Trek Interrupted

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This time of year, when most of India is either soaking wet or obscenely hot, scores of travelers head to the high altitude region of Ladakh in the extreme North of India. In addition to being famous for its trekking and for its barren natural landscape, Ladakh is renowned for being drier and sunnier than the Sahara desert. In a typical year less than 2 inches of rain fall in Leh, and the region can go months without seeing any precipitation. In fact, Ladakh is so dry that trekking operators here advise that hikers bring only a fleece to keep warm - rain gear is not normally recommended and few treks bring along adequate gear for wet weather.

It was with this in mind that I set out on an 8 day trek across Ladakh from Rumtse to Tso Moriri, a high altitude lake. Although no climbing was necessary, this trek was to be a strenuous one, starting at nearly 14000 feet and crossing a series of 7 high altitude passes ranging from 16- to 18000 feet. Along with me for this trek were a married American couple in their 30s, a young Israeli couple, and a New Zelander who has been living in Japan for the last 20 years. Initially we had one guide, several helpers, and a team of ponies carrying camping gear and food. Because the trek went through unpopulated areas we would be camping and cooking our own food every night. It was my first tent based trek in India and I was excited to go.

The first two days of the trek went very well for me, although some of the group had altitude related problems. On the second day of the trek we crossed two high altitude passes, which afforded great views of mountains made of multicolored rock, and deep canyons with rivers raging through them. I really enjoyed the camping out in the barren landscape, and wasn't bothered by the fact that my tent's zipper wouldn't close allowing the local field mice to share the shelter with me at night.

It was late in the 2nd day of the trek that the weather changed dramatically. We had already finished our hike for the day and were sitting out drinking tea when the wind changed direction, the temperature plummeted and the sky turned dark. A few hours later it was raining- not a downpour by any means, but a chilling soaking rain nonetheless. That night my tent let in more than mice. I awoke the next morning to a puddle by my feet, a mouse by my side, and the sound of rain pounding the roof of the tent. After briefly waiting to see if the rain would clear up, we packed up the tents at our guide's advice and began walking for the day.

Being in one of the world's driest climates we all expected the rain to clear up soon. It had already been raining all night, and it was only a matter of time before the sun would have to come out. It only rained harder as the day went on. By the time we got to camp for the night we were all soaked to the bone and shivering violently. A couple hundred meters above us it was snowing heavily blocking the high passes that lay ahead. Worst of all the gear was also thoroughly soaked. Luckily this was the only night of the trek that we were to be camped near a road. As a result there was a more permanent tent camp set up for people taking jeeps across the region. We were able to sleep in a tent there to keep at least partially dry that night.

The next morning it was still raining, and hadn't stopped for 48 hours according to the other people we met at the tent camp. Discouraged by our soaked gear and lack of warm dry clothing we decided to try to find a ride back to Leh - we wanted to keep going but we just didn't have the appropriate gear to continue in the weather conditions. Moreover, the path ahead was blanketed by a fresh layer of snow, something we were not prepared for. After several hours of waiting we finally found a driver willing to take us all back to Leh.

Upon arriving back in Leh - a long ordeal that involved us getting stuck on a muddy washed out mountain road - we convinced the travel agency to let us trek for an additional three days closer to Leh. We had already paid for 8 days of trekking and had to turn back, in large part due to the inadequate gear supplied by the agency. To be fair though, many locals we met said they had never seen it rain for so long or so hard in their lives. We simply had a freak rainstorm.

The remaining three days, were enjoyable, albeit a bit rushed at times. We stayed in local homestays instead of tents, and stuck to valleys that were slightly more populated than in the Rumtse-Tso Moriri region. Highlights include getting delayed by a landslide on the way to the trailhead and having to race against the clock to get to our first night's homestay. As one of the faster hiker's I was sent ahead with the local helper to secure the first night's room, while the rest of the group plodded along through the dark finally arriving at 11PM. On the second day we got to wade across a mountain river where a bridge was washed out, and I spent the night sleeping on the roof under the millions of stars in the clear Ladakhi sky. The final day was extremely challenging - we had to cross a 17000 foot pass that involved about 5-6 hours of climbing straight up. It was incredibly steep and the loose scree meant that every time you put your foot forward you'd slide a bit backwards. Going down was equally steep and brought one rather high-strung member of the group to hysterics. We finished the final day just before sundown and were back in Leh by 10pm.

I left Leh that same night for Manali traveling the thrilling but somewhat perilous Manali-Leh highway. This time the ride went smoothly until the very last when a landslide and then two stuck trucks blocked the road ahead. After five hours of waiting and a lot of pushing to get the trucks out of the mud, I finally made it back to Manali. I am now spending the next couple weeks just relaxing and day hiking up here of the mountains before heading toward Calcutta for a course. Its now monsooning quite heavily in Manali, so my outdoor activities are a bit more limited here.

Stay tuned

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