Kailash Mansarovar Yatra Part 8

I have been talking about trivial things - so, this post is going to be about the "tough" things that we encountered... may be, that is how a recipe is made tasty by adding a small pepper here and there!  See the photo above - this is a small example of what happens enroute. There are a number of mountain rivers which come in good force cutting the road. As the rains were pouring heavy during our time in Himalayas, you can imagine the sudden outburst of many such rivers. The rocks, stones, and pebbles all over the mountains spring to life once water touches them - they react depending on the force with which water touched them - a forcible touch makes them start rolling, moving and shifting. This starts a chain reaction and the result is a land-slide. One Porter informed us that the days of rain is better for travel compared to the day after the rain when Sun starts shining - this water and heat combination makes the rocks break and start tumbling down.

Anyway, those who know geology would know the cause, effect of these phenomenon. For me, it was a great experience - walking through ice-cold rivers, colder than ice waterfalls, slippery mud and rolling stones. Shoes get totally wet - there is no question of removing shoes, as toes might get frozen with the ice cold. So one has to brave the watery feeling once you cross a river.

Seen in this picture is our respected elderly lady member Sunita from PUne. She is a veteran in trekking as she regularly treks in the Sahayadri mountains. She is a member of youth hostel and is very enthusiastic about trekking. Her age is 64+... but the speed with which she was walking put me to shame and made me tell myself that I should become a regular trekker like her.

She has promised to come home when she visits her son who lives in Thane! I am looking forward to the day she comes to my house as I am very keen to introduce her to all my family members.