Complete links for Getting High, And How?!
5
Day 3 – 18 June
2012 | Part 2
The temperature
further plummeted as the rain continued. While Chandramouly and I took cover
under a tree, I was reminded of the previous time I was headed to Rohtang La. I only wished it would not
rain as hard, or as long as it had rained that time. The trailing pack caught
up with us. They confirmed that the backup jeep was not behind us, which meant
it had gone ahead. While we were undecided if we should continue waiting here
for the rain to subside, Gurudeep decided to race ahead and find the jeep. He
also asked us to ride ahead at a slow pace to keep things moving.
The rain had turned
into a light drizzle now, so we got back to pedalling once again. In a little
while, Gurudeep returned – with the backup jeep following him. We quickly
located a spot beside the road that seemed to offer just enough cover from the
rain. We parked our bikes, took our rain gear from the jeep, and ran for cover!
Waiting under the trees, we had chocolate bars, biscuits and some orange juice.
We would have liked to wait until the rain had stopped, but we could not. Once
done with our snack, we got back on our bikes. We planned to stop at a
restaurant ahead, and get something hot!
In under a
kilometre, we ran into a couple more cyclists headed our direction. After a
quick chat with them, I learnt they too were from Bangalore and were headed to Leh.
They did not seem like they wanted to remain in a conversation, so I headed my
way. The little snack had recharged my batteries and I found myself cycling a
brisk pace now. Of course, Chandramouly was still ahead of me though.
As we kept cycling,
I realised it was getting a little uncomfortable riding with the rain gear on.
It trapped all the body heat in so much that I was almost sweating, even though
it was freezing outside! Anyhow, after riding about a bit, I saw a small shack
by the side of the road. As I got closer, I saw that the shack had a kerosene
stove lit up inside. On closer inspection, I saw there were packets of Maggi too. I was not too sure if this is
where we were supposed to halt for lunch, but I did not give it a second
thought. I immediately stopped and shouted out to Chandramouly, who was quite
ahead of me, to stop. He could not hear me and continued riding ahead.
I got into the shack
and called for a Maggi. As the guy
started preparing it, I saw Mizan approaching. I asked him if he wanted to stop
and get a Maggi too. He did indeed!
Next in line was Akshay. When I asked him if I should call a Maggi for him too, his face lit up! And
so did the shack owner’s! Soon Ramya, HT and Gurudeep arrived. This indeed was
the place we were to stop. We sent the jeep to chase Chandramouly and get him
back. And then he joined us too, with the driver.
With the shack
having only Maggi and tea in their
menu, we all called for a second round. Sitting in the shack, we saw a huge
bird that flew across and perch up on a tree. Gurudeep, Akshay and I stepped
out to find it, and then got a few pictures of it. Turns out, it was a Himalayan Griffon, and we were glad we
stepped out in the rain to locate it!
Meanwhile, the rain
showed no signs of relenting. Though most of us would have preferred to stay
back in the warm and dry shack, we had to get back on the road again. I do not
know if I was hallucinating, but the slope seemed to be getting steeper since
our last stop. After a couple of hairpin bends, the rain finally gave in.
Perhaps, because we were now over the rain clouds!
It was getting a
whole lot windier, and a whole lot colder as we headed up towards the
snow-capped mountains. I found it quite thrilling riding on the very edge of
the road, while watching the valley below, and tracing the twisted road that
got us up here. But after spotting an overturned truck in a river below, I
decided to keep a little away. But it was still very tempting to keep peeking
at the green valley below every once in a while.
Chandramouly and
Mizan had gotten so ahead of us that they were now out of sight. Knowing well that
there was only one road everyone had to take meant that one did not have to ask
anyone for directions. En route, we came across a herd of horses galloping away
on the hills. It was quite a sight, and I thought I must keep up with them! Of
course, that was not a smart thing to do and I slowed down to ride with the
group again. With a few more kilometres left for the day, the jokes we cracked
enabled us to divert our attention from the fatigue that was catching up.
After a while,
Virender passed us guys in the second jeep. This jeep was to be our mobile
kitchen for the ride, and it also carried our tents in addition to all supplies
we would require for the next few days. They were headed to our campsite to set
up our tents, so that they would be ready when we would arrive.
As dusk approached,
the wind picked up considerably. As if the slope was not bad enough, now, we
had to fight the wind too. In just a little bit, up ahead, I saw what looked
like a little settlement. Ha, I thought it very well could be Marhi. I slipped down a couple of gears,
put my head down and started pedalling a little quicker. As I got closer, I saw
that Mizan and Chandramouly were already there. But our jeep was not. Ah, this
was definitely not where we were to stop for the day, but we could do well with
a break. Although there were quite a few people at the place, we cyclists did
not get much attention from them. I soon learnt the reason for that was a
couple of French cyclists – who had arrived there a little earlier. Those guys had
started their ride from Chandigarh
and had no backup whatsoever! No wonder, we guys were ignored!
Anyhow, having been
there before, Gurudeep pointed to us where Marhi
was. It was not much further away, but we could see that it required some more
climbing. As it was getting dark, we got back on the road again. After a bit of
cycling, one last hairpin bend remained. Approaching it, I estimated each of
its legs were at least about a half kilometre in length. And the good thing was
the first part was a slight downhill! My joy was short-lived because the
headwind was so strong at this point that I had to keep pedalling to get the
bike moving. After what felt like forever, it was time to turn around and head
up again – for one last time for the day. The headwind now turning into
tailwind assisted us in the climb. For the first time ever, cycling uphill felt
easier than getting down!
In little time, we
made it to Marhi. We could not locate
where our jeep was, so we had to wait for the rest of the guys to join us.
While waiting for the others, Chandramouly and I, found a shack that had a fire
lit up and warmed ourselves beside it. Soon, Mizan, Akshay and Ramya gave us
company too. Once Gurudeep arrived with HT, he pointed to us where our campsite
was. It was well away from the hustle and bustle of this little settlement and
I instantly loved it! In spite of a long day of riding, we raced towards it.
The crew were still setting up our sleeping tents. I could see that it was
struggle getting them up amidst this strong wind.
A large dining tent
was already set up, and we guys got into it while the crew went about setting
up the rest. There was some food being readied in the mobile kitchen, and it
smelt great! Sitting on the mattress inside the tent felt heavenly after a long
day on the saddle! By the time we guys filmed a little video of ourselves, the
sleeping tents were ready. We moved our luggage into them and changed into
cleaner and warmer clothes. With it being so windy, no one was going to take a
bath tonight! Or tomorrow morning for that matter! Once cleaned up, we got back
to the dining tent. The mood inside the tent was a happy one! Each of us had
many things to say about the day’s ride, though, things quietened up a bit once
the food arrived. After a scrumptious dinner, we stepped outside. It was dark
by now, and we found ourselves standing underneath a million stars.
As we were talking
about, the sky suddenly lit up for an instant – so bright that it almost
felt like mid day! When I looked up, I saw a streak of light across the sky,
slowly fading away! That is when I realised it was a shooting star! Goosebumps!
I could have made a wish, but I was too much in awe to do that! I had never seen
anything as magnificent before! The ride up here felt worth it just to witness
this event!
Still in awe, we
walked about a bit before we got back to our tents. The only thing left now was
to tuck into our sleeping bags and get some rest. Tomorrow, we would get across
Rohtang La!
Complete links for Getting High, And How?!
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