September 12th The next morning I had gotten 2 solid hours of sleep and had drank 8 liters of water over the night. The bright side is that I actually got rid of my sore throat and ear ache so I guess I was ready for another gruelling and rainy day of hiking.

I'm with Gaurav again today, leading the pack and walking /through/ waterfalls and landslides till we reach our second bridge over the Pindari leading us to Dwali. As we waited for Gaurav to get his things situated after the bridge, we spotted a wild Martin with a bright white stripe down his head and tail. We later found out they're a type of river otter.

As Gaurav came up to us he suggested we take the less steep ascent to the village, but we quickly turned back because there was a giant tree that had been washed out right in the middle of the trail with a very steep fall on the river side. We ended up scrambling up to the top where we were greeted by three men who live there.

Not really a village with such a small population, but a few buildings there for visitors to the valley. We stopped in for chai, then went back out to welcome the following hiking groups. We set up our tents in the rain, set up our stoves under the awning, and made the worst tomato soup of my life. I can't really blame it entirely on my cooking skills since it was just a dried, instant package of garbage, but it still wasn't warming me on the cold and rainy afternoon.

That night, Nate slept inside with another ill student so they had ready access to the toilet that was solely reserved for them. As for the rest of us, I can say that dropping your pants int he rain is a very uncomfortable experience. I do miss toilet paper and a dry bum.

September 13th IT's still drizzling and we're on our way to Phurkia, the last stop before Zero Point. The hike had the usual treterous river crossings, waterfalls, and washouts so I can't remember anything of note really.

Once we got there though, we walked in to the porch area for the rest house and were greeted with a fresh sheep skin, still bloody and wet, drying on the back of a kitchen chair... The rain had stopped fortunately, but the ground was completely covered with these strange, green bamboo shoots everywhere. We got a room to put our packs in because of the absurdly high chance of rain and then looked for a spot to camp for about an hour. Too bad Gaurav's recommendation for camping in a nearby cave didn't pan out since it was already being guarded by shephard's dogs. We finally found a descent place, but were soon surrounded by sheep and mules pooping around our periferie... Definitely the most uncomfortable and obnoxious campsite thus far.

We had a meeting on leadership and I presented my LNT skit to the group with Andria, then we all ate and slept and tried to stay comfortable in our wet tent surrounded by poop.

September 14th I was chosen as a leader for the day and was stoked to finally get some sun for our hike. For the first time ever I reminded people about wearing sunscreen for the day and everything that followed was really amazing and overall a relaxed day as we approached Baba G's peaceful temple and home (Zero Point).

He welcomed us with a never-ending supply of chai and a packet of biscuits for each of us. The swami is the most uplifting person I have ever met, his smile is the most infectuous, chubby-cheeked smile in the world. This whole pocket of land is so sacred - the Pindari river begins here and takes the evil spirits away, while the snow covered mountain peaks prevent most from coming in. The chai yesterday was so sweet and warm, especially after hiking with wet feet for the whole day. With that horrendous scratchy throat coming back, all I could think about was a hot drink with honey in it. I think that's what I missed the most out there for food- honey. Honey, toilet paper, and dry socks.