A Winter in India

We were able to find a local guide (Joshi) who took us on a nice trek right from our hotel up to a high mountain lake. Here is the sign we passed at the beginning, and despite these words of welcome, we proceeded up the mountain.

Didn’t see any leeches or elephants, but there was plenty of very fresh evidence of the elephants, some of it in very large piles right on the trail. Just the night before three adult and one baby elephant had come down this very trail, into the village, to eat in the vegetable patch. Not much was tall enough for them to eat yet, so not much damage was done, and at dawn they went back up the mountain. We were probably 4 hours behind them.

The photo is Joshi pointing out some trees where the elephants have stripped the bark by rubbing their tusks against the tree. Their dental hygiene leaves a big impression. We also saw trees pulled out by the roots, trees with the bark rubbed smooth where an elephant scratched his back against it, and one dooryard where the elephant had come right in front of the shed and then straight down the bank, taking out a five foot tall hedge of artemesia.

And we think we have trouble with deer in our rhododendron!