Photo: Horses grazing on the Stok Kangri trail; Stok is around the right edge out of view.
Leh is situated on a plateau (at 3,500 meters elevation) between two major ranges (Zanskar and Kashmir - border with Pakistan is about 50 miles away). There are dozens of Trekking Outfitters in Leh, organizing trips of one to 30 days (or more) in the surrounding mountains. One of the more accessible 6,000 meter mountains is Stok Kangri. Once acclimatized, this climb can be done in 3-5 days from Leh.. I learned from some other climbers that this is a relatively easy peak for this elevation... barring weather/acclimatization and fitness issues it should go pretty well. One benefit of being in Leh/Ladakh was that we could acclimatize to 12,000' or higher for the upcoming climb on Mt. Kalanag.
We decided to trek the Stok Kangri trail to the first day's campsite. Unburdened by heavy packs, we did this in about 2 hours of not too strenuous trekking. We hiked along the glacier runoff stream and gained a couple of thousand feet... ending at the campsite at 4,200 meters. It was a well-established site with prayer flags and other offerings in abundance. We sat and ate lunch there... the only humans visible in that valley. We saw a herd of Bighorn Sheep on the mountainside across from us... heard them first after we startled them... and then watched them move up the mountain.
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