Chandra taal Trek

Day 1 : Deja Vu

I am sitting in the car along with Harsha and Anil, all bags stored in the boot behind. We are running late, our flight is at 11:40 AM and its close to 9:40 AM and we are still 30 odd km from the airport. This trip to the himalayas has been pending since July and after re-scheduling our tickets from Aug to Sep because of bad weather I am really tensed to make it to the trip and not miss the flight ! Ajith Arundathi and Beena are in another car and taking another route to reach the airport ( we parted immediately after we decided to follow each other ! the drivers sticking to their preffered routes being the reason.) Harsha is at ease enjoying the music and counting the number of things he missed packing. I am distracted by the buzz of my phone . Its a message from Indigo saying that the flight is delayed by 30 minutes. when Harsha is around and late the universe seems to conspire in order to aid him. My announcement is met with the ususal know it all smile of Harsha and his proclamation of how we started at the right time !

BLR-DEL 6E114

The half empty flight of indigo somehow did not seem to justify the cost of the airticket we had paid. As soon as the flight took off, out came the "Nipput" from Beena.'s bag Our coversations were punctuated by the regular munching of Nipput and other bakery stuff.  The empty flight also ment that people on flight had the option of upgrading their modest low fare economy class tickets to a luxurious fully reclinable seat see the picture below to know how.

By the time Ajith made up his mind to upgrade the flight ahd landed in delhi at 3:00 PM. We got up leaving an unmistakable trail of the stuff we had consumed during the flight.

Hotel Ranjith Baara Gyara Dhobi Ghat.

Our Bus to Manali was scheduled to leave by 5:30 PM. We had around 2 hours to finish our lunch and head to the bus stand. The plan was to dump our luggage at the transport office and head out for lunch. Harsha got into the act of calling the transport office and getting the address. The bus stand was conveyed to be behind a hotel called Ranjith. The two prepaid taxis arrived, the drivers looked lost reading the address, Harsha tried to help them out throwing out a few clues, "Fly over ke Neechay" which he recollected from his earlier conversation with the bus office. The drivers seem to be satisfied with the direction and we got into our respective cars and adjusted the non-functioning seat belt  ( The driver made sure that  the seat belt "looked" tightly fastened on me from the other side of the windshield) !. No sooner had we left the airport we lost sight of the other car ( after specific instruction to stick together ). We traveled for 40 minutes passed Cannought place and saw a flyover ,  fly over ke Neechay is where the driver went and stopped infornt of a hotel, the board did not read Ranjith. I told the driver that this is not the place, he got off and tried to ask for direction. From our seat within we see a hand pointing in the direction which we had just taken and the arm rising skywards indicated that we were not close to hotel Ranjith. The driver took a reverse and retraced the route which we came and again passed the flyover and this time continued going straight. Our driver got off again asked for direction this time the hand went in the direction which we intended to travel. We crossed a light signal and a huge building on our left was hotel Ranjith. It was no longer a hotel and there was no board which said what it was. The driver was happy he found the place. We told him that we had to reach the bus stand which was behind the hotel ! The driver did not seem happy. I called up Anil and asked them about the transport office. They have no clue either ! they were in gandhi market but were closing in fast. The driver was furious when we told him that the new destination was gandhi market which was a left at the light signal we had just crosseed and would need a him to go all the way down the road and take a U turn . He reluctantly drove down the road and made the U turn while the signal was still red and in the process knocked down a scooterist ! The driver slowed down but never stopped the car , checked in his rear view mirror and once the scooterist was on his feet stepped on the Gas. We were at the light signal again but this time going in the opposite direction. The driver seemed to be rather amused, I looked around to find the same scooterist who was knocked down arguing with another taxi driver. The case of the mistaken identity was the reason for our drivers jolly mood ! By this time Harsha and Anil had zeroed down on the place. A right at the light signal and we were at gandhi market and at the circle we saw Anil who guided us to the final point. Ghobi ghat gyara Bara ! There was a very small board which said its was a dhobi Ghat.

Dhobi Ghat

 Once we reached the place we found to our surprise that there was no office as such there. This ment our plans to go out for lunch vapourized . No sooner had we kept our bags down we had at least 4 people walking to us and ask us if it were the bus stand for the Manali bus. The time was 4:30 PM by the time we reached the bus stand.  The only option left was to split our group.

The elusive bus stand

One group would stay with the bags while the other would go fetch something to eat. Ajith Arundathi and Beena were sent to scout for food while Anil myself and Harsha waited patiently amongst the rickshaw drivers for their return and spent the time trying to warm up my camera by taking a few pictures. At 5:20 PM a autorickshaw arrived and a crash of plastics cups on the asphalt made our head turn towards it. Ajith got out having spilled the drink of the McD happy meal from its flimsy holder. We relished the french fries and burger and by the time we finished. A Volvo bus from Swagatham tourist arrived at the bus stand.

Delhi-Manali

The bus left for Manali at 6:00 PM, after innumerable stops and weaving through the traffic for an hour we finally hit the highway. A smartly dressed well built man got in to the bus and took the drivers seat, the very first thing he did after taking the drivers seat was to turn on the music player, the sounds of wahe guru permeated the bus cabin. As we got adjusted to the surroundings it was hard not to notice a LCD screen infront of every seat. Our  apprehensions about this being a personalized entertainment were dismissed by a red glow which surround the ON button on the console. Inquisite fingers pounced on the button like moths to a light and lo behold the screen came alive ! The next 30 minutes were spent in getting to know how to navigate the screens and the discovery that each of us had seperate set of movies to watch. The headphones was all that was remaining to complete the show and out they came distributed by our road-host ( like an airhostess long time back used to do before low cost carriers arrieved) . I watched the movie "Shor -in - the city" and it was good to see a Tushar kapoor movie where he actually talks. It was around 10:00 PM by then and the bus stopped for dinner at Hotel Arman in Ambala. After eating through an overpriced buffet spread under dimly lit lights we settled back in our seats. The non-stop ever looping wahe guru put us to sleep in no time. I woke up at around 7:00 AM in the morning, the ubiquitous waterfalls and tall mountains confirmed our entry in Himachal. It took us 1 hour 45 minutes more to reach Manali but the time was well spent watching our bus driver finish hundreds of his errands which also included buying loaves of bread and feeding it to the monkeys sitting on the road side !

Day 2 : Manail 8:45 AM

As we reached the bus stand we were received by kapilji our good friend and our trek organizer.  We exchanged hugs and made our way to the hotel which was reserved for freshening up. By the time we had shower and freshened up it was already 12:00 pm. we made our way for brunch at hotel blue elephant which was overlooking our hotel. Harsha had specified a continental menu for us which meant we had pasta, Spaghetti along with the regular rotis for our brunch. By the time we finished our lunch, our supplies for the trek along with the tents were loaded onto a tempo traveler. we packed our bags loaded them into the tempo traveler and settled in our seats and started our journey towards Dadar Phu, which would be our first camp site.

Rohtang Pass

The state of the road deteriorated as we gained altitude. From fully asphalted we were now staring hard to find patches of road. It had rained heavily the previous night and the roads were turned into slush fields with the vehicles sliding and coming dangerously close to the edge of the road. It was our driver Kishans extreme control over the vehicle which took us through the rohtang pass amongst slush and a few frantic screams from us as the vehicle neared the edge of the road to negotiate pot holes. Once we reached Rohtang we had a well deserved tea. It was getting cold and the drizzle added to the inconvenience.

Dadar Phu

We reached Dadar Phu at around 5:45 PM. Our vehicle parked adjacent to a stream running along the highway and this marked our camp site. By the time we came back from a short walk around the area the tents were all ready.  After an hour of cards and chatting we relished the dinner cooked by Karmaji our cook for the trek. As we were finishing our dinner, babluji our guide came in and updated us on the next days plan. For the next 5 days this protocol would be followed as we waited for the desert after dinner Babluji friendly face would pop into the tent and he would brief us about the next days plan. Under the stary sky wrapped uncomfortably in the fleece and tucked inside the sleeping bag we ended our second day.

Day 3 ChandraTaal

After a night spent intermittently trying to  sleep and adjusting our sleeping bags we woke up to clear and bright day. Ajith and I ventured out around our camping site. The birds eye view of our camp site from the top of a nearby hill is shown below.

View of our camp site.

After we got back to the camp, breakfast awaited us. Spread over a small trunk covered with a table cloth ! We enjoyed the Parotha's , Porridge,toast along with the apricot jam. It was 8:45 AM and we decided to start walking in the direction Babluji had pointed while the vehicle along with the support staff would start after finishing packing our lunch for the afternoon.

Our breakfast table

Tea being prepared at a Tea stall in Batal

Making telephone calls from Batal

We had covered 3 kms along the route in about an hours time when our vehicle picked us up and we headed towards Chandra Taal. The next stop was Baatal, which was the last point from where we could make telephone calls, after this for the next 4 days we would be cut-off from the rest of the world. All of us made calls back home and had a refreshing cup of tea.

  The horse man "Mamu" was met and he set out in search of the horses and would come to Chandra Taal, where the road would end , the vehicle would turn back and the horses would carry our luggage for the next 4 days.

 From Batal, Chandra Taal was around 16 kms. The land scape had already begin to change  The green grass was getting scarcer and the landscape was begining to be enveloped with all possible shades of brown. The road was now reduced to a single lane muddy patch as we weaved our way through mountains.

Route from Batal to Chandra Taal

We reached the end of the road by 2:00 PM and started towards Chandra Taal lake on foot, leaving our supplies in the vehicles for the horses to carry them to our camp site. After a few meters walk the magnificient Chandra Taal came into view. The blue skies along with the turquoise coloured water seemed like a canvas left to dry. We walked for 3 Kms along the side of the river to reach our camp side and had our packed lunch staring at the magnificent view of the lake .

First view of Chandra Taal

We had now reached an altitude of 4270 m and it was windy and cold. Our plans to take a dip in the lake was progressively getting weak as the temperature dipped further. Out came the woolens and we thought the best way to keep warm was to keep walking and avoid sitting in one place.We explored the area around the lake. Each view was better than the previous one. We climbed the surrounding hill to find the valley carved out by the gushing Chandra river with the ridges on the side formed by melting glacier.The other side offered a majestic view of the Chandra Taal lake from up above. 

View of the Chandra river

  We spent nearly an hour exploring the area and finally decided to head back to base. As we walked down we could see the donkeys and horses carrying our supplies and arriving at the camping spot.

Chandra Taal from the adjoining hill

The horses arrived with our supplies at the camp site

By the time we had reached down the tents were set up. Harsha as usual braved the wind and chill and took a dip in Chandra Taal and said his prayers while the rest of us huddled together in a single tent and chatted. Ajith had a splitting headache and lay still in the tent, while the rest of us had small amounts of it, the very first sign of altitude sickness.As the sun went down the temperature took a steep plunge and the wind blew hard down on the tents. As the night set in the stars and moon were out and so did our tripod and camera. It took great amount of dedicated efforts to withstand the cold, set-up the camera and wait for the long exposure shots to finish and realising the mistakes looking at the image and then again trying out a new setting. The final results looked worth all the effort. Sleeping within the tents was an impossible task, we were wearing layer upon layer of clothes but still could not keep the cold at bay. Each one of us tried different things to fall asleep, sleep came in short intervals interspersed with long duration of simply staring at the tent ceiling waiting for the night to end. Even Harsha who has a unique distinction of falling asleep while driving his car,bike and also while walking could not fall asleep, this should put things in perspective.

A 30 sec exposure shot

6 minute exposure shot capturing the star trails.

Day 4 Trek to Topo Gongma -1 Altitude 4300 m

Mute spectator of the cold night

We got out of our tents by 6:30 AM, the wind had reduced but the cold was still biting. Ice formed on the tents and on footwear left outside bearing proof of the cold night. The sun came out giving some relief from the cold. The landscape looked even better with the the clear blue skies. Chandra Taal stood completely still in the absence of any wind and formed a mirror reflecting the surrounding mountains.

The Chandra Taal lake in the morning

    We had a hearty breakfast of Parotha along with the Onion chutney carried by Beena all the way from Bangalore. Harsha and I tried to shake off the cold by going for a run but the higher altitude meant that we were out of breath in a matter of minutes.

At the breakfast table

After packing our bags we started our trek towards Topo Gongma ( which meant lower canal ). The view all along was scenic, streams running down from the hills formed constant source to refill our water bottles and relish the cold mineral water.The bright sun got out our sunscreen and goggles and we slowly made our way forward. We took innumerable breaks, catching our breath and getting lost in the beauty of the surroundings.

One of the many breaks

 As the trek continued the uphills got tougher. We stuck together as a team encouraging each other and pushed our selves further. By this time all of us had a faint head ache, the first signs of altitude sickness. We tried to drink as much water, a know remedial for altitude sickness but in vain. The terrain was getting more challenging while the headache increased.  We stopped for lunch by a stream. We hoped that the lunch would rejuvenate us but on the contrary the altitude sickness reached its zenith after lunch and now along with headache there was nausea also to deal with. Our guides did their best to motivate us and tell us that the camp was not far and we were almost there. We had trekked for more than 6 hours and had to go on for 2 more hours. The sun was already in the western horizon and was going down fast. We did not want to be still trekking in the cold which sets in soon after the sun sets.

On our way

We carried on forward, the route had now reduced to a very narrow path, the ground under the foot would constantly slide putting us off balance. The guides with their expertise held hand and took us through one of the most challenging terrain of our trek. Finally after an hour we could see our camp site. After seeing the camp site our speed increased and finally after 8 hours of trekking we finally made it to our camp before the sun went down.

Finally we see our camp site

Some hot tea with biscuits, sitting huddled together in the kitchen tent beside the stove as it flared to cook our dinner helped us to rejuvenate from the tiring day. Ajith had a splitting head ache and crashed into his tent as soon as it was laid. Arundathi's nausea did not subside and she had to pop a few pills and retire to bed skipping dinner. Harsha, Anil , Beena and myself spent a few hours in the dining tent. Playing a few rounds of cards and waiting for the dinner to be served. As we were having our sumptuous dinner which also included bread pudding and fried garlic to counter altitude sickness Babluji came in and briefed us about the next days trek. It would be easier than today's trek he assured us.There was a slight apprehension about how Ajith and Arundathi would cope the next day. Would the altitude sickness subside ?

Day 5 Trek to Topo Gongma -2 Altitude 4400 m

The horses getting down the slope

As it had been for the past few days, we were waiting for the the clock to strike 6:30 AM to get out of our tents as sleep again was just a fleeting visitor. The cold continued and we waited for the sun to peep across the mountains. As the sun rays flood in and hugged us in warmth we enjoyed the view of the glacier clad mountains which surrounded the camp site. It was interesting to see how the horses were guided by the horse-man back to the camp site , the steep descent towards the camp which took us a lot of time to negotiate the previous day was covered at ease by the horses.It was a huge relief to see Arundathi and Ajith pop out of their tents refreshed and ready to take on the days trek. The medicines had worked and out they were along with us around the breakfast table which was laid amidst the towering mountains.

Its breakfast time

By 8:45 AM we started on our trek with a steep climb up the hill . After this climb the landscape changed. It was rocky but flat land with a constant view of the big glacier along our side. Babluji pointed towards what appeared to be two strips of white snow on the top of a distant mountain and said that our camp site would be just underneath it. We made our way past terrain which had all shades of brown taking breaks at will encouraging Ajith and Arundathi who kept good pace along with us.

The long winding route

The path forward could be clearly seen for miles cutting across the mountains and the stone pyramids confirmed the right way at every juncture where there was a doubt. The streams from the melting glaciers cut across our path on course to join the main river. The streams were smaller and we could jump on the rocks and get past them . The streams got bigger and finally we had to stop as a big stream cut across our path.  Babluji quickly accessed the situation and like a monkey on steroids deftly jumped from one rock to the other, walked across the path of least resistance across the stream and reached the other side. He had a rope tied to his waste which he fastened to a rock as we watched from the other side of the bank.
 

Babluji marks the way across the river

 After the path was identified and the rope was laid we made our way one at a time holding the rope which swayed along with us as the out feet were turned numb by the ice cold flow of water. The rocks on the bed ensured that we could never get a strong footing. One after the other we reached on the other side and watched others go through the same experience. It took us a while for our legs to turn normal from being numb. The horses had no problem and within the blink of an eye they were across the river and on their way to the campsite. It was 12:00 PM by the time the river crossing was accomplished and all that remained now was a 2 hour trek towards the campsite. We decided to finish the trek and have lunch at the campsite rather than breaking again for lunch. We let Babluji along with Ajith and Arundathi and started along the path following the stone markings and made our way.

Leaving a mark behind

  We even tried our hand at laying down the stone markings ! Finally after another 2 hours of trek we could see the now familiar orange colour top of our dining tent down below. We decided to break there and wait for Ajith and Arundathi. As we saw Ajith and Arundathi coming along at a distance and I made my way towards them and conveyed the camp site was close at hand. Arundathi had developed a blister and was finding it hard to walk . Ajith looked weary with concern seeing his partner in pain. After another break, the grit of Arundathi once again stood tall and overcoming pain tagged along with us towards the camp site.

Made it

In another 45 minutes we were made our way down to the campsite and it was now time to rejoice. Another day of trek was completed by all of us. Arundathi's blister needed attention and it was the resourceful Babluji who was up against the task of blister bursting. Aided with some dettol he skillfully bursted the blister while Arundathi gave intermediate shrieks of pain and relief. After the successful blister bursting, we had a heartly lunch with Pasta being the main menu.

The camp site

The camp site was exceptionally beautiful with a stream running across and surrounded by a thick "carpet" of lush green grass. We strolled along the grass on barefoot and enjoyed the walk. By the time we had explored the surrounding area the sun set in and it was time to group together in the dining tent.Ajith was back in the tent after a nap. The evening started off with a game of memory with Beena wiping the board clean while Harsha and I struggled to pick a couple of cards.After one more round in which Arundathi and Ajith also proved that they had sharper memory we decided to stop this humiliation and switched gears to Dumb Charades. The team of Ajay Harsha and Ajith managed to get the toughest of the tough ones. Italian job shouted Harsha as I made gestures indicating a piece of a pizza. We then re-organized the team and it got more competitive. The "constipated" look which  Ajith bore to convey the movie Constantine would for ever be etched in our memory. Spirits were high and the rounds continued well past our dinner time and when Beena came up with Arachnophobia we knew that we were running out of movie names. Since Arachnophobia was unplayable it was dubbed to be the "fear of dumb charades". Finally on the request of Babluji we stopped our games and retired to bed coming up with a new strategy as always on to how best the fleece and sleeping bag arrangement would give us a good nights sleep. 

Day 6 Trek to Topo Yoma 4700 m

 6:30 AM we were out of our tents and basking in the sunlight. The previous night had again been a struggle to sleep within the sleeping bags and we were all glad to be outside our tents. It was a relief to see that Arundathi was out of her tent with a smile on her face confirming the success of the blister bursting operation by Babluji. After a hearty breakfast with porriade, parathas we were ready for the days trek. The trek started off with a steep uphill climb which took the breath out of us !After the uphill the terrain was flat but rocky. A group photo was long due and we got together behind the towering glacier to pose for one.

Group pic

 The landscape was similar to the previous day with deeper shades of brown.The wind had carved out minarets like structure on the hills. The rocky terrain and the brownish tinge along with the wind carved minarets gave an impression of martian land scape.

The martian landscape

Another hours trek and we were infront of a stream which was cutting across. Another river crossing was due. The stream was smaller than the one which we had encountered the previous day. We were all wondering which route we would take to cross the river. There were rocks jutting out from the stream, the challenge was to find a path of rocks which were not too far inter-spaced. As we were wondering how to do the crossing, the horses arrived with our supply.Our guide Toshi who was with the horses effortlessly without waiting to analyze walked across the stream with complete disregard to the stream and was in a few seconds on the other side ! The horses followed him and continued on their journey. Our support staff then jumped on to the rocks and guided each one of us across the stream. In a few minutes we were across the stream and continued on our trek.

River crossing (easy one )

In another hours time we were again cut off from the route by a stream, this was no ordinary stream it was a wide river. The force could be seen by the eddies swirling in the flow. The water was ice cold and would be waist deep !! Toshi our guide along with Babluji were contemplating if this was the best route when they were interrupted by Mamuji the horseman. He pointed out further upwards of the stream where the depth was less. We made our way to that spot and found that the river was wider but was less turbulent here. The river at this point had a bed of rocks in the middle. We quickly changed into floaters, the action plan was to form a human chain and wade our way past the river. Babluji was our Anchor he tied a rope around his waist and passed on the rope,  all of us were fastened to the rope around our waist and held the rope in front of us as support. The Human chain was now Babluji, Anil , Beena, Ajay and Harsha. Toshi was guiding the route from the other bank. We stepped into the river with our trousers folded high and felt the shock of the ice-cold water biting the skin and bones. But our groans and moans were drowned in the gush of the river and it made its way. After what seemed to be a very long time we reached mid way all was fine till now. The next stage was a short distance but deeper water. The first step and the water was now knee high. The bed of the river was full of stones and rocks of all sizes . Babluji was maintaining a speed which none of us could match. We would feel the tug of the rope pulling us in front and throwing us off balance. It was Beena at first who lost balanced and fell into the river. She managed to get up and few more steps and I stepped on a slippery rock and at the same time felt the tug of the rope and down I went . Finally after a few more strides we were on dry land. All of us were shivering the with wet clothes clinging tight to the skin. The legs were uncomfortably numb with a million pin pricks being felt. It took us 15 minutes to recover from the numbness. By this time Toshi and Babluji went back again to get Ajith and Arundathi. We watched as mute spectators as the Arundathi and Ajith made their way past. Tashi had to stop several times to calm down Arundathi who's screams were too loud even for the river to drown ! Ajith was following behind at ease which he later attributed to his "aero(hydro)-dynamic" legs. Finally all of them made it and the look on the faces bore the testimonial of  a hellish experience.

We took a steep climb up the hill and rested on the rocks basking in the sun to dry our clothes. It took Ajith and Arundathi another 45 minutes to join us. We celebrated the succesful river crossing by downing a tetra pack of Tropicana !

The river which took our breath away

uphill climb after the river crossing is done.

We continued our trek on flat land and now the green tinge returned on to the land scape along with the brown. The surrounding looked surreal with snow capped mountains, river and clouds in the sky. 

Awesome landscape

 A few more hours of trek and we were again able to spot the now familiar set of tents pitched in a beautiful setting. Off went the shoes and the back packs from our feet and back. We relaxed with a refreshing view of the mountains along with tea and pakodas. We were now at Topo Gongma 4700 m above sea level.

Tired set of shoes and a tea kettle which rejuvenated us

The hours passed chatting, talking over and over about the river crossing. There was just one more day of trekking left. We retired to bed after having a sumptuous dinner which also included a fruit basket with the basket carved out of a water melon ! That's enviable luxury at 4700 m !

Day 7 Trek to Bara La Chala 5000 m

As usual we woke up at 6:30 in the morning. The night had been exceptionally cold and as we got out of our tents we could see that it had snowed in the mountains surrounding us. The weather was overcast with a thick blanket of clouds floating, threatening to burst open.

Fresh snow on mountain tops

By 8:45 AM we had our breakfast and started the trek. There was one river crossing to be done and we had to reach NH 21 , where our vehicle would be waiting for us. It was as we had been accustomed to by now a uphill terrain to start which was followed by flat land. On the left we had the view of the large glacier basin which we had been looking at for days.

In front of the big glacier

Babluji was coming along with Ajith and Arundathi so four of us trekked along following the stone pyramids to find our way towards NH 21. After about 2 hours of trekking we came across a cliff and right below it we could see the river which we had to cross. We got down the cliff and thought of waiting for the rest of the team to come to guide us over the stream but then decided to do it on our own. We found the shortest path across and mentally calculated where we would need to step to get across. Harsha stood at the start and with his help I could reach the other end. Now with 2 ends secure the others had to just hold hands to get across. Beena crossed next followed by Anil. As Anil was crossing, Harsha reached out to support him and out fell Anil's gloves from his hand into the river. With in minutes the gloves was been pulled and pushed by the turbulent water. Harsha ran along the side and luckily the river decided to spit out the gloves towards the side which Harsha was running. Finally all of us got across and decided to climb up and take rest. We waited for some time till we could see Baluji on the other side of the cliff. We visually confirmed with him the direction where we should head and continued on the trek. We were now expecting to see NH 21 but all we could see was miles and miles of flat land. The weather was steadily changing and we could see the dark clouds accumulating in the direction we were heading. Another hours of trek and then we came to a dead end. There were no more stone markings what was ahead of us was land filled with pebbles with water streams forming a serpentine path. By this time it had started to drizzle and out came our rain coats. We started going straight ahead jumping over the tiny streams but then as we went further the streams became larger and larger . We retraced our path , our shoes were all wet and we did not know which way to go. And then the skies opened up. Tiny ice particles bombarded us and it felt like pins falling from the skies. There was no cover around just flat land, at this moment Harsha shouted "this way" and pointed to our left. I had no clue how he could be so sure. We made our way following Harsha. By this time the horses had arrived behind us. The cold and the rain was so fierce that we could not stand and wait for them. In what took 45 minutes we shivered from the cold got drenched in the rain and made our way steadily with NH 21 in sight and our vehicle in sight. The rain eased on us as we neared the highway and with hands held together we finally crossed over on to the highway and finished the trek.

It was cold and windy at Bara La Chala. The horses arrived in another few minutes with our supplies. The packed lunch was ready and we quickly finished our lunch. The cycles were also ready and were parked by the side of the highway. The weather was still overcast. Out came the caps sweater and jacket. We wore all the woolen, donned the helmets and were ready for the downhill ride. The horseman was in demand and as there was another trekking group which was heading to Chandra Taal and they hired him to retrace the same path we had just traveled !! We were happy to get on to our bikes and start the downhill ride. To say that the ride was awesome is an understatement. The highway from Bara La Chala was in good shape and we had to just hold on to the cycle and the breaks. The wind was strong and the fingers had gone numb even with the gloves on..

At Suraj Taal

We crossed Suraj Taal a small lake along the route. The next stop was after around 18 kms at Zin Zin bar. Traffic was sparse and we made our way along the winding roads. We were riding on the famous Manali Leh highway which is the ultimate challenge for bikers from around the world and we saw plenty of them along the way.

The Bullet Gang

The road in itself is a miracle with a mountainous landscape, the road which winds down is maintained to perfection by BRO.

The road from Bara La Chala to Darcha

We crossed several bridges. These are typically covered by metal sheets. The first bridge had a gap at the start, big enough to scare us. We were at high speed and there was no time to react. I would never know how the cycles managed to ride acoss !! Anil and Harsha also bore the same expression of surprise and fear as I met them after crossing the bridge. The rest of the bridges however were in good shape and we rattled the metal as we rode across. It took us 3 hours riding 42 kms before we reached Darcha.

The cycling route taken by us,

 At Darcha we met the rest of the team in the vehicle. We parked our cycles and had a cup of overly sweet lemon tea. Akshay who was in charge of the cycle quickly dismantled them and by the time we had finished our tea had loaded them on top of our vehicle. We started towards Keylong a distance of 35 Kms which was covered in 11/2 hours. On our way to Keylong we passed the beautiful town of Jispa. The same place where we had stayed overnight during our 2008 trip to Leh. By 6 PM we were in the town of Keylong (3350 m) and checked into the hotel Tashi Deleg.

The Hotel Tashi Deleg

  The first thing was to find a phone booth to call home. It had been 5 days since our last contact. We found a phone booth finally which was working along the one street market of Keylong. As we all completed our calls the cellphone signal picked up. We made our way to the hotel and as a few refreshed having a shower the others kept the cell phone towers at Keylong busy ! The power was turning ON and OFF at will and it was strange at first to notice that the power turning off corresponded to the cell phones not functioning which was confirmed by the each of us coming out of our rooms with phones close to our ears and the persistent hello with no answers from the other end. The cell phone towers did not have a back up. After a refreshing and well deserved shower ( after 5 days !!) we made our way to the restaurant at the same hotel. The interiors were made up of wood and had a cozy feel. The ever looping mantras of Avalokiteshvara gave a mystic feel to the ambiance. 

At Tashi Deleg

Masala papads were devoured along with the soup. Harsha and I tried the veg Thukpa and loved it ( highly recommended). We finished our wonderful dinner while the never ending CD still churned out the same lines and retired to bed at 10:00 PM.


Day 8 Manali

We got up at 6:30 AM and by 8:00 AM we had all our bags packed and were sitting in front of the break fast table. Each one of us had contented amount of sleep a welcome relief from sleeping bags. By 8:45 AM we were heading towards Manali 115 kms away. The road was in good shape till we neared the Rohtang Pass and had the same experience which we had while passing it 5 days ago. It was slush filled and was impossible to go without maneuvering the steering vigorously in both directions  ! Kishan our experienced driver ( I would recommend him to join Force India team) had a USB drive full of songs which none of us had ever heard . It was brought imaged of Jitendra ( in his white shoes) and Sridevi singing or dancing to these tunes. The songs seem to be a combination of "bewafa, Sanam, Zindagi,Sajan,Naseeb . Shazam would have crashed if I had tried it on ! here are a few samples !

We managed to finally reach the top of Rohtang (3980 m) . It was drizzling cold and foggy. We got down and enjoyed our cup of tea.

Tea at Rohtang

Outside the tea shop at Rohtang

We thought that the worst was over and continued but the worst was yet to come. Just ahead of us coming in the opposite direction a Delhi registration bus got caught in the slush and would not budge. The traffic with in minutes piled up and it was a complete chock a block The engine was turned off and we waited patiently while the JCB vehicle of BRO came around. In 30 minutes it had taken the mud , covered the slush and widened the rode. It took another hour for the traffic to be go past the stuck bus.

The road an hour after Rohtang was much better and the view offered was magnificent. We finally reached Manali at 3:00 PM in the afternoon. We all headed to Kapilji's office and shared our experience over a cup of tea. It had been Kapil who had urged us to re-schedule our dates for the trek and the weather had held up till now. Our bus to Delhi was scheduled to leave at 5:00 PM . We hurried to the club house based on Kapilji's recommendation and it was literally last minute shopping. Thapar was the store which got lucky as all of us picked of sweaters shall caps from the same store and hurried on to the bus station. The bus was on time and we settled into our seats. We had made plans to watch at least 2 movies on the way back but to our surprise there was no personal screens on the bus. On our way we bought boxes of apples at the Kulu market where the bus had stopped. The next stop was at Sachin Dhabba for dinner at around 9:00 PM. After dinner the tiredness sunk in  and we sank deep into our seats and slept through the night.

Day 9 Delhi

Woke up in the morning to find that we were 20more kms from Delhi. The bus driver for unknow reasons had dropped his speed to bare minimal on a 4 lane highway and it took us another hour to reach the bus stand. A taxi and a car was arranged by Anil's dad to pick us up from the bus stand and we headed straight for the guest house. After refreshing there and having a hearty breakfast thanks to Daya Ram we headed to the airport. Checked in 3 boxes of apples along with a plenty of over-sized backpacks much to the surprise of  lady who was checking us in and waited  for our flight after again a last minutes shopping binge at Halidirams. The flight was on time and by 3:30 PM we had landed in bangalore. Got our baggage and haggled over the price of a taxi and finally by 5:30 PM we were in the comfort of our homes.

Ending Note

Trekking is a great humbling experience a great leveler to say. As we battle it out going away from our comfort zone and comprehending the massive mountains and harsh climate. Inspirations are derived from rather mundane things like the streams that relentlessly make their way past huge mountains , calm and peace with which the mountains stand tall and of course the people who are around you. The grit and determination of Arundathi to brave all odds which she was not used to, Ajith sticking along with his partners during highs and lows (he had even tried to convince the horse man to accommodate Arundathi on one of the horses). Harsha not missing a single days bath and prayer, taking dip in ice cold streams while the local looked with there jaws dropped . To quote Babluji on seeing Harsha roam around wrapped in just a scanty towel to take his bath  " Aap ko Dekhkay Hamay Garme Lag Rahee hai "!. Anil with his high energy levels and inspiring the team to go further. Beena for keeping her cool and bearing with Harsha's antics and not complaining about a thing ! Kishan the driver for his high spirits, exceptional driving and entertainment. Kapilji for his organizing skills which left no room for complaint. Karma and Kaku for cooking day after day  great food unperturbed by where the camp was and how cold it was. Tashi and Babluji for their patience. The camaraderie between all the support staff as they stuck together always with a smile in the back seat of the vehicle or while cooking dinner at the tent or while having dinner was truly inspiring.

Pictures from the trek