Adventure!

Rickshaw ride into Upper Dharamsala


If I had to sum up my last 6 days or so with one word, "adventure" would suffice.
Having gone through the incredibly bureaucratic (and expensive) process of reserving a room at a government rest house in Kareri, the village I planned to hike to on my first day, (I won't go into details, but it involved writing numerous letters, and several trips to different government offices) I set off with my heavy pack. I'd been walking for less than an hour when my body decided to pay me back for those dirty samosas I'd eaten the day before at a roadside dhaba. Yeah..... 'nuff said.




Anyways, after sorting myself out, I set off once again towards Kareri. Alas, due to a combination of bad maps, bad hindi (mine), bad english, and bad directions, I found myself in the dark, in the jungle, on a steep ridge across a very large valley from Kareri, on a trail that was taking me a direction that I didn't want to go. Far below me in the valley bottom, I could see a few lights from the villages scattered along the river and what appeared to be an easy walk down a spur. I went for it. I strapped on my trusty headlamp and began my descent.... The nice spur soon turned into a cliff band surrounded by jungle. (It's worth noting that there are 2 trails to Kareri from the village at the bottom of the valley. The one I had just left eventually would have taken me there, but it was more than 10km long. The other path was 1.5km) I seriously considered setting up camp right there under the stars, and I might have done just that had I not booked that @#$&ing room at the resthouse. I PAID for that room, I went to a lot of effort to reserve it, and I was going to USE it! ... just as soon as I found it. I backtracked to a point where I could climb down the spur, turned on my halogen bulb and was enveloped by the jungle. Some time later, slightly scratched and bruised, but undeterred, I emerged at the valley bottom. I knocked on the door of a house, and in pidgin hindi attempted to ask directions to the resthouse. Thankfully, one of the family members spoke english. He said that it was not possible to get to the resthouse that night because it involved crossing the river, and the paths were confusing in the dark. He insisted that I stay the night with him and his family. They were so warm and kind and curious. They fed me, gave me chai, and gave me a bed. We sat by the fire in the kitchen and talked. Very cool. I told them about Canada, and showed them pictures of my family... and they talked about life in their village. They seemed suprised that I was not yet married. It's amazing how differently you're treated by people as soon as you venture outside of the main tourist areas. I was treated warmly and with respect... something I found sadly lacking in Delhi. I've met only wonderful people there.

Kids playing cricket.







After breakfast the next morning I once again strapped on my excruciatingly heavy pack and set off towards my next destination, Kareri Lake (3200m) 13km away if you take the right paths. I'll save you the suspense, I didn't take the right paths. More adventure ensued. The $4 stove didn't make it back. We had irreconcilable differences. I wanted it to boil water, it refused. I thought it best that we went our own separate ways. I spent 2 chilly nights in a sod roofed shepard's hut at Kareri Lake and one more in a clearing beside the trail to the lake. I cooked my food over wood fires. There is NOBODY up there. I didn't see a soul for 3 entire days. Quite a feat in this country.

The pass didn't happen. I climbed to the top with my small daypack and found it to be extremely demanding and tricky. The route is rugged, steep, and not obvious for much of the way to the top. That the north side (descent) was covered with much more snow, coupled with the fact that I didn't have a working stove, had no possibility of rescue, and wasn't absolutely sure of the route down made a crossing with the added weight of my big pack a very sketchy proposition. Holing up for a day or so on a mountain is ok if people know you're there... It's a different deal when you're as isolated as I was. So I turned back.




I found my way back to Dharamsala, had a few more adventures, and a few more memorable experiences. One that sticks out was the village celebration I stumbled across and was invited to join. I stayed for some EXCELLENT food (they literally had piles of it) and shared some stories before continuing along.
All in all, a great hike.

The plan for now is.... well there is no plan. I'll recover a bit here, (Dharamsala's not such a bad place to hang out) then figure out my next move.