Sept. 14, 2008. Back on the trail.

Today was not a very hard day on the trail. We left "horse piss camp" about 9 and partially re-traced the track A. and I had taken to Zangla village yesterday. Turning off, we trekked behind the prominent ruin of Zangla fort and looked back to the village. A subset (M., W., and I think J. and myself) essayed the moderate uphill to the fort proper. We met a couple of Hungarian volunteers who were working with local materials and a couple of older Zanskari's to restore the fort or at least forestall additional damage. They were making bricks on site and rebuilding a few walls. The Hungarian staff spoke good English and we gossiped about fund-raising and the cooperation and interest, or lack thereof, of the local Zanskaris in their cultural heritage and in supporting the restoration. The Hungarian connection had to do with a pilgrim and scholar from Hungary who had spent considerable time in the area in the 1800s. On the way up we had passed our Hungarian contact from the bus debacle on the 12th...karma! In any case, we went into some of the inner rooms of the fort and I for one was completely blown away by the quality of the art and statuary inside. Far better than I expected from the tumbledown exterior. The place really is a treasure.

After descending and re-joining the group we initially traveled along an irrigation canal, and then entered a proper canyon. We preceded gently uphill for a couple of hours, crossing the river perhaps 30 times in sandals (or boots for the Kiwis). We then camped at the "Y" junction where two streams tumbled out of steep upper valleys and joined. The camp was small and cramped, but nice and forested compared to the ice camps of the Miyar nala. The elevation is about 3900 meters and we can only get a vague sense of tomorrows route to the Char Cha la (4915 meters).