Ladhhak: A Godless Pilgrimage

Walking on the air as I was while hurtling past Ambala on my way home, I was already feeling nostalgic about what I had left behind. The ethereal memories of Ladhhak kept me awake, where the not so ethereal skeeters failed during my attempt at a quick nap in Ambala. Before giving up on sleep, I traveled backwards at the speed of thought, trying to backtrack mentally and fool myself into believing that there was more to come.

                                                    Leaving the Plains: Chandigarh

Ten of us committed attendance, five planned, three prepared and took leave from work, and finally just two of us set out for the road trip I've always wanted to be on. Sourabh rode his Avenger 220, he bought 6 months ago for the sole purpose of accomplishing this wheeled pilgrimage to Leh, and I made my veteran Enfield Bullet 2005 as comfortable as possible with the idea of doing long distances at high altitudes.
The hot and humid mid June weather, although sapping, inspired us to move quickly to reach a cooler place by sunset. We halted for the night at Swarghat, almost 100 kms short of our original target 'Mandi' because of four unexpected bike break-downs, which made us lose three hours. Nevertheless, being in the hills, Swarghat was as pleasant as we expected Mandi to be, and moreover, the time spent in fixing the bikes paid off, and the remaining journey was almost breakdown free (at-least for the bikes).
Day 2: We started at 10 AM and and rode all day among pines and through tunnels to reach the outskirts of Manali by evening. Rain welcomed us to Manali and we took a half an hour tea break before reaching the town and checking into a hotel. There, we bought, jerrycans for carrying fuel, tanked up, and called it a day.
Day 3: On what was to be our hardest day on road, we skipped breakfast to leave early and avoid getting stuck at Rohtang. We didn't stop anywhere en route, not to dig our hands in snow, not to stare in awe at the valleys we left behind, not even for tea. What eventually made us stop was what had kept us moving; massive landslides and traffic-jam at Rohtang. Riding, dragging, falling and waiting in slush at 14500 feet, we took 4 hours to cross 4 kms. Once we crossed it we rode downhill as quickly as possible to have our first meal of the day at 2:30 in Khoksar. 

                                             Not Stuck Anymore: Rohtang

The small dhaba, in the sleepy settlement served us the best food I have had in years. Rejuvenated, we reached Tandi in another hour, to tank up for the journey onward, a 365 Km long road, deserted, inhospitable, and completely devoid of permanent habitation. We checked into a hotel in Keylong at 5:00 pm, not disheartened a bit for missing our target for the day 'Sarchu'. Instead, reaching Keylong without having to spend a night in a high altitude traffic jam was reason enough for celebration. The following words, I wrote that night would remind me forever of the place:

                              On the desolate, barren road to Ladhhak,
                              each new sojourn more anonymous than any I've been to,

                              balancing satisfaction with curiosity, 

                              I wonder, Have I found the answers I have always sought, 

                              Or have I abandoned the questions that there were. I ride on.

Day 4: After a quick inspection of engine oil, clutch, and brake, we got riding again and rode on and on from anonymous to ethereal. If Keylong enchanted us, what followed absolutely stunned us. The road quickly rose from an altitude of 10000 ft to 14000 ft, and with it, dipped the air-density and temperature considerably. An army personnel at a check-post, informed us that there were streams that we would need to ride through, and that we would find no mechanic, filling station, help, or even a village for the next 365 kms. He wished us luck and asked us to be cautious; which we already were, apart from being anxious, tired, cold, and slightly mountain-sick. Then, there were streams, and they were powerful, and icy cold; I almost fell in the the first and in the second, we had to drag one bike at a time, with one person riding, one pushing, and both of them numb in the feet. Crossing the stream meant getting shoes wet and feet numb, then squeezing out water from the shoes, and then rubbing feet together to get the blood circulation going. Taking two bikes through meant doing all of that three times over. We soon crossed Baralacha-La, the fifth highest motor able road in the world; I would strongly suggest adding 'almost' before 'motor able' for not just this pass, but also for the four passes higher than this one (the highest four in the world),  which we crossed later in our journey. The ascent was hard but the visuals were celestial, and what is a little discomfort, in accomplishing something worth dying for. 

                                          Hanging my Boots: Baralacha La

After having Maggi for lunch in a small tented dhaba in Bharatpur, we reached Sarchu at 3:30 pm and decided to camp there for the day, since moving further meant crossing two high altitude passes before we could find a place suitable for camping. At 15500 ft Sarchu was extremely cold and the high altitude was taking its toll on us, so, we were confined to our tents for most of the evening. That night I slept with my gloves, jacket, woolen socks and shoes on. 

Day 5: I woke up at 4:30 am (hardly slept), and it wasn't dark but was extremely cold and windy. I noticed a thin layer of snow over the bikes, and wondered how much below the freezing point the temperature was. To capture the magnificent view of the plateau, river, and clouds, I brought out my camera, but by 5 am, my head started spinning due to the extreme cold, and I rushed back into my tent. At 7:30 am, braving the cold, we left Sarchu, and passed NakeeLa and LachungLa passes to reach Pang by 11 am. Another maggi meal and we started ascending on the road to Moore plains, which is a high altitude dry plateau. 

                                            Discovering the Road, Again: Moore Plains

At an altitude of 15500 feet, it was a 35 km long straight road. A good part of the road was either broken, or wasn't visible under the thick layer of sand that covered it, forcing us to chose the best looking vectors in the barren desert. But it is hard to lose your way when your road is several kilometers wide, and within an hour we were crossing streams again on our way to TanglangLa, the second highest road in the world. There, we relieved our bikes of some burden by emptying spare fuel cans into the fuel tanks. Leh was now just three hours away, and after a few kms of descent from TanglangLa, the road condition improved. 

                                        

                                           Lonely at the Top: Tanglang La (17582 ft)

As the altitude also decreased a bit, by the time we reached Upshi, our energy levels were replenished, and we made it to Leh by 6:30 pm and found accomodation for the next few days by 7pm. Continued in "Leh: Realm of the Indus" and "The Journey Home"