Life in the Clouds: A Trek to Kuari Pass

Life in the Clouds: A Trek to Kuari Pass

Here is the story of my incredible trek to the high Himalayas (13,000 ft) last week in pictures.

We left last Sunday from Mussoorie at 6:00am and had a long day of driving to reach Auli where we spent the night in Mountain Shepherds’ (the company we went through) lodge. It was a long day of driving with really windy roads, but the drive was gorgeous! We stopped a few times for bathroom breaks, chai stops, and meals. Oh yea, and we stopped twice for tire repairs. The first time it was just a puncture that they tried to repair in a small town along the way. The second time the tire had to be replaced. It sounds really bad, but luckily our taxi driver’s friend stopped and helped him change the tire. It only took 15-20 minutes total.

A view from the drive to Auli.

A rest stop in in India.

 Our punctured tire after it had been repaired. This time, the driver actually had to change it. 

We had a great dinner in Auli at the lodge when we arrived. It was pitch black, so we couldn’t see the mountains yet (only the stars). However, when we woke up in the morning, we got gorgeous views of the snow peaks of the Himalayas. This included Nanda Devi, the highest peak in the Indian Himalayas. We were so close to these enormous mountains. It was quite magical and a bit cold! =)

 The lodge in Auli

Some provisions for our trek ready to be carried by the mules.

 The view I woke up to in the morning.

We started off our trek after breakfast. The first day, we hiked up to 8,000 feet and came back to sleep at about 7,000. All of our days were full of beautiful panoramic views of the Himalayas. The first day, we walked through gorgeous meadows.

 This is a view of Nanda Devi - the highest Himalaya in India and the most sacred. It is now a biosphere, so no one can make the ascent anymore.

 On the first day, we walked by a mundir (temple). These are some beautiful bells we saw.

These are two of the Mountain Shepherd guides. The guide on the right was with us for the entire trip. He is 23 years old from Lata Village which we visited later. I really enjoyed speaking only in Hindi with him (although he does know some English).

 More bells at the temple.

 Some of the beautiful meadows we saw on our first and second days.

 We had beautiful panoramas of the Himalayas.

 

One of the nice things about trekking in India is that you don’t have to carry your belongings or make your food. We had incredible meals made by Pushkar, our cook, and our sleeping bags, etc. were carried by mules. For dinner, we always had a dal, roti, rice, and vegetable as well as a sweet. My favorite breakfast was pancakes with honey, eggs, and these sweet, crunchy sesame seed snacks made of jaggery (sugar cane). Yum! 

 

On day 2, we left from our camp and hiked up to our next campsite through more meadows, across a ridge, along a beautiful pond, through the woods, and up to a nice campsite below Kuari Pass. We made it just in time. It was getting cold, and we woke up to snow on the ground the next morning. We had to amend our plans just a bit due to the snow. We made it as far as we could up to one of the summits of Kuari Pass which was covered in snow. Then, we descended to the same campsite as the previous night to warm up and eat some lunch. We would hike about 6 hours a day taking breaks in between to enjoy, take photos, etc. It was extremely cold in the nights, and we built fires to stay warm. One night, we all sang songs around the fire. We alternated between English, Hindi, Garhwali, and French songs. (We met two French backpackers the first night camping.) Even in my down sleeping bag, fleece liner, and three layers of wool socks, I still got cold sleeping in the tents. I would make the trek again in a heartbeat, but it was a bit cold in process.

I fell in love again with the beauty of the mountains. It was such a peaceful setting to walk along these ridges and stare out at the Himalayas. We saw some beautiful birds as well including two golden eagles. The wildlife was not around so much except for a few cows and goats along the way, but we did see some tracks which indicated there were bears and snow leopards nearby. As you can probably imagine, I had a really hard time leaving this incredible place.

 Our mules walking along the ridge.

 This was our lunch spot with Bijju (guide) walking in the background.

 The camp for night 2.

We woke up to a bit of snow after the second night. I was really lucky not have to wash the dishes in the cold water.

 This is the tent where all of our food was prepared and where the guides slept.

It looks cold right?

I was lucky to have brought lots of warm wool clothing which I bought in Mussoorie. I also found another use for my umbrella - hiking stick. It made me look a little like Mary Poppins but was really helpful to avoid slipping going both up and down.

 A snow storm rolling in forced us to head back to the camp for lunch.

 Here are all of our guides outside the tent (plus an extra who wanted to get in the picture). From left to right, Bijju (our guide), Pushkar (a fantastic cook!), Vinod (egg walla/carrier), Rani (mule man and singer with an infectious smile).

 The whole group of trekers and guides.

 Here I am along a ridge from which I could see the Himalayas on both sides.

 After walking at least 7 km a day for three days (11 km on the fourth day), one of my smart wool socks had enough.

We ended up cutting our trek one day short because of the snow, so we had an extra day where Bijju took us to his village, which is less than 140 km from Tibet. On the way, we saw some hot springs.

 We were stopped by some sheep traffic.

 Lata Village has both a summer and winter village which helps with staying cool in the summer and warm in the winter. The village is located in the middle of the mountains, near Nanda Devi, and a beautiful river. I have never seen stars so beautiful. Below is one of the women collecting grass for her animals to keep them alive in the winter. Bijju's mother at 65 years old was out all day collecting grass on the side of the mountain for their animals. It is hard work, but they still manage to smile and have such a positive outlook on life. Below are some pictures of the village.

 A woman carrying water from the tap.

 Two of the cute kids we met who had a school holiday for Eid.

The source of work in this village is farming. This woman is threshing some sort of grain.

 Bijju's cows. We drank some butter tea from these cows while we were there. It's quite a delicacy, and they added some bark from the Yew tree which is supposed to help cure cancer. I was not a huge fan but drank it without making too many faces.

 This temple in the village is over 2,000 years old.

 Bijju put bindis on all of our foreheads at the temple.

 Below is one of the houses used to store grass for the animals in the winter.

 Bijju's family. His dad in the center is 78 years old. He and his wife were married when she was 9 years old and he was 22. Child marriages are much less common now. Bijju's brother even had a love marriage.

 I tried to use the farming skills I learned at Navdanya to help harvest the amaranth and rajma. It was slow, but we actually cleared 4 of the terrace fields using sickles. For us it was fun, for them it's a daily routine.

 Bijju's sister-in-law and nephew

On our way back from Lata, we ran into another road block.

As you can probably tell, I had an incredible adventure to Kuari Pass and Lata Village. I really didn't want to leave. I am going to be planning another trek coming up or at least before I leave. One of my favorite parts was putting my Hindi to use with Bijju and the people in Lata. In Lata, the primary language is Garhwali, but most people also speak Hindi. Therefore, I was inspired to start learning Garhwali which I am beginning next week in addition to my Hindi classes.

All is well here! I hope you are all safe and doing well!

Lots of love,

Margaret

An Upcoming Trek and Some Food for Thought

 An Upcoming Trek and Some Food for Thought

I am getting ready to go for a big trek this coming week! It’s called Kuari Pass, and I am leaving tomorrow at 6:00am! I’m so excited to be even closer to the peaks of the gorgeous Himalayas. I am taking a week of school and going with five other women I have met here. We leave tomorrow and overnight in a lodge after about 10 hours of driving (yuck!). Then, we are off on Monday to start trekking. We will be out for either four or five days before spending our final night in the lodge and then coming back to Mussoorie on Friday or Saturday! The weather is going to be really cold at night (maybe even snow), but I was lucky enough to borrow a friend’s down sleeping bag and fleece liner. I think I am set for the trek! 

In preparation for my trek, I had the adventure of buying dried fruits in the bazaar. It’s amazing what kind of delicious treats you can find here! I got figs, dates, coconut, apricots (imported), and cashews! I also sprung for some dark chocolate to mix it up a bit more! The figs come on a rope which is pretty interesting, and then you get to pick the amount of each item you want! Everything is sold out of bins (which I am hoping are clean). =) I only have to worry about my snacks for the trek because we are going through a trekking company. They will make all of our meals, and mules will carry our belongings. All I have to do is bring enough warm clothing and enjoy the beauty of the mountains!

My Hindi is still going well. I watched a really great Hindi movie which I actually recommend. It’s called 3 Idiots and has great songs, dancing, a good message, and beautiful scenery. I have discovered that some of the Bollywood movies are not for me because they are too long (3 plus hours) or the story is too cheesy. I am glad to have found one that I really enjoy and am going to keep my eyes out for more recommendations because it’s a good way to practice my Hindi. I even turned off the English subtitles for this one!

Here are the highlights on the other things in my life currently. I have been continuing my cooking classes once a week – this week I learned to make kitjeeree and pakora. (see the picture below) I am working on coordinating the next lecture series which will be special because we are entering into festival season. Last night, I had an amazing Navartari thali (which is basically a sampling of a bunch of different kinds of food for the nine day festival). My thali had a special parantha (made of buckwheat because you can’t eat flour for nine days), puri (also made of buckwheat), pumpkin (without onion and garlic – another no during the festival), potato kebabs, malai kofta (a creamy dish with dumplings), special rice (normal rice is also not allowed), and kheer (an amazing sweet made of milk, millet, and sugar). It was absolutely delicious. I really wish I had taken a picture!

Apart from food, I have been doing some upcoming trip planning, research preparation, Hindi study, etc. It’s really nice to feel like a part of the community here in Mussoorie. Being here for two and a half months has allowed me to get to know some wonderful people through cooking classes, Church meetings, and the lecture series. Yesterday, I even was invited to a one-year old girl’s birthday party. I knew the family from Church, but it was really nice of them to include me in the festivities. The birthday party was almost like an Indian wedding! There was a big tent, tons of food and sweets, and the little birthday girl wore a sari the color and style of a bride’s sari. 

I almost forgot! One of my Fulbright friends performed traditional Indian dance, and I attended the recital. They introduced her as Sarah from America. =) See the pictures below. The dance was about the state of Uttarakhand. A little boy was dressed as the state and the girls around him were the 13 districts. Sarah from America was the Ganga river.

All in all, things are going well. I am absorbing the Indian culture through my study of language and interaction with the community. I am looking forward to my trek tomorrow, upcoming travels, and research! 

Best wishes and lots of love to everyone!

Margaret

There is Uttarakhand under an umbrella with the region of Kumaon.

This apparently was the only exciting thing happening in Mussoorie. The press and the parents were anxious to take pictures. Note: They are all front and center.

Note the dress on the left is different from the right. The left represents the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand, and the right represents the Garhwal region.

A little blury, but this is Sarah from America playing the Ganga river.

 Yum! Pakora! Made of chickpea flour, mashed potatoes, onions, and spices. Then, they are fried. Also good with ketchup.

 These are my handmade shoes that I bought a while back to match my sari.

Mussoorie

Hi everyone,

I have time to write this blog because the internet is out yet again. This is what I get for choosing the beautiful scenery of living in the middle of the woods with the view of the Doon valley and rivers flowing between the Shivalik mountains. My life is so hard… =) 

[Note: I wrote this blog on Wednesday but didn't get to post it because the internet went out. The lecture I mention went really well. I also led Women's Bible Study on Saturday in Hindi. :) I will try to write an updated post. Enjoy the pictures too!]

My Hindi classes are going pretty well. I went to Bible study tonight and watched a Hindi movie on Monday night. My comprehension has significantly improved. I dream about speaking good Hindi soon. I am not positive it will be good enough for me to conduct my interviews without a translator (at least initially), but I at least have no problem getting around now. Yesterday, I went to the bazaar to buy some clothes with two of my friends. I need some warmer Indian suits because the weather is cooling off here in Mussoorie. I was able to talk with the shop keepers without much difficulty. My grammar was not perfect, and sometimes I had to pause to think my sentences through but it’s getting easier. I am even making a point to incorporate the new vocabulary and sentence structures I am learning at school!

A quick note on the joy of shopping in India – and by India I mean Mussoorie. I am lucky here because the store owners do not hassle you as they may in other parts of India. My experience from yesterday went like this. I started at the Kashmiri suit shop (Indian outfits are often called suits for women). You can buy fabric separately or you can buy prepackaged suits. Most of the suits are sheets of fabric that you then take to the tailor to have them stitched. However, some suits are ready-made in which case you may just need a quick stitch. This time I went with the suit sets. The first suit I bought is a wool-cotton blend. It has some nice embroidery on the bottom and came with fabric for the top and bottoms. I later purchased some ribbon from the ribbon/button/thread store to decorate the neckline. I am excited to show you what it looks like. I will send pictures after I get my clothes back from the tailor next week. From the second shop, I bought a cotton suit to wear in the warmer weather. After the shop keeper pulled out about 20 suits, I found the one I liked best. (They pull the fabric out of the plastic to show you, and I am glad I am not the one who has to refold all of these suits.) Many of the suits have a top with contrasting fabric for the pants and scarf (three-piece suits). My pants were not contrasting, so I had to make a stop at another fabric store to buy solid colored fabric for my pants.

Last Thursday night, I had another cooking class. We made malai kofta and bangan ka barta (potato/cheese balls fried and soaked in gravy with cream and mashed eggplant). The food was delicious! I am also discovering that not all Indian sweets taste bad. Maybe this is because I have been here long enough to forget the taste of real ice cream and chocolate. The sugary, milky desserts are growing on me. My favorite right now is this local Mussoorie sweet called bal metayee. (My spellings of Hindi words in English are terrible.) It’s the closest sweet to chocolate fudge I have found. It is made with sugar, condensed milk, and cocoa powder and covered with tiny white candies. I am attaching a picture that my friend took from one of the sweet shops here in Mussoorie.

On Sunday, I went for a five hour hike with one of my friends. We started near my school went down a beautiful path, crossed a small stream/waterfall, hiked up to a gorgeous village situated in the middle of a mountain, and up to one of the major roads. It was a wonderful time! My favorite part from this story is that we started to go the wrong way and had to turn around. I didn’t have much idea where were going nor did my friend. I casually mentioned how nice it would be to have a guide or at least someone to point out the way. Not more than 2 minutes later did we run into two university students who were mapping the path. Not only did we join them for the rest of their hike, but they also informed us they were working in the village which was part of our hike. They are making efforts to restore village life and bring a certain kind of tourist to the area. It was really interesting. I was a little shocked because every day the people from this village walk 2 hours each way for their school and work. Many of the villagers work in Mussoorie or sell their milk there. 

This path is well kept, but it’s pretty steep for the nice weather, not to mention the monsoon and cold, snowy weather. With that kind of routine, there would be no need to exercise. Walking long distances for school is a usual story. Almost all of the children I know walk at least an hour to get to school. Many of the paths are not well-maintained and are really steep considering we live in the mountains. Also, many houses do not have road access so even having a car would not solve the problem. I think it’s safe to say that just about any of these kids would have been able to run circles around me at the Delhi half marathon!

That’s it for now. We are having another lecture tomorrow night featuring two other Fulbrighters and myself. It should be a good time!

Lots of love,

Margaret

 My goodies from the marathon bag in Delhi. We had left this strewn about in the hotel room and the maid was nice enough to organize them for us. I thought this was kind of funny.

Check out those snow peaks! I am going on a trek next week! =)

The beginning of my hike.

 Before we got lost. =)

After meeting our guides and friends.

 

It was really beautiful!

Walking along the ridge.

Kolti village

A Cicada =)

By the way, I am still working on the bird pictures, but they are pretty quick. However, my mom did send me a pair of binoculars. =)

Delhi Half Marathon

Hi all,

Sorry for the delayed blog post. I have been busy the past week with some traveling!

I took the night train to and from Delhi (Thursday and Monday nights). I now realize what a great way this is to travel! I was skeptical at first and was lucky because I knew others who were on the same train. Still, both experiences went off without a hitch! I arrived to the stations about one hour before each train, boarded, and set up my bed. In the nicer compartments on the night trains, you get your own bed, clean sheets, a pillow, and a blanket. It’s really great! Then, there is a curtain you can use to make your bed a bit more private. I rode in second class AC on the way to Delhi and first class on the way back based on the ticket availability. I slept like a baby on both trips. I selected the Mussoorie Express train because it’s ten hours. This meant I could get a good night sleep and wake up in a new place. The other option was to take the fast night train, but it is only 5 ½ hours, which is barely enough time to fall asleep. In any case, the train itself is wonderful because it is like being rocked to sleep. It’s sufficiently dark and quiet (in my experience), and lying down is quite a luxury. I fell asleep shortly after boarding both times and woke up at my destination. For all of the inefficiencies in India, train travel is not one of them (thanks to the British).

In Delhi, I met up with a few friends as well as my Fulbright adviser at the economic research institute with which I am affiliated. On Friday, I spent the day with my friend Sohini at the mall in Delhi. This was like going back to the U.S. For lunch, we treated ourselves to Chili’s, a restaurant I usually don’t visit in the U.S. However, it tasted like home to me. I had some delicious quesadillas, black beans, and pico de gallo! It was quite amazing! Although I have been eating well in Mussoorie, I have missed some of these Mexican flavors which remind me of home.

I spent the rest of my time in Delhi with my friend Ashwin (from Xavier), two of his childhood friends, and one of their fathers. We all met in Delhi to participate in the Airtel half marathon. I actually had not intended to run because my foot had been bothering me, and I hadn’t been formally training. After starting the race, I could not help but finish. I planned only to run to India Gate and then call it a day. However, the energy of the thousands of people participating, all the music, and my love of running got the better of me. I had to finish! I completely surprised myself by running the entire race in 2 hours and 22 minutes! Apparently, all of the walking in high altitude in Mussoorie paid off because I set a good pace and did not feel winded throughout the race. I do have to mention that the course was very flat, but I was still excited to have completed my first half marathon! Throughout the race, there was a lot of music being played, water stations, and orange stations (much like races in the U.S.). However, instead of t-shirts which are often given out in the U.S., our goody bags included quite a bit of vitamins, medicine, and energy drinks samples. My favorite freebie was the vitamin sample for seniors. =) We had a really fun time at the race and got to catch up! For my next half marathon, I will make sure to train at high altitudes!

On Monday, I met with my Fulbright adviser who works for the economics research institute with which I am affiliated for my upcoming research. He gave me a lot of really useful advice and some action items to begin right now. My list of things to do keeps getting longer, but I see this as a very good sign! My adviser is going to put me in touch with an institute in Dehradun to help with my survey design. In addition, I am going to start identifying the population with which I will be working so I can select my sample. My official research does not begin until December, but I am going to lay the groundwork now, so that I can get off to a positive start. In our discussion, my adviser highlighted the importance of water management in the Indian Himalayas. The whole country of India relies on the Himalayas as their source of water in some way (through rivers, etc.). Therefore, it’s important to know in particular how climates are changing. For example, over the last four years, Uttarakashi (a district in the state of Uttarakhand) has been experiencing extreme flooding. In mid-August, there was a cloud burst and lots of flooding that killed over 150 people. Another concern he expressed was that rivers in India may become seasonal due to changes in precipitation patterns and melting of the glaciers. All of this is impacted by the construction of roads (through drilling), dams, and other large infrastructure projects which cause micro-climate change to the surrounding regions. India has already seen change in the flow of the Yamuna River which flows behind the Taj Mahal in Agra. When I visited two years ago, the Yamuna River which used to sit as a beautiful backdrop to the Taj was completely dry. This becomes even more complicated for Hindus who conduct their worship in the rivers. Many Hindus have stopped bathing in the sacred waters because of the pollution and reduced flow of the once abundant rivers (River of Love in an Age of Pollution, David Haberman).

It is often disheartening to think of these large problems and feel that there is nothing to be done. However, on Tuesday, I met with HIMCON, the NGO I am working with in Uttarakhand. Through them, I see quite a bit of hope. Their networks are bringing mountain villagers together to discuss the issues of water management. Many of their projects focus on the providing clean drinking water, harvesting rainwater, recharging natural springs, and managing forests. Through their work in villages, they identify the needs of the people involved, empower women to organize in their communities, and help people help themselves. For Gandhi’s birthday (Tuesday, October 2), they held a short program for the community in celebration of their accomplishments and plans for the future. In particular, their small school helps educate the youth of the villages in which they work learn how to care for their resources and develop practical skills. Being with them is quite inspiring.

I came back to Mussoorie on Wednesday just in time for my Hindi classes. I had a great opportunity to use my recently acquired Hindi skills in speaking with the village people who attended the program on Tuesday. However, my interaction showed me that I still have a lot to learn. I am so grateful to have this preparation time during my language studies and am looking forward to working with these communities in the coming months.

Thanks to all of you who have sent me email updates about your own lives and thanks for reading. Stay in touch!

Margaret

 

Here I am after the successful completion of the half marathon.