Day 6: Magic Masala, Warm Clothing, and Yardangs

9/11/2011 (Guidebook Day 5B)

First of all, no altitude sickness for me today! It seems that just one person got it today as well, and he seems to be exhibiting the same lethargic type symptoms that I did. Luckily this is the highest altitude at which we’ll be spending the night. It’s all downhill from here (but in a good way)!

Something that amuses me - In India they have “Magic Masala” flavored Lays chips. Oh, and Sour Cream and Onion chips are called “American Style Cream and Onion”. Then there’s also “Spanish Tomato Tango”.

Today our stops included the Darchu Landslide, Baralacha La Basaltic Dikes, the Suraj Tal Rock Glacier, and the Tsarap Chu gorge. I only included pictures of the last stop because, frankly, the others didn’t make as awesome pictures and uploading pictures here takes a loooong time. In other words, I'm being picky. I will try to post more when I'm back in the States, though. :)

Good morning Keylong.

PICTURES!

At one of our stops, a bunch of us stocked up on warm clothes. Check it.

We made it to Sarchu. Here’s our camp! The tents are actually pretty swank. I figured we’d be have cots with a communal hole in the ground for bathrooms, but each tent actually has a king size bed with a separate room with a western style bathroom. Very plush.

Last stop of the day. Check out them yardangs!

Today we traveled from Keylong (~10,000 ft), over a pass (with maximum height of ~16,600 ft), to Sarchu (~15,000 ft).