Gaumukh Glacier Trek

On the way to Gangotri from Uttarkashi we quickly learned that a shared jeep means 11 people exceeding the 7 person capacity the jeep actually has, with one or two sitting on top of it's rack--Oy Vey...the first bit of our trip I got used to the winding, pounding, bouncing bouncing bouncing road and uneven badly-sprung seats with some resignation but then our driver started letting absurd numbers of people onto the jeep and the despair over the safety of our trip focussed in somewhat mercifully (because the real danger of the road far exceeds the cramped jeep space) on the art of breathing towards whatever thin streams of fresh air were available from outside, between reels of diesel from the jeep and the inevitable funky human scents we collectively were simmering in, in the inescapable juiciness of the Himalayan jungle.
Sadly, Tom and I got inculcated to a new kind of tourist rip-off ploy on our way up. It is 1500 rupees to rent the whole jeep to go, and we arranged with a driver to share the cost with others that he would pick up on the way. Apparently our "agreement" to share our jeep with as many people along the way as necessary to make it cheaper didn't translate over to the understanding (or will to understand) of the driver who he substituted us with and although we shared the jeep with a jeopardizing number of people all the way up we were asked to pay the full fare upon arrival for the entire jeep of 25 or more people who had been let on (causing it to take alot more time to get there also)! The others were paying like 10 and 20 rupees each and at the end it was as if everyone else had a free ride on us! The former tolerant Phoenix might have swallowed this one by calling it a lesson and a day, but I was really pissed at the deception. After all we would have ridden up much more safely if we had insisted on having the jeep to ourselves for what we were being asked to pay anyway. Buses and jeeps go over the passes nearly every week in one part of the Himalayan valley or another due to overloading as reported in the news, but this doesn't stop the drivers from doing it. Vapors of anger shuddered off of Tom as a growing crowd of entertained onlookers stood by to gawk at his heated exchanges with the taxi driver. We got a couple of Israeli people who hitched up with us to share some of the cost that they owed for their part of over half the journey and in the end, we paid the driver far too much, but not what he was demanding. The next minute I was beseiged by some Babas wanting money too. The only thing worthy I kept from that moment with me was a hearty "Hari Om!" from the orange-clad beggars.
After that bit of ugliness, Gangotri revealed itself to be a laughing jewel of a town nestled in the wake of the lunging Bhagirathi (which becomes Ganga further down) river. We got a room in a bright yellow and pink hotel called Bhagirathi Sadan which, like all establishments in Gangotri, had no electricity except for generator power at night, for two hours. We were very comfortable here with the cleansing rush of the river overwhelming all sounds into one, and found the hotel's two or three balconies (when dry, and that was rare since it rained off and on) a great place to sit and practice.
At a dhaba (street cafe) we met a young guy named Gopi who wanted to accompany us to Gaumukh and further up, across the glacier to Tapovan ("forest of accomplishments": tapas/vandana for all you Sanskrit lovers). He was a really sweet guy, and although we weren't that sure if we would get all the way up to Tapovan where one needs to have a guide along we agreed to pay him something to accompany us there the next day and spent the afternoon having one of those endless Indian dharma talks and singing together. But he wasn't much of a guide, the morning started off oddly with him turning up with none of the sleeping bags he had promised us and we shortly found out later that half of the imformation he gave us was wrong or lacking in some way (foremost probably that he was a graduate of the Nehru Mountaineering school). And I was annoyed because he kept pushing us subtly and overtly to keep a pace up the grueling 3000 foot elevation gain on a bouldered path and all I wanted to do was experience the journey unabated by the demands of time, which an American is all too familiar with. I told him not to wait up for me and let me be and proceeded to dandy on with familiar herbs greeting my eye along each hour on the trail. I was happy to identify: rose hips (yummy), mullein, vervain, thyme, spearmint, evening primrose, ephedra, and wild rose.
There is something about walking that brings out a perpetual rhythm in my DNA that reminds me on a deeper level that it is possible that being human is to be a part of nature, not a bad experiment gone haywire. Walking is such an unquestioned part of everyday life for so many cultures and it is mollifying to the body and psyche, melting away imagined complexes and habits of mind of all sort. There is one step, and another step, each uniquely commanding an awareness that the apparent fragility of the land is ours too, that a careless push against a rock can undo a perceived stability that we take for granted at times. It is thrilling to be alive in this simple movement that goes nowhere only for the sake of experiencing energy meeting energy. Yet, we are coming now to the place that is the very source of the great Ganga which flows across the entire northern Indian continent, so you could say we are going "somewhere" after all.
After 14 km. which is 8.4 miles to be exact, we reached Bhojbasa, a highland crescent meadow in the canyon with a small ashram and a campsite for travellers. We opted to stay in one of the sturdy tents by the river rather than the ashram as we heard from other travelers that the food there made them sick, and it was quite expensive by India standards. The weather was changing sharply as twilight came on, and I padded through some thorny shrubs and rocks to the side of the river to do some pranayama and sit for awhile, free to be alone at last.
The tent, raised on strong posts and reinforced with rope pulls for the thick nylon walls, was incredibly warm and cozy, even though we shared it with a darling mouse who came up next to Tom's pillow as we laid in stupefying altitude-sickness-wrought insomnia for over half the night. I was impressed with the tent's durability but despite it's offer of comfort, the lack of sleep and lung-clutching rasps of breathing that I was able to do at times prevented us from getting to Tapovan. Tom had a splitting headache too and nausea. We will stay a couple extra nights in peaceful Bhojbasa next time we go up with good books to acclimate. We did hike to Gaumukh glacier another 5km up that day and were informed that the glacier has retreated 4 km in the last 5 years. Anyone seen "An Inconvenient Truth"?
Medium-sized shards of the glacier were falling into the river and the mountainside continued to laugh it's way down in silty avalanches, daring us to betray common sense and walk over the glacier for a better look as some travelers were doing. I was really happy sitting there by the miracle that makes the Ganga, it's muddy sky-blue heart shining out from it's core.