Markha trek, Ladakh – day 2

trip report by besthike editor Rick McCharles

day 0 | day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | day 4 | day 5 | day 6 | day 7 | info page

Colossal blunder or Adventurous Side Trip?

Though I managed to get myself lost for 8 hours, this was to be the best day of the trek. 🙂

Was I carrying too much? Missing anything?

As it turned out, carrying 3 books was crazy. Instead I should have brought some sort of power supply for my iPhone. Audio books are best on the trail.

Around one corner I stumbled into a big herd of Blue Sheep.

Lucky me.

Actually, the boys at this parachute camp were providing a salt lick.

These parachutes are seasonal restaurants. They all serve hot and cold drinks. Few provide hot food.

I stayed some time snapping pics.

It’s here that you either ascend to climb Stok Kangri 6153m (20,182 feet) … or head for the Markha circuit via one of two passes.

Up and up.

Beautiful and somewhat mystical.

My lunch for the first few days was peanut butter on Naan. I’d purchased these flatbreads from outdoor Muslim bakers near the mosques in Leh. Less than $1 for 10. They keep well on the the trail.

One very good reason to come to Ladakh end of season is to enjoy the autumn colours. It reminded me of Yukon in the Fall.

These odd high altitude plants are mostly leaf.

I finally reached Stok Pass. Alon from Israel arrived same time from the other side.

We were both happy to get some weather. It made the crossing more memorable.

Just behind Alon were 3 more hikers, not quite so enthusiastic about the snow.

Gorgeous.

Dropping down the weather cleared.

This is an extreme desert. Precipitation is rare.

I love desert landscapes.

Arriving to the other side my plan was to shortcut – skipping Rumbak village. Why descend when I could traverse the mountain?

A series of cairns seemed to confirm my off-trail route.

I left a Summit Stone in this sentry.

Climbing high I ASSumed I’d be able to traverse towards Kanda Pass in the next valley.

I ASSumed wrong. I was nowhere near Kanda. 😦

Daylight failing, all I could do was set up my tent well above 5000m.

Nothing lives up there. But a couple of vultures did fly-bys. Hoping I was dead.

It was an impressive campsite.

If needed, I could melt snow.

I listened to Jack Reacher on audio through the night.

See all my high resolution photos from this day on flickr.

day 0 | day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | day 4 | day 5 | day 6 | day 7 | info page

September 24, 2015October 2, 2015

Markha trek, Ladakh – day 1

trip report by besthike editor Rick McCharles

day 0 | day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | day 4 | day 5 | day 6 | day 7 | info page

Stok to Shang Sumdo

The “normal” Markha Valley trek starts in Spituk. You take photos of the Buddhist monastery there. Then walk 16 hot, dusty kilometres to Zingchan.

That didn’t appeal.

Instead – in the early afternoon – I took a taxi ($8) from Leh to Stok.

The village is home to the Stok Monastery, a museum and gompa. Stok monastery is the current residence of the former royal family of Ladakh and the museum contains the shrines, crown, ceremonial dress and jewelry of the Ladakhi king.

The museum is well worth visiting.

Three Czech hikers (just finishing) gave me my first solid information on the high Pass. They told it was no problem. But that I should treat all water sources. They’d seen 2 dead horses in creeks over the past 2 weeks hiking.

I wandered through town up to the new Buddha statue.

Hoping to gain some sort of favour, unfortunately the big guy had no comment.

Sacred cows were equally mute on my proposed route.

Harvest was in progress. The local people busy.

At the end of the road I got more information from guided groups just finishing.

Finally I turned up hill following the creek. Up.

So far so good, here’s the trail looking back to Stok.

I actually didn’t get far. About 2 hours above town. At this point I still wasn’t sure whether I was acclimatized enough. Better safe than sorry.

See all my high resolution photos from this day on flickr.

day 0 | day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | day 4 | day 5 | day 6 | day 7 | info page

September 23, 2015October 2, 2015

Markha trek, Ladakh – day 0

trip report by besthike editor Rick McCharles

day 0 | day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | day 4 | day 5 | day 6 | day 7 | info page

I flew Delhi to Leh in September (the best month) to circumambulate the most famous mountain in the area, Stok Kangri.

AT A GLANCE

the most popular hike in Ladahk, northern India, bordering Tibet
easy access out of Leh
6-8 days
111km (69mi)
early June to mid-October
moderate-demanding
big risk of altitude sickness
2-3 high passes (4900m-5200m)
several nights at very high altitude
sleep in tent or in “homestays”
frequent flights from Delhi. Infrequent flights from Srinagar and Jammu.
hike independently or with a Guide
check the confusing tourist visa requirements for India. Some nations can get a visa-on-arrival at airports.

Nobody speaks about hiking distance in the Himalaya. Only altitude truly matters. Markha ranges from 3190m – 5287m.

Acclimation is critical.

I spent 3 nights in dusty, cluttered Leh. And a 4th day cycling from the highest road pass – 38kms back to town.

I was hoping 4 days would be long enough to successfully start from Stok, rather than the usual place – Zingchen.

I’ll leave my luggage locked up in a Leh hotel. And try for a solo, independent, tenting week in the high mountains.

Wish me luck. 🙂

See all my high resolution photos from this day on flickr.

day 0 | day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | day 4 | day 5 | day 6 | day 7 | info page

August 26, 2015August 26, 2015

Stunning desert wilderness areas in the USA

Wilderness.org – Desert showcase: A look at America’s desert wilderness areas

Click through for more.

August 24, 2015August 20, 2015

Copper Canyon Traverse, Mexico

In 2013 Justin “Trauma” Lichter and Cam “Swami” Honan completed a 381 mile (613 km) traverse of Mexico´s Copper Canyon region. A first thru hike.

Justin Lichter at the base of Basaseachi Falls

The traverse was a combination of hiking, packrafting, swimming, bushwhacking, scrambling, crawling and weaving our way around clandestine drug fields.

Our route linked together the six major canyons (along with numerous minor ones) that constitute the Copper Canyon region. It took us from the region’s northwest corner (Basaseachi Falls) to its southeastern limits (Sinforosa Canyon). In the order in which they were traversed, the canyons were as follows:

Candamena
Oteros
Copper
Urique
Batopilas
Sinforosa

The Hiking Life

May 26, 2015May 23, 2015

hiking “The Wave” after a rain storm

One of my favourite hiking photos.

original

April 9, 2015April 6, 2015

Zebra Canyon and Tunnel Slot, Escalante

Utah Canyons STORE & COFFEE SHOP should be your first stop on arriving in Escalante, Utah.

We have fuel, custom annotated topographic maps, guidebooks and “desert tested” gear to help you fully enjoy your remote day-hike, canyoneering adventure or epic backpacking trip. …

Get local information on what hikes are best while you are there.

There are plenty of fantastic overnight and day hikes in the area.

Zebra Canyon and Tunnel Slot looks perfect to me.

… we decided to stop and check out the beautiful Zebra Canyon. The added bonus to this route was tunnel Slot, a very dark tunnel through the sandstone, filled with ice cold water. Visiting these two locations took us 3.5 hours.

We went as far as we could up Zebra first then turned around and hiked out then up the sandstone to the top of this canyon to look down it. Up top we found tons of moqui marbles in all various sizes. …

After this canyon we hiked straight towards Tunnel Slot by taking the obvious cut in the terrain connecting the two canyons. Arriving at the top of Tunnel we found that it was full of water whose depth was hard to determine and ended up being about thigh deep. Tunnel Slot is a very short oddity of a canyon due to its shape but was fun to visit. It also had the coldest water I think I’ve ever felt in my life. The short stint in the water, maybe 75 feet made my feet and legs feel like they suddenly belonged to someone else. …

trip report from 2012

February 4, 2015February 2, 2015

researching Fish River Canyon, Namibia

The Fish River Canyon 5 day trek is one of the best in the world.

But it’s very difficult to get a reservation, even a year in advance. I’ve been turned down for all dates in June 2015. 😦

But I may try to show up at the trailhead anyway. Hang out. And look to substitute for a hiker missing from a booked group. (You must have a minimum of 3 people to register, in any case.)

Wish me luck.

I’ve put up a draft information page on the Fish River Canyon trek with what I was able to find out online.

Colca Canyon, Peru

We’ve moved and updated our Colca information page. 🙂

A trip to Colca Canyon is recommended for all hikers, regardless of ability and experience. It offers superb day hiking and immensely popular 2-day trips.

Hard core hikers will love a unique 5-day option descending into the canyon then climbing up over a snowy 5100m (16,732ft) pass to the remote and rarely visited Valley of the Volcanos — weird cones & lava formations!

AT A GLANCE

canyon of the Colca River in southern Peru
depth of 4,160m (13,650ft) more than twice as deep as the Grand Canyon

Yeti Adventure Films nailed the feel of Colca in this cute edit. 🙂

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

details on our Colca information page

May 10, 2014May 9, 2014

Gros Morne Tablelands

Researching the famed Newfoundland Trails:

Tablelands, found between the towns of Trout River and Woody Point in Gros Morne National Park, look more like a barren desert than traditional Newfoundland. …

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.