Himalayan Trekking Pt. 1

Day 1 - Aug. 7 - Sipthuk-Linchen (3 hrs)

After spending about half a week in Leh, it was now time to venture off into the Himalayas - or as the locals called it, Dhevbumi - "the Adobe of the Gods". The Himalayas is the ultimate challenge for all mountaineers. This extraordinary mountain range runs through parts of India, Tibet, China, Pakistan, Nepal and Bhutan and contains some of the highest mountains in the world. One of these mountains is Mt. Everest, which at 8,848 meters (29,028 ft.), is indisputably the world's highest peak. We weren't going to quite reach that level of elevation but we were due to definitely hit some peaks of an elevation beyond 5,000 meters!

Right: The Stevens Family about to start their 8 day hike into the Himalayas at Sipthuk Bridge.

Above: Our guide Dawa meditates at the Kandla Base.		 We got off to a delayed start as we had chosen to catch a glimpse of the Dalai Lama the morning we were due to part. We set off; the four of us, 1 guide, 1 cook, 2 horsemen, 5 horses and 1 extra helper. The first day of the trek was supposed to be the easiest of them all as the elevation is the lowest - Sipthuk Bridge was only a "mere" 3230 meters (10,659 ft.). This was not the case however as the late start meant we were walking when the sun's heat was at it's most sweltering. Also, we had done ourselves no favors by drinking most of our water supply for the day whilst waiting for the Dalai Lama. We arrived at our camp base, near the village of Linchen late that evening dehydrated, exhausted and ready for a good night sleep.

Day 2 - Aug 8 - Linchen-Base Kandla (7 hrs)

The second day of the trek was one probably best forgotten. We left Jingchan promptly at 8:15 in the morning and walked for 5 and a half hours to the base camp of Mt. Ganda La. Along the way we visited the villages of Rumbuk and Yurutse - where we sampled Tibetan barley wine - aka Chang.
Now AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness) is something that can hit anyone at any time no matter what their age, level of fitness or extravagant hair color is. We left Jingchan at 3,430 m. (11,319 ft.) and arrived at the Kandla Base Camp with our GPS reading 4,575 m. (15,098 ft.)! That jump in altitude was a little too much for you're trusty 'ol web designer here and upon reaching the camp no later than 2:30pm - I found myself laying in the tent for the rest of the afternoon in utter agony. It was as if my head was caught between a vice and there really was nothing I could do about it. After several hours of suffering, the pain did eventually go away only to be replaced by a nice rainstorm. Unfortunately our tent had a little leak in it and Dusty and I spent the whole night getting completely drenched. The Himalayas is known as the Adobe of the Gods and for a moment there it really did seem as though the even the gods were against us.
 Day 3 - Aug 9 - Base Kandla-Pass - Skiu (8 hrs)

We set off for the peak of Ganda La at about 8:30 in the morning. There was a level of bitterness about the way our tent had leaked but nevertheless we were on our way and after an arduous 45 minute climb, we reached the peak of Ganda La - some 5,037 m. (16,622 ft.) above sea level. The headache caused by the altitude, difficulty of the climb and discomforts from the night before only further enhanced the mirth of just what an accomplishment this really was. We stayed at the top for quite sometime - basking in the beauty of the glaciers and valleys below. Looking in one direction from the mountain top, we could see traces of just how far we had come only to turn the other way and be reminded of how much farther we still had to go.

We descended into the gorges of the Stok Range. After having lunch in the lovely town of Shingo, we finally reached camp, near the village of Skiu - where we had a deserved bottle of chang and a decent dry night sleep at the soothing altitude of "only" 3,363 m. (11, 098 ft.).
Above: Dawa's apprentice moi tries meditation as a cure for AMS. I later found out the headache was actually caused by that lofty Tibetan hat I had been sporting all day.
   Day 4 - Aug 10 - Skiu-Markha (7 hrs)

After three days of unyielding uphill walking, the next couple of days seemed like a walk in the park. After visiting the Skiu Gompa, we walked a full 7 hours through the village of Yurt and onto our camp at Markha. Just before arriving at camp however, the seemingly effortless hike was turned into quite an adventure due to a brisk Markha River. Crossing it proved to be a difficult, not to say the least, dangerous process. We managed however, albeit forming a human chain, and arrived at Markha, 3757 m. (12,398 ft.) above sea level, at about 4pm.

Left: At the top peak of Ganda La, 5,037 m. (16,622 ft.) above sea level.
NOW GO TO DAYS 5-8!!!!
Onto Days 5-8 Back to India Map