It rained over night in Ulle, which I didn't think much about. In the morning, it was still cloudy and a little drizzly when we set out with our guide, Norboo, to look for snow leopards. It was a beautiful walk, through the barley fields and up onto the ridge. We didn't get very far, may be 100m beyond the last stone wall when Norboo pointed out the first snow leopard tracks. I was awestruck that the animal would have been so close to the house, obviously very recently as the rain would have otherwise washed the tracks away. It was apparent that the tracks belonged to a cat, and I would have thought a big one, but Norboo said it was just a baby.
We continued up higher into the hills until we made it to the summer pastures. We could see yak off in the distance, surprisingly high up the very steep hills. I've always thought yak would be a bit clumsy, but I guess not. Following a line of cairns, we eventually made it to a picturesque alpine river. Because of the night's rain, the river was too high to cross at the usual spot. We ventured farther upstream until we crested the hill and the river turned wide and calm. We doffed our boots and socks and waded into the brutally cold water. Shortly after crossing, there was another short walk up a hill to the top of the pass and the alpine lake that was our destination. It is a gorgeous spot; a small round lake situated in a crater from may be a volcano or some kind of meteor, with a view down the valley to massive 6000m peaks. What a great spot for lunch.
After a good break and tea, we headed back down. On the way, Norboo pointed out various medicial plants found in this particular area and I took loots of pictures of the amazing views and rocks. It looks like a climbing paradise; pictures to follow. At one spot, Norboo pointed out a rock that the snow leopards use to scratch themselves on. Looking really closely, I could see tiny white hairs on the underside of the rock. Unfortunately, this is as close as I actually got to a snow leopard, but still the hike and the chance was just as good as actually seeing one, may be. Norboo told us that Canadians were lucky when it came to seeing snow leopards. Last August, he had a Canadian woman come to stay at his house on a snow leopard quest. She arrived in the evening and, in the morning, watched from the window as a snow leopard killed and ibex, then spent the rest of the day photographing it. Lucky (not for the ibex).
The next day, we set off to walk from Ulle to Ang. This was going to be a long day. Over 18 km and across three passes, two of which were over 4700. It seemed a blessing at the time that it had rained again over night and so was cloudy when we set off. A blessing for walking, but rain in this area brings other problems. The rains had swollen the mountain rivers even more than the previous day and we had to been directed to a higher bridge that was safe to cross from our side of Ulle to the other. But, it was a fantastic walk.
We weren't sure about the location of the first pass, so Norboo agreed to meet us there. He was heading to Hemis, a small village on our route, so would take us over the pass. I managed to grunt up it, but it was a test. Relentlessly steep, and with a pack and the altitude, it was a test. I managed to get up, sucking in as much air as I could. Of course, it was nothing for Norboo. I don't mind that our Ladakhi guide can saunter up stuff like this. What I resent is the six year-old he brought along with him also sauntering up the pass like it is a walk to school. Carrying his school bag, because this was his walk to school. Seriously. The kid had a geometry set in his bag. Off to school for the day. Humbling.
Anyway, we summited the pass, had a quick rest and relax, then dropped down to Hemis. There we dropped the kid off at school and grabbed a quick lunch in a small outdoor restaurant. Energy for the next two passes. We left Norboo behind and quickly ascended the next, very easy pass. At the top, you look down into this massive rock and scree valley. It is spectacular and, way off in the distance, you can see another mountain rising out of the valley. And on the mountain, you can see a teeny, teeny line cutting its way from the bottom, back and forth, back and forth, until it reaches almost the top. That is the next pass. And as intimidating as it looked from there , it wasn't that bad in person. It was a good grade, not a steep grunt like the first one. May be we were just getting stronger by the minute.
We did it, had a celebratory rest and drink at the top and knocked off the descent into Ang through a narrow valley, with herds of pashmiri goats. When we arrived at Ang, we fould the first parachute cafe and enjoyed a cold mountain dew. Parachute cafes, literally cafes made from parachutes, are a common sight on the treks and provide welcome refreshment. After another quick walk through town, Doug and I located our friendly guest house, where we had some tea and a good rest before heading to bed for a deserved sleep. However, it was almost impossible to sleep that night. It thundered and lighteninged all night long. It rained until it was dripping through the roof onto my sleeping bag. It rained relentlessly thorough the night and very, very hard...
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