A group of CCS travelers left early Thursday morning to hike seven miles and 3000’ up the valley to Manjhi, a summer village perched on a high ridge and surrounded by high peaks. Along the way we passed waterfalls, streams, cows, giant fir trees, wild strawberries, pilgrims, and endless stunning scenery.

We camped in a meadow at Manjhi, sat beside a campfire after dinner, and enjoyed a clear starry night sky (a few saw shooting stars).

The next morning one group set off early and hiked up to a high exposed ridge surrounded by snow-covered peaks called Darwa Pass (almost 14,000’). The other group packed up camp and hiked to Dodital (10,000’), a sacred lake in Hinduism and our home for the second night. Along the way, the Dodital group stopped to meet and share some chai with a few Gujjar families who had set up a temporary camp where they tended their children and water buffalo.

More student blog posts to come, but for now, here are a few photos from our journey within a journey.