Mandini : Bidding adieu to Mandini .....
The next morning we started for the second phase of the trek which
involved leaving the Mandini Valley behind moving into the Himalayan glacial
terrain for we would be travelling in excess of 4000 mts continuously. The
rains were a constant factor and it usually would begin to rain by around noon
hence we decided to shift our departure by 30 -45 min in advance. Accordingly
by 0730 hrs we were on the move and the path involved walking on the banks of
the Mandini river for close to two km before penetrating the dense growth of
plants and climbing up dramatically with an average incline of 60 deg . This kind
of uphill climb was to continue for
around 3 kms , for the valley just ended ahead boxed by the Himalayan mountain
ranges from three sides. So climbing was the only option , after the steep
climb we reached dizzying heights and looking
back could see the river far down below
shrouded in mist but my path lay ahead and it involved even more climbing
though the steep gradient eased off definitely and now was moving through dense green cover whose
height was easily 5 feet in most places. This place was frequented by the
Himalayan brown bear and i was terrified of meeting one either foraging for
food or worse come across a mother and her cubs . Somehow kept my thoughts to myself yet told Umeid that
the team to be in close proximity to each other while moving in this terrain . Umeid showed me a lot
of Himalayan herbs and plants that were used by pharmaceutical s or other bio
organic companies , there was the plant that was used in iodex balm , then we
had the plant whose roots were used for cuts
/ bruises , then for painkillers and fever i was shown a specific plant . There
are so many plants that are used in spices also and I am amazed by the flora of
the Himalayan kingdom. We continued our journey huffing and puffing as the
incline was omnipresent and we were gaining altitude by every step . After
sometime the plants fell behind and we entered the barren boulder region which
marked the beginning of high altitude region, as we crossed a boulder region in
our quest to reach Hembook base camp that was situated at an altitude of 4400
mts . The campsite was a lovely meadow having a gentle glacial stream flowing
and green carpet of grass all around at the base of Hembook peak . There were
numerous huge rocks all around and we saw ample signs of the Himalayan brown
bear as well as Himalayan Thar . The area also had its own distinctive
flowering plants and i passed the evening hours photographing them once the
rains which had begun in the afternoon abated.
26. The rains soon
started after dinner and it rained the entire night making me quite
uncomfortable inside the tent for the water was soon flowing from all sides of
the tent, anyways it was a question off passing the night and it has to be done.
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