all.

India, land of possibility

Here I am!

Dharamsala is my new residence. My shop has now been set up for about a week. I arrived in Delhi late at night and was a bit hoodwinked into a more than cheap cab and a bit of a dive hotel. Luckily this was all very much expected although i was exhausted by the end of the day. Up early an adventure in a rickshaw ensued. These tiny little three wheeled coffins are the only way to get around town. Zooming through the city I coughed on exhaust, witnessed cows in center divides and throngs of Indian’s wandering seemingly aimlessly. Fortunately my driver was cool and advised me to stay away from the scalpers in front of the train station. I took his advice to heart and ended up in a special visitor ticket center. Surprisingly clean plus the all important highly coveted AC! Only problem was that my train was not until about 9 PM and I was there at about 8AM. After hours of hanging around the cool room I was kicked out by the head lady for loitering. hehehe. As the heat of the day advanced i moved with the quickness to Old Delhi train station and waited....Many people were waiting for a train that seemed never to come. Entire families with masses of miscellaneous stuff sprawled the entire length of the main platform. Men with special turbans filled their roles as porters for those who had the extra money. Action surrounded me completely: Babies crying, trains rumbling and horn blowing, people staring, dogs scrapping, beggars asking, and children wondering what (me) the white boy is doing at the station. Finally after a day of waiting the train was announced and I found my place on a double tiered top AC bunk. Apparently this was riding in style although i have my doubts. After a very hot uncomfortable 12 hours I treated myself to a 3 hour bus ride. This tough journey laded me in the beautiful and bustling city of McLeod Ganj (Dharamsala). No luck in a guest house so I caught a rickshaw with a girl from the bus to Bhagsu the next town over.

On a hunch we lugged our belongings up a steep hill to a guesthouse perched high above the little town. My room is awesome. The entire room is wooden and little pieces of art spruce up the place. There is even a curved rainbow above my elevated sleeping platform (BOYGBIV). As the low fading day light filtered into my room through two Star of David windows I took in the lovely scene of lush green mountain ranges and a beautiful snow capped peak in the distance. I took a deep breath; I was now officially in India.

My friends and personal guru's consist of 2 girls from England, 1 dude from the Ilse of Mann, and guy from Israel. Everyone gets on great and we are all after the same goal...to learn the yogic and meditative ways of India and seek a new state of awareness. So far i have been recovering from a little sickness, but tomorrow i will attend my first yoga class. Everything here is so simple and slow. Everyone on the staff at the guest house has a warm heart and inviting smiles.

India has greeted me with open arms...even kind enough to give me a case of the Delhi Belly yesterday :(. Up here the air is clean and crisp along with cold temps at night. burrr. Every morsel of food i have tasted offers a new experience for my taste buds. With such a diverse crowd of tourists every type of food is available and many restaurants cater to the large Israeli crowd.

People are quite open with their interesting lives and new people enter my life everyday. Never have I been in a place of such high consciousness. As of today I absolutely love this place!

Love and Peace to all!