MARCH 1, 2022 – After several days of hiking near Pahalgam, I hiked (alone) farther east past the village of Chandanwari and up a switchback trail to a high point of Pissatop Pass (I kid you not), elevation 11,200 feet.
I hit the trail at 7:00 a.m. and returned to base after nightfall—exhausted, famished, and a little bruised, but filled with the imagery of paradise. The next day, on the front veranda of Bente’s Lodge I wrote a long letter home.
“The first [few] miles took me past grazing lands, small crop fields, and through several mountain villages, as yet untouched, or at least unaffected by, the 20th century. Curious faces peeked through windows and around corners to catch a glimpse of l’etranger. Except for an occasional ‘bok-bok-BOK!’ of a chicken, silence reigned as all industry stopped.
“I’d break the uneasy quiet with ‘Salaam!’ [. . .] Usually, a venerable old gentleman would acknowledge my ‘Hello,’ and then a few youngsters would chime in, ‘Salaam!’ As I crossed over the village limits, I’d look back and glance at the local life: men sawing timbers (using ancient cross-cut saw); women milling grain (by hard labor); and children chasing sheep.
“Living conditions here are incredibly primitive, but I’m not sure it’s accurate to say the people are poor. They seem to eat well and on the surface, at least, these folks look healthy. Their life is hard; their environment harsh, but I dare say these mountain people are happier than many of us in the technological, acquisitive West.
“Past the villages [. . .] as I gained altitude, the scenery grew in magnificence. Heavy snows covered the towering mountains around me, and the cascading river below, flooded with the snowmelt, roared down the valley. Hardy wildflowers blanketed the green hillsides, and the pine scented the rarified air.
“After three hours of hard, fast walking, I arrived at the settlement of Chandanwari, elevation 9,600 feet. There I stopped for chai and chapati at a roadside stall. The people were friendly, though the language barrier prevented us from really getting acquainted.
“Just beyond Chandanwari I encountered a giant snow bridge and past that, large fields of ice. Progress was slow and treacherous, but eventually I found my way to the top of the pass. The weather was perfect, and I gazed down at heaven for a full hour before beginning my descent. As I sat there, alone and surrounded by some of the most awe-inspiring scenery in the world [. . .] I played my cassette recording of Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy. The climb down was hazardous and every hundred feet or so I’d slip and then dance to regain my balance. A couple of times I fell and bruised my arms and hands on the rocks, but an ample supply of snow allowed me to numb the “black and blue.’
“Total elapsed time portal to portal was 14 hours [. . .] I ate a gargantuan meal that night.”
Three days later, I departed India—reluctantly—and headed for . . . Cairo.
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© 2022 by Eric Nilsson
