Since we were
very tired because a long hike yesterday, we decided to start a
little later than usual for the next destination. As I mentioned,
the initial plan was to do the Bali pass after crossing the DDK, but
because we were running short of rations and fuel, we decided to head
towards Ruinsara Taal and then further to Seem/Sankri and out.
As we started
our day, I was feeling little low on energy. I wished that the
terrain would be easy for walking today, but it turned out to be
totally opposite. All the trails on the ridges were totally washed
out and the whole area was in the middle of a landslide. Right from
the start today, we had to negotiate moraine and lose stones and
boulders on the way.
We were crossing multiple ridges and the
connection between one ridge to another was totally broken and that
left us to deal with some very dangerous route on the trek. I think,
the porters were more tired than us today.
We rested for sometime ,
had the lunch and then the march started on the boulders but the walk
on the boulders, which themselves were left by receding glaciers was
not totally difficult. On the basin of of the glacier, surprisingly
the walk was easier. We also saw a herd of Bharals (mountain goat),
jumping and crossing the glacier. After we left the boulder zone,
finally we got to see some grassy patches.
Some of the meadows were
absolutely lovely and they were completely awash with wild flowers.
After a while, we crossed the regular campsite of Kiyarkoti, which I
believe also serves as the base camp of expeditions to Swargarohini.
Green valleys, interspersed with snow and huge snow clad peaks all
around, it was a site beyond words. We also saw a lot of signs which
indicated that brown bears had been foraging. Balwant told us that
this was an area infested with Brown Bears, and a siting is very
common. The guide also showed us the Bali pass from some where after
Kiyarkoti, it indeed looked like a tough climb from this side. We
were walking along the Ruinsara Gad for a while. The river was as
raging as the Sian Gad we had seen earlier. Ruinsara Gad was to be
our companion till before Selma, where it meets another mighty river,
the Supin. We had to walk a lot again today before we reached the
campsite at Ruinsara Taal. It started drizzling as we approached the
campsite. This is one of the most beautiful regions I have seen.
There was a scent of wild flowers and pine trees in the air and I
suddenly felt a lot of energy.
There was a trekkers hut built by the
forest department which was supposed to be our camp for the night.
It was another beautiful campsite amidst greenery and mountains.
Today's altitude was 3600 mts and all of us were now relaxed as we
came down below 4000 meters. The evening was spent relaxing in the
small room. We were all happy that we were below the snow line and
were seeing a lot of green. It started to thunder and rain heavily in
the evening, but it stopped after a while. I thought, timing wise, we
crossed the passed just in time, otherwise it would have added to
more troubles for us. This was known to be brown bear territory and
everybody was very cautions while attending the natures call. Our
porters too were happy to be below snow line and they went around in
the forest to look for some herbs/medicinal plants.
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