Gangotri: We got to Gangotri, the trailhead to Golmukh, about 11 hours after
our departure from Rishikesh because of a rear tire problem and a detour to a massive dam
that is 2/3 complete after 10 years. We stayed the night at an ashram where
Lelit knew the Swami and I was introduced as Lelit’s cousin-in-law to get a
better discount. Gangotri is a charming, very small, pedestrian only town
clogged with ashrams and small hotels on both banks of the Ganges. Anu and
Lelit guided me through the evening prayer visit to the famous, small temple
there which was much appreciated. We also ate dinner that night and then
lunch upon our return to Gangotri at the ashram.
I’m assuming most of you don’t know what a typical ashram meal is like (I
certainly didn’t and I’m actually only assuming my experience was typical) so
I’ll briefly describe it here. The babas (holy men) and any other ashram
resident or visitor sit on the floor against the wall and are served a plate
and a small bowl made of woven leaves or something I’m not quite sure. Then,
three or four guys in regular street clothes walk around and ladle some dahl
(a soup like lentil dish) into the bowl and then another vegetarian dish on
the plate followed by the breadlike chapatis and white rice. After those are
served and your steel water cup is full, they walk around and offer a spoon
of salt and ground red pepper to season your food. Once this is completed,
the holy men either sing or say some words then everybody can start eating
with only their right hand (no easy task!) as the left hand is considered
unclean because you use it to go to the bathroom. Then, the whole serving
process starts all over again until you indicate you’ve had enough. Once the
holy men have their fill and say or sing another few words and start to
leave, other diners can leave as well to line up at the faucet to wash their
hands and mouths.
The trek to Golmukh: The trek’s scenery was much the same as
the drive up to Gangotri but closer up as we weren’t more than 1/4 mile from the river at
any one point as we walked the gentle inclined bridle path up and over
waterfalls, rock fields, rock slides, and river crossings. We did see
glaciers up close and personal and icebergs as big as small cars close to
Golmukh though. I also enjoyed the pine scented fresh air and the delicate
pink and white mountain flowers. Along the way, I realized that I took for
granted that I’m not afraid of heights, narrow walkways along a cliff, and
have a fair sense of balance – the lack of which would have incapacitated
me. Even still, the first time I had to walk across a “bridge” of two untied
narrow trees propped between rocks over about a seven feet expanse of a fast
moving smaller river, I felt a great sense of compassion and understanding of
what phobics face as even I was irrationally scared. By the third “bridge”
or so, I was pretty accustomed to it although I still yearned for the well
buttressed bridges of the American northwest forests. On the way back, we
had to wait for an hour or so for a “bridge” to be secured enough in the
rocks so that it could be used again which caused a bit of a back up of us
pilgrims.
While the weather was probably in the cooler 70-80s F (20sC), I still was
sweating up a storm on the way up but there were frequent little tents to
stock up on water or food etc. Lelit and Anu seem to be able to get by on
chai, some of my biscuits, and a “sandwich” of A-1 sauce that we had for
lunch. I stopped several times to catch my breath (hey man, I’m OLD!) and/or
enjoy the view as I found out that we were going to do 23 kilometers the
first day which included a 5 KM hike back to where we would stay the night.
Golmukh’s glacier was huge although most of it was covered by dirt, I could
see some naked ice. Doing my usual “ignorance is bliss,” I waited until I
returned to Rishikesh to figure out that 23 K meant 14.26 miles and the
second day return was about 8 miles. While Lelit and Anu wanted to return to
Gangotri the same day once they found out what a dorm room cost, I was too
damn tired and hungry and offered to meet them in Gangotri the next day. I
didn’t tell them I was also terrified of completing the trek in the dark.
When later they found they could sleep next to a covered food stall for less
than US$1, they were happier to do their gentlemanly duty to stay with me
although I had offered to pay the difference between Gangotri’s prices. They
were quite disappointed when I didn’t want to join them and other lodgers and
forked over the big $3.50 to have an entire dorm room to myself except for a
wee little brown mice. No running water and no electricity meant a bucket
wash by a candle’s light in the shower room and sleep by 7:30.
Other interesting sights along the trek were all the other trekkers. There
were the babas and locals walking along in their flip flops or bare feet, the
beribbonned and belled horses, and the sprinkling of well outfitted
westerners. The ones who I really doffed my imaginary hat to were two
parents wearing flip flops while carrying two 3 to 4 year old kids in their
arms without the benefit of any carrier or pack. I wonder if they made it
all the way balancing their kids across the rock fields, bridges, and through
the water on the trail. My little daypack felt like a change purse compared to that feat.
