This morning sees the launch of one of the centerpieces of this trip – a 52 km trek spread across 5 days, bookended by a travel day each way (Himalayan mountain roads are not the way to get someplace quickly)! We’ll start in one river valley at about 6000′, trek over a ridge with our peak elevation being about 12000′, and then come back down to a different valley at about 6000′ again. Although high elevation, all of this area is connected to villages in the region who use habitats at different elevations for a variety of reasons: collecting fuel wood and medicinal plants, growing crops on small terraces, and grazing livestock across the season.
A row of backpacks awaiting their turn to board buses at the start of our trek.
And of course, it should be gorgeous, with much closer and clearer views of the high mountains than we’ve seen so far. Here’s a set of backpacks, carefully stuffed for a week away from Hanifl. See you when we get back!
