Bank of the Foxundo River, August 19

Bank of the Foxundo River, August 19

MY GREAT HIMALAYA TRAIL X RANDY SUN


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ADVENTURER'S CHOICE

Our goal today is to go through two standard day trips at once in the direction of Lake Foxundo (or Poksundo). This seems realistic, since the standard transitions involve going from Foxundo to Shey with more elevation gain than going in the opposite direction. We have to gain only 1000 meters of altitude and then descend 1600 meters lower. To do the opposite, in my opinion, is much more difficult.

The trail linking Shey and Foxundo is the main trade artery between Upper and Lower Dolpo. Caravans with goods constantly go along this path. Well, as always: in winter, I think, there is no one to trade with in Upper Dolpo, and even during bad weather, hardly anyone would dare to walk this path. During the day we met 5 caravans going empty in the direction of Foxundo and one caravan with cargo going in the opposite direction.

We started at 7 am and at 11 am we were already at the Kanga La pass (5,350 meters). This is our sixth five thousandth pass. The pass is not difficult, but the trail near the pass itself is very badly broken by horses and yaks. We were lucky that the trail was dry - it would have been much more difficult to pass the pass during the rain. Descent from the pass is quite simple and you can save a little time by simply dropping 200-300 meters along the loose.

Immediately after the pass, the landscape does not differ much from the landscapes in Upper Dolpo. But after a few kilometers, it changes dramatically: the river at the bottom of the gorge becomes more powerful, and the gorge itself turns into a stunningly beautiful canyon. The canyon goes into the Foxundo river valley and for the last couple of kilometers the river in it resembles a cascade of waterfalls.

The river had to be crossed 10 times, while only twice across the bridge. Maybe you remember, I wrote that it is somehow dumb to cross the river along birch perches? So - it turns out to be much more fun to jump from stone to stone in front of the waterfall without knowing how slippery the stone is waiting for ou. We were lucky - the water in the river is relatively low. How people use this route in high water is not clear. Most likely you will have to wade the river.

Since in this canyon we descended 1500 meters from the pass, we again clearly felt how the climate changes with altitude. The wind became warmer with every hundred meters of height, the vegetation was more diverse.

And the cherry on the cake of this canyon - it goes to the six-thousand Kanjiroba (6 610 m), which adds contrasts to the landscape. Glaciers and many waterfalls from these glaciers appear over the lush greenery along the almost steep slopes of the mountain.

The film "The Himalayas" was filmed in this area.

But, in my opinion, the film does not convey the atmosphere of the place. And it's not a fact that, in principle, it is possible to convey it through a photo or video ...

We spent the night in a wonderful pine forest at an altitude of 3,700 meters. Apparently, this will be the warmest and quietest night in the past week.

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