Our car camping trip with 5 other people turned into a hiking and camping adventure with one of our friends.
We got a late start and stopped for lunch at a little dabba (restaurant).
Typical on-the-road-lunch of chowmein and vegetarian momos with street side jalebi for dessert (deep fried white flour batter soaked in sugar syrup).
We were off to a rough start with a large rock falling down a steep little hill as we were climbing. Thankfully the guys were behind me and it just ended up scraping my legs, not causing me to lose my balance. Despite this, we decided to repack our bags for a hiking trip, not just camping, and head out.
Since my hiking pants and shirt no longer fit, I finally landed on some Adidas athletic pants that I’ve had since high school, a flowy shirt, and a lightweight cotton scarf (dupata) since we were going to be in a village and I could use it for warmth (or sweat) if I needed.
The rhododendrons were in full bloom.
After an hour and a half, we made it to the shepherd’s shelter and set up camp.
We figured the shepherds would return but they didn’t show up so we used their shelter for protection from the wind and enjoyed a peaceful dinner around the fire.
Magical mountain air with a crackling fire.
We cooked some noodle packets for dinner.
Gazed at the stars.
Morning smoke from the fire + eating cinnamon instant oatmeal that I threw in a ziplock last minute. Glad I did or we wouldn’t have had anything to eat.
Just as we finished breakfast, the shepherds showed up. They were the most rugged looking mountain men and I had to ask them some questions based on their epic life. Here’s what I found out
- They wander through the mountains 6 months out of the year with their herd
- They have 100 sheep
- They encounter wild animals, sometimes Himalayan bears
- To protect their heard and themselves from a bear they usually just light a fire
- They pointed to the hill behind us and said that years ago, someone had been killed by a bear right over there
- They wear layers, wool, and rubber closed toed shoes
What a life!
Then we hiked back down the mountain. Lady bugs kept landing on my belly wanting to say HI to the baby 😉
Passed a man and his donkeys going up the mountain who were practically flying. He said it takes him 30 minutes to get this far (what took us 1 hour and 15 min).
Got back in the car and headed back.
Stopped to watch another heard of animals.
Stopped to visit some girls we met the day before when we gave them a ride up the mountain to their home. They gladly welcomed us into their mountain home surrounded by hills and green fields and served us black tea with biscuits.
Logbook
- Distance: 3 miles (round trip)
- Elevation Gain: 1,274 feet
- Water Availability— river source
- Animals + Nature –mongoose, donkeys, goats, sheep
- Gear and Food–noodles, instant oatmeal, trail mix
- Difficulty— Intermediate
- Other: great for a quick camping trip since it was only 2 hours of hiking and it’s an out and back trip