Thursday, May 16
An early morning walk led us to an authentic chai shop where the local old men gathered. Our driver arrived on time but we had to stop after 2.5 hours due to traffic obstruction. Fine, we ate breakfast to pass time. We had a few more shortish stops (10 minutes) but then we got caught in a muti-hour stop. I equated it to my Myanmar traffic ordeal but we had our own car/driver and our guide spoke English so he could explain what was happening. The narrow roads couldn’t accommodate 2-way traffic with large cars so they stopped traffic in one direction. I’m writing this part live and am very tired of sitting here.
Stop 3 hours, drive 30 minutes, stop 1 hour, drive 30 minutes, stop. DH2 said he liked this experience because when we were stopped, the fellow travelers were jovial pilgrims ready to party.
Ok, that 7 hour trip took 13 hours. Ugh.
There was no parking in Gangotri so we had to walk some distance into the village. After dropping our bags, we walked to the temple to experience the chaos of the Pilgrims. There was an ATM right outside the temple for all your offering needs.
Friday, May 17
For breakfast we had a variety of food including a graham flour fried sandwich, samosa, and mango. I believe this was the beginning of me getting very sick.
We began the trek at 9am through the Himalayas, out of the village, following the river. The first 6km were moderately hard but manageable. I discovered that my rain hat was hot and as the temperature rose, I slowed and felt ill. I think the food with the heat was my downfall. At the end of the 10km, my stomach was not well complete with all types of digestive ailments. Thankfully, GF is a medical doctor and oversaw my recovery. It did mean that I was not going to summit to the Ganges source on the next day. That night was miserable.
Saturday, May 18
I remained in camp as I bid farewell to the guide and companions as they headed out on the trek. I knew I would have 6-8 hours by myself with limited activities so I had to be creative in how I scheduled my time.
My first idea of how to fill time was to document sunrise over Bhagirathi every 5 minutes but I discovered that after 40 minutes, no light on the mountain had changed so I modified the schedule to every hour.
When sitting by the river, the sun was intense and the wind was refreshing but when sitting in camp, I froze in the shade and melted in the sun. At the top of each hour, I walked to the river, took my photo and sat by the river for as long as I could (5-20 minutes) either thinking about life or reading. Then I’d wander back to camp to take a spoonful of rice porridge, sip mint tea, and read. In camp, I had to move the folding table every few minutes to get the right combination of sun and shade. I sat at the edge of the shade so I could stick a leg out into the sun to stay warm. It was quite intense.
My companions returned tired after their 13,000ft summit and we had an early night. I was feeling a little better and slept a little better.
Sunday, May 19
Feeling a little better, I consumed enough calories to hike down to Gangotri. We hiked down more quickly than up and arrived in only 3 hours. We were afforded a room to rest while they found our stored bags and we settled our bill. After a butter paneer, we bid adieu to our guide and set off with our driver to Uttarkashi.
We had to travel back on the roads with awful traffic so I read “Galapagos” while my companions slept or listened to audio books. The drive and stopped times were shorter, even though it was raining, so we arrived at Uttarkashi in a reasonable 5.5 hours. I had heartburn again so I ate white rice and went to sleep by 8:30.
Monday, May 20
We finally had eggs after many days in an egg-free zone, so we wrapped the eggs in a chapati and I pretended it was an egg burrito. We’re currently on the road to Rishikesh. The roads are windy with variable quality, many cows and monkeys, but no stopped traffic. What will happen next?
After arriving in the very hot and hazy Rishikesh, we found a grocery store to buy “cheese”, crackers, peanut butter, and honey. Delicious. We chilled in the hotel (AC & WiFi!!!) during the 102 degree afternoon and ventured out in a tuktuk to go to The Pink Cafe for dinner where they did their best to serve continental food. The chicken burger had beets on it and the cocktail was watered down. At least it wasn’t spicy.
After dinner, we walked across a crowded pedestrian bridge to crowded bathing ghats and sat through horrific traffic back to the hotel.
You must be logged in to post a comment.