Happy leap year!
We leave shivia around eight. We start to go up so today will be hard. Ganesh says a little bit up but I know it means more than that. We are following the Modi River now, literally following a path clinging to the side of the river. The constant sound of water scrambling over rocks is in the air despite the river being a long way down and out of site. The day starts fine but around 10.30 it closes in and the raincoats come out. It’s not ideal for viewing the mountains but it’s still spectacular. We are amongst rhododendrons again as well as a wide variety of beautiful flowers and plants. The soil seems rich and there is no shortage of water. It literally bleeds out of the mountains via some geological reasoning that I can’t get my head around. This endless supply of water allows villages to spring up all over the mountains. And what water doesn’t get used ends up in the rivers below.
The trail is hard. All supplies for the villages now seem to be coming via human porters. I see no sign of donkeys or horses. I think the trail may be too rough for them. So we vie for space on a narrow trail with a steady stream of porters.
angusmccoll 