Fortunately as our group was small, the fears which we slept with were not realized. Still as the area near the Gujjar huts was pretty open, we had to go a long way to find some privacy to attend to nature's call. But the water streams there were so freaking cold that we almost feared the possibility of frost bite post the face wash sessions. Post the staple breakfast it was time to wrap things up there but looking at the bill and the highly priced meal charges, a confrontation was inevitable. Negotiations proved fruitful as we saved some bucks there.
The down hill trek to Lata provided us with two options. One way was through the nearby villages and was pretty much straight forward but a little longer than the second one. The second one was apparently shorter but was a little difficult given the two landslides which had broken the trek path terribly. After our spectacular performance the other day, the group was pretty much motivated and charged up and of course considered the second option. And so we began. The initial trek was a gradual downhill one but my entire attention was towards the landslides which were to come. The speed at which we were descending was unbelievable.
And finally we encountered the first of the two devils. It was a mean looking landslide. Deceptive at the first sight. You would think you could but wasn't that easy. It actually required us to slide sideways with both hands holding whatever they could find. Flashes of the movie Cliffhanger came before my eyes. Our guides helped us out by telling us where to put our feet and where not to. Those were some scary moments but we all made it safely to the other end. The other landslide was equally dangerous but the confidence from the first one helped big time. Post that we ventured into the forests again and regained that impressive pace. On the way, we encountered Walnut trees and lots of walnuts spread on the ground. It suddenly occurred to me how damn expensive they are in the markets. And before I realized it, I had quite a few in my hands.
Before we knew it, we were almost there. We could see the Lata village at some distance. We resumed the journey after a beautiful lunch on the sidelines of this huge stream. On the way, we met few people from another trek group which was supposed to climb to Belak. But the time at which they were to start was ridiculously late and we suggested them to abandon their plans as it would be really difficult trek in the evening hours not to mention the scary landslides. Moreover, they had no torches with them. But then they decided to continue only to return back in couple of hours.
We managed to find a small restaurant for lunch. Our bus was to pick us up there en route to Gangotari. But as the roads were badly damaged there was considerable delay in its arrival and to kill the time we found a local saloon owned by a person named Lalit Modi. At first instance, we were skeptical that he might con us and run away with all our belongings courtesy his namesake. But he turned out to be a really simple guy. Like so many other villagers whom we met there. It is amazing to find such simplicity and innocence today. So much needs to be done for such people.
Finally the bus came and took us to Gangotri which was surprisingly very cold. Faced some hard time finding our guest house and then the dinner. But the mind was already focused on that one last uphill trek that was to come tomorrow. Post that, everything would be down and easy. So we thought!
Click here to read about Day 8
The down hill trek to Lata provided us with two options. One way was through the nearby villages and was pretty much straight forward but a little longer than the second one. The second one was apparently shorter but was a little difficult given the two landslides which had broken the trek path terribly. After our spectacular performance the other day, the group was pretty much motivated and charged up and of course considered the second option. And so we began. The initial trek was a gradual downhill one but my entire attention was towards the landslides which were to come. The speed at which we were descending was unbelievable.
And finally we encountered the first of the two devils. It was a mean looking landslide. Deceptive at the first sight. You would think you could but wasn't that easy. It actually required us to slide sideways with both hands holding whatever they could find. Flashes of the movie Cliffhanger came before my eyes. Our guides helped us out by telling us where to put our feet and where not to. Those were some scary moments but we all made it safely to the other end. The other landslide was equally dangerous but the confidence from the first one helped big time. Post that we ventured into the forests again and regained that impressive pace. On the way, we encountered Walnut trees and lots of walnuts spread on the ground. It suddenly occurred to me how damn expensive they are in the markets. And before I realized it, I had quite a few in my hands.
Before we knew it, we were almost there. We could see the Lata village at some distance. We resumed the journey after a beautiful lunch on the sidelines of this huge stream. On the way, we met few people from another trek group which was supposed to climb to Belak. But the time at which they were to start was ridiculously late and we suggested them to abandon their plans as it would be really difficult trek in the evening hours not to mention the scary landslides. Moreover, they had no torches with them. But then they decided to continue only to return back in couple of hours.
We managed to find a small restaurant for lunch. Our bus was to pick us up there en route to Gangotari. But as the roads were badly damaged there was considerable delay in its arrival and to kill the time we found a local saloon owned by a person named Lalit Modi. At first instance, we were skeptical that he might con us and run away with all our belongings courtesy his namesake. But he turned out to be a really simple guy. Like so many other villagers whom we met there. It is amazing to find such simplicity and innocence today. So much needs to be done for such people.
Finally the bus came and took us to Gangotri which was surprisingly very cold. Faced some hard time finding our guest house and then the dinner. But the mind was already focused on that one last uphill trek that was to come tomorrow. Post that, everything would be down and easy. So we thought!
Click here to read about Day 8
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