Days 6 & 7: Rishiganga & Nandapryag

I'm realizing that Eric's pictures are probably a better representation of what is going on. There was a lot of deliberation on his part about what to carry the camera equipment in. He bought a brand new pack but in the end decided it was too nice, thus too much of a target, to take with him. Instead he took an old Northface bag he already owned and had seen a Holi Festival of Colors or two so it looked rather beat up. After roaming all over Provo he bought some foam and made a makeshift carrying case inside the Northface hip bag. He was quite proud of himself. Anyway, I'm only going to post a picture from now on of where he might be so as not to steal his thunder on the awesome sites and scenes that are Uttaharkhand.
After staying the night at the hotel in Badrinath the group hiked and camped the Rashiganga valley and Nanda Devi. Again, this area is an approximate guess according to Google Earth. Either way, hauling a 45lb. pack around must be something crazy because in the valleys they are over 10,500ft ASL. I'm wondering if the altitude sickness is setting in yet.

Days 4 & 5: Joshimath and Badrinath

I'm starting to think that he is likely spending as much time on a bus, or train as he is walking around exploring. Doesn't look like they are quite in the research area yet, but it still seems like there is plenty to see. After leaving Pauri, the next stop is camping in Auli. You have to take this tram to get up there. Elevation: 6200ft ASL.


After camping in Auli there was another bus ride to Joshimath and arriving in Badrinath by lunch. I think it's in Badrinath that there is the temple Eric's friend, Chris, was telling us about. Chris has actually been in India since May working on research for his thesis. From what he told us, you wait in line for hours to walk inside for 5 minutes. Still it must be a pretty awesome place since they scheduled the rest of the day to roam around once they arrived. Can you imagine being on a bus doing those switchbacks?

Days 3 & 4: Haridwar & Pauri

BYU Geology Department is working with the university in New Delhi for this project and so after staying at their guest house there will be a four hour train ride to Haridwar. Imagine seeing this as you entered the city. Probably beats the pink plastic dinosaur in Vernal, UT.





After lunch in Haridwar they embarked on a tram ride to the top of frontal anticline of MFT. I have no idea what this means, haha. Then there is the ensuing bus ride to Pauri where they stayed in a hotel for the night. Check out those steps.

Days 1 and 2

After a 14 hour plane ride from SLC to Chicago and New Delhi Eric lands here.





This is an overview of his trip. You can see he is in the northern part of the country so no Taj Mahal pics.




The first week, in purple, he'll be in the state of Uttarakhand. The second leg of the trip, in blue, will be after flying up to Leh. At one point he will be only 15km from the Tibetan border. Google maps didn't show any road names up there or towns. The plot points I used were the names of mountains or valleys in which they will be camping, so I could be off by at least a 100 miles in some locations. Either way it gives us an idea.

Where in the world is...?

So I don't know why I waited a week to do this but I just thought of it today. I realized I have a very cursory itinerary of where Eric is and thought I would share it all with you. I'm going to start from the beginning so we can all catch up. The pictures included are not those he has sent but some I found online to give us an idea of where he is at.

***** This just in!... I'm an idiot: Eric and I have the same phones and I mistakenly took his this morning when I left the house. He called at 12:07. The only call he's been able to make. He's in a town called Rishikesh and was about to go to sleep on a really nasty bed but had gotten an hour massage for $5. Hopefully he'll call when he wakes up.

So I'm going to do this in different posts so there isn't one huge long one. Enjoy!

Coldplay... I heart.

Pretty much this will blow your mind.

Also, Eric texted me from New Delhi last night saying that he saw a pooping dog (10 points!) and that he is safe.

Cross that off the list.

We rode segways. It's been on my list of things to do before I die for quite a while now and I heard that you can rent them at the Thanksgiving Point gardens. The gardens are pretty cool just by themselves, but add a segway and you're going to have a good time... and look like a nerd.


Also, in case you were wondering if Henry and Willis are still alive you can rest easy. We have now managed to keep two mammals alive for a full six months. Here's the proof: