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| Chandratal - July 6th |
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| I left Batal about three hours ahead of everyone else, after Chher made sure I knew the route. It wasn't complicated but I tried to take a short cut up the mountain, missed the cutoff road and was heading toward Kunzum Pass. Fortunately, I realized my mistake before going too far. Above is a view about two-thirds of the way to the lake from Batal and to the right is our campsite at the north end of Chandratal (Moon Lake). |
| Every place has its own spirit or character and Chandratal was certainly no exception. This was truely a joyful place to be. As soon as the horses were unloaded they began romping about. Unfortunaely, I didn't have my camera ready when a frisky yearling began chasing a dog. It was the first and only time I saw the horses behave like that, undoubtedly because they had some room to run and there were other horses there to play with. Above right, Lukasz, Marta and Szymon caress a colt who, contray to his mates, just wanted to bask in the sun. |
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| As I looked around, I thought of a book by Chief Dan George called; "My Heart Soars". And it truely did. |
| Upon arriving at Chandratal I saw a jeep parked at the top of a hill overlooking the lake. I found out later the jeep was rented by some Israelis who were on a 4 wheel safari. Vehicular access to the lake is responsible for an interesting mix of travelers. The tread trekkers, who smoke into the lake at about 60 kph, tend to be the wealthier wayfarers who come equipped with their CD players, 200 watt speakers and enough drugs and/or alcohol to amply heighten their two day Himalayan experience. Then there are the environmentally conscious, drug free, spiritually evolved horse trekkers who radiate peace/goodwill and are there to set the supreme example for the other heathens. This apparent dichotomy may appear a bit...simplistic, and I'm sure there is such a thing as conscious jeep trekkers; however, they just weren't present on that particular day. It wasn't difficult to tell us apart; we were the ones with halos walking on water. |