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Yes, paper is biodegradable, but the tidy Kiwi in me, along with the Minnesota nice part of me, thinks its wrong, wrong, wrong.
The road was also under construction, and the workers were mostly Biharis. The Biharis come north in the summer to do the really hard, hot, an dirty jobs in Kashmir. They are the ones working on the roads, and hauling the wet concrete on their heads up rickety ladders to make the upper floor of houses and other buildings.
We reached Sonamarg after a couple of hours, and now I knew why the Gujar people packed up their families and animals and undertook the dangerous trek to get here from Jammu every year. It was so beautiful.
With plenty of room for the animals to graze.Most of the visitors to Sonamarg take horse treks up to the glacier.
But I was more interested in just walking, so that is what we did.It was a great choice. We were able to visit with the Gujar people in their summer homes.
As you can see, the houses are simple stacked rock and timbers, with an opening to let the smoke out from the cooking fire. Inside everything is stacked neatly,
and the small homes are cosy and waterproof. The Gujar people are not wealthy in material things, (notice that mom has different shoes on each foot
) but the children seem to be getting enough to eat.And they have an outdoor life with clean air and plenty of exercise.
Some of the Gujar people live in tents here as well.
I learned recently that the huge herds of goats and sheep I had seen being driven past the Hope Centre represented the combined animals of many families. That explained why there seemed to be a disconnect between the obvious poverty of the people, and the huge flocks. As it turns out, each family only owns 2 or 3 animals. I can only imagine that the bulk of the Gujar people take a different route to the mountains - or bus there? Because I didn't see many people on the road with all those animals. Maybe I missed them.As we walked on, we came upon a small collection of Gujar homes,
connected to each other. We were caught in a rainstorm and took shelter in one of their outbuildings. And as the rain continued, one of the young Gujar women invited the 3 of us into her home to warm up until the rain stopped. 
She lit a small fire for us, and we enjoyed her hospitality for 20 minutes or so before moving on.
It was up here that I first spotted the water buffalo.
The Kashmiris had mentioned that they had buffalo here, and I was curious as to what type of buffalo they were referring to. Now I know.After enjoying our walk and hospitality and the grazing animals,
we got back in the car and continued on into the mountains to Baltal. It is the base camp for thousands of Hindu pilgrims who go the last 17 km to the Amarnath cave.It was very unpleasant when we arrived, with driving icy rain.
So cold I had no desire to open my window or step outside. Every year people die from exposure here.The Hindus from the sweltering plains have no idea what the cold here can be like, and so they are seldom prepared for this weather, sleeping in tents only.
The hundred thousand pilgrims per year who come to this holy place provide an additional source of income for the Gujar people. The pilgrims rarely walk the 17 km to the cave.
Usually they ride on the Gujar's horses and mules.
Sometimes they are carried in palanquins. That's got to be hard work! The young woman who took us into her home to warm up told Tahir that the men in the family were here working. The pilgrimage to the cave lasts from mid June through August. Some holy men walk the entire way from Delhi and beyond. I have seen a couple of them, but have no photos. They are barefoot.As we departed, the clouds lifted just enough for me to get a couple of good photos of the Himalaya mountains.
