Gorgeous Gangotri -- Gaumukh Glacier

(evening)

Pictures do no justice. I cannot begin to describe the magnificent walk that we took for hours through the sunny valley between snow capped peaks. Everywhere, we were surrounded by gigantic rocks, the winding source of the Ganges River, yellowing aspens, and just space. The Himalayas. This was more of the foothills of the Himalayas, 10 hours away from my "home" Mussoorie during our 4-day weekend for midterm break.

If any of you have read "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer, then you will have an appreciation for the mountains. Before, I thought they were boring. But that book is one of the reasons I am here. Luckily, we came nowhere close to that kind of danger, but going on this hike, made me come to the conclusion that, no, I don't really need to go to Everest base camp to act like I'm cool. Being cold and not showering and eating the same thing every day, are really not what they're cracked up to be. Though they are sort of fun. Especially with friends.

(Saturday afternoon about to eat lunch, and then enjoy a cup of chai)

(Sunday afternoon enjoying our post-hike chai)

(Kelsey's pic: Sunday night enjoying our post-dinner chai)

(Anna's pic: we love the mustache guy!)

Friday, we drove maybe five hours to Uttarkashi, where we stayed the night. Saturday morning, we drove the rest of the way to Gangotri, where a small mountain town exists. Gangotri is considered one of the holiest places on India, because according to legend, the god Shiva sent the goddess Ganga to help a man who had been praying to free his ancestors' souls. She got a little cocky and then Shiva told her she had to stay on earth and follow this guy, she was so powerful that she left a river wherever she went. She followed him to three places -- the three tributaries of the Ganges River. The first and holiest tributary, Bhagirathi, is where we went, fed by the Gaumukh Glacier.

(the Where's Waldo's came rumbling in...Brmmm..Brmm)

(Himalayan Rally is their official name)
(They are the red and yellow specks!)

These people in yellow and red have the label "Himalayan Rally" on their backs. We thought they were racing, but apparently, they were hare krishnas there to collect the holy water. There is also a huge pilgrimage every summer by people to collect the holy water too. (These people then end up trashing the place, because they have no concept of environmental conversation or littering.) Anyway, we called the ralliers, the Waldo's, because they all had different numbers, and we tried to spot #1, like Where's Waldo. We saw him in a restaurant.

And so on Sunday at 6am, we began on our 19 kilometer (11.2 miles) hike. The trail was so well trodden, that there was no way of getting lost. It was beautiful. Along the four hours, we stopped at least two times for chai. Yummy.

(left to right: Kelsey, Anna, Ben, Emily, and Jared)

(It was so warm during the day!)
(the path)

Finally, we reached the ashram. Ben, Kelsey, and Anna got there first and luckily found a friend of our taxi driver Bunti, so that we could have the place to stay. It was so cool! I was so estactic at night when we realized that there was actually a flourescent light in our tiny room! We slept packed like sardines. No insulation, but luckily no snow.

(Ben's pic: the white buildings at the bottom are where we stayed.)

(the ashram)

(fellow traveler)

(there is a solar panel under the red flag. no electrical lines!)

I don't know how to show the miles and miles of beautiful scenery, so here are just a few mountain pictures.

(early morning) (mid morning)

(noon)

(afternoon)

(evening. The glacier is the shadowy part.)

Anyway, so after we got to the ashram, Ben, Kelsey, Anna, and I headed for the glacier about 4k away. I think I felt a little altitude sickness while taking a picture of a donkey, but other than that, it was all good. Our altitude was about 11,000 ft. We got to a minor summit near Gaumukh Glacier and celebrated by eating kitkat bars that Kelsey had secretly carried. Anna and I decided to get closer and hiked for another 15 minutes. Here is the glacier!

(the Waldo's made it there before us)

(bottom of glacier, starting to feed the ganges river)

(view from glacier)

We had a great night's rest, falling asleep around 8pm and waking up at 5:30am. And then we headed back.

(6:10am before sunrise)

CLICK HERE for my Gangotri photo set (114 pictures). This will give you a more in depth view of the many sights. Anyway, here is Emily & Jared's account (awesome pic of us being sardines) and Ben's account of our hike!

Check out Chris' blog, who had even more of an adventure, trekking at Har-ki-Dun, hanging out with the locals and hiking like 80k (47 miles) in 49 hours.

BTW, Sean Penn is directing "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer, starring Emile Hirsch -- great Outside Magazine article. I also recommend the book "Miracle in the Andes" by Nando Parrado.

(Om. This symbol was everywhere. It is actually not allowed at Woodstock because it is not Christian.)