Trip Log and Pictorial

Day 2

0600 - Woke up early after a good decent sleep without any disturbance. Felt like being in heaven after the sleep. Woke up lazy and sat on the bed and stretching myself to glory if you know what I mean. Had a few cups of Tea and fags and woke up Vikas [Crack] as well. Early sunrise was perfect but Sun rose way too early than expected. Our plan was to reach Rohtang by Sunrise but by 6am it was way too bright and felt like 8am rather. We were fresh for the start of the next leg of our Trip across Mountains. This is the day when we truly start exploring the real Himalayaz. Return to Himalayaz IV had just begun.

0700 - Had breakfast a couple of omelets and bread and got ready by 7am, paid the hotel bills and got down to the bikes. The bikes were dirty and felt like they were yelling at us. We some how managed to clean both the bikes a little and started the bikes. The temperature gauge showed 15 degrees. Way a little cold for a start but when I started my bike up, it started instantly. Thanks to a bottle of Nulon. The engine started and a white smoke out of the exhaust meant that the engine was not burning fuel the way it is suppose to. Kept the engine running for 15 minutes and then the engine warmed up to a healthy temperature. Now it was ready to start off. We started off and hit the nearest Petrol pump. Brimmed our bikes with fuel and also added a 100 ml 2T oil to the fuel as the 2T oil relieves the engine from stressing too much while riding at higher altitudes.

0745 - Left Manali and hit the highway. There on, we had only steep climb all the way till Rohtang Top. We least expected the traffic but unpredictably a very heavy traffic going to Rohtangla Top and almost nil fro traffic. The climb was not hard but tough for any rider as the traffic was dense and we had to over take on hair pin bends only. No commercial load caring trucks going, only Tourist cabs which meant a huge delay for us. Roads were smooth for some first 20 kilometers but after that, as usual rough roads and heavy traffic slowed us even further.

0900 - We reached the Top finally but reaching here was like climbing mount Everest as tourists were flocking in huge numbers. Welcome to Rohtang Top board was no where to be found thanks to the density of tourist in the area. People were flocking there for Winter games as many locals were providing Skies and Snow Scooters. Once we crossed the top, started the decent and the roads were getting worst every mile we covered. We enjoyed every bit of the scenery and took our time to cover the distance till Koksar.

1030 - Our wonderful journey just began and our first stop of the day after riding for last few hours was well worth a wait. Stopped over at Koksar for a few cups of tea and enjoyed the surroundings. The pleasure of being out of urban jungle is something which you have to try out once at least. The streams flowing across the roads and water falls every where you turn was just a glimpse of Lahual & Spiti Valley.

1100 - Our halt at Koksar was brief and worth every minute, started off from Koksar to Keylong.

On the way to Keylong found numerous Water crossings, some as deep as 5 feet ... One of them would be a block for all 4 wheelers and only Trucks / Busses would be able to cross over. We managed to it off the track which was much easier but difficult for a first timer. Crack had no problems crossing but our shoes would obviously be wet after such crossing. A stop to enjoy the surrounding and click some pics to share it with you all. Road condition was none the less the same as last year. No Tar roads, only small rocks and water streams would dig in deep holes which would make it a bumpy ride at times. Top speed would not be above 40kmph and that also would be rare. 60 odd kilometers were covered in almost 2 hours till we got Tar roads.

1430 - Reached Keylong without any issues as smooth as it could get. Our journey was eventful and satisfied with every mile we crossed. Stopped at a local Dhaba and started deciding as where to head out. Either we could go all the way till Leh but have to cross the border before it closes which would be within 90 mins or stop at Sarchu. Took the map out and started deciding the next stop.

1500 - Started off and decided to go as far as long as sun light stays above the horizon. Our ride till Darcha would take most of the time out as the roads got worst to worst ever. It would be as bad as sharp rocks almost cutting the tyre into half. The surface was getting on my mind as bike would fish tail almost ever kilometer and would be highly unstable. More over, the front breaks of my bike was almost close to nil. It was a rising concern to me every minute. Some how managed to reach Darcha by 4:30 pm

1630 - Got the entry done on the check post of Lahaul Spiti police and started off to Sarchu.
As we started climbing to Barlacha La things would get worst, now the surface was filled with stone grains which is usually used for construction purpose. These small stones would not give even a little grip on the roads and would get best out of a riders skills. Balancing the bike and absorbing the shocks even at just 5 kmph is a touch job. If engine stalls or we loose the balance on this surface, it would be very hard to start climbing again. We reached Zing Zing Bar by 6pm. Here we stopped before crossing over the pass for a cup of tea. The guy offered us to stay there and spend the night which was very tempting and the offer was getting on. The temperature was dropping quick and we had no winter cloths. The blankets were offering cozy stay which tempted us to decide if we could pull back and stay over night. The sun light was dim and darkness was crawling fast up the horizon. We decided to stop there and not go further. We parked our bikes on the corner and got the luggage out. Got in the tent and simply dived inside the cozy blankets. Little did we know that we were up for a big surprise.
Drank a few cups of hot soup prepared by the locals and checked the temperature gauge.
It was 2 degrees above zero at 7pm. This meant that the temperature would drop big time during the night time.

With no Warm Cloths, we were already shivering and cold was pinching us like a needle. The breeze was strong and every minute felt like an hour. We started having a good conversation with the locals and they were discussing about their family and culture. How they survive during the winters and what they do. They were adventurer by nature, the guys were trekking experts. One of them was a helper for the expedition Mount Everest by Nat Geo crew. With temperatures dropping down slowly we were not comfortable at all. We could barely talk. I would just nod my head when the locals were talking. They offered trekking lessons but we were not interested. Muscles felt drained out of energy specially due to the fact that we rode worst possible roads. Time passed by and it was 11pm already. I some how manage to lay down and tried to sleep and so did Vikas. But to my misery the so called bed was made up of stones. I felt anger and pain but had no other choice. Laying there cold felt like life was so beautiful yet so harsh at times. We have seen it all but that was just a start for me and Vikas too.

Lights went off and Everyone slept. My mobile phone, iPod & other electronic items were in my bag but I had zero energy to even move few feet to the left. After some time I was lost into a strange world. The Illusion of being in hell was just flapping my eyes. My eyes were open but could see glowing colors. A normal man would say he say an alien ship but I knew that it was more of a Shock to the brain due to lack of Oxygen. I some how managed to get up and go out of the tent. I felt like the ground was shaking and the illusion was so damn real I could barely differentiate. Started feeling a strange sensation on my chest. Felt like a huge load of stones were on top. I knew that I was undergoing AMS [ Acute Mountain Sickness]. Crawled inside the tent and some how managed to open my bag to search for the  Medicine box as I needed Diomax. Things got worst as I found out that I forgot to keep the damn medical kit on my bag. It was really annoying, once a person is hit by AMS he should come down to a lower Altitude as soon as possible to prevent an brain cell damage. I sat on the so called bed ideally and wondered how it felt to be in modern world. The luxury of Air Conditioners and cushion beds. It was all over when some light started falling over from the mountain. Some how peeped outside the tent and found out that the sun was about to rise.