We were greeted early morning by Raju guide who was ready with our daily snacks for the ride. As agreed we started at 7.30 am . The unrelenting steep uphill for 36 km right from the start to the end was killing. Gagan finished the ride at noon many hours ahead of others. Anju cycled beyond expectations. We enjoyed the light drizzle throughout the day. However, within minutes of starting the ride all of us started getting calls to return home. There had been a cloud burst in Leh and there was panic amongst family and friends. As soon as we got into Marhi, there was a message from Col. R.R Seth of SASE (Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment) to immediately return to base. We were told that a large part of the route to Leh was washed away with major causalities in Leh. The day got the better of most of us in more ways than one. We did not know whether to go ahead the next day. Unfortunately, Sasi who joined our group in Manali had to abandon the trip due to High Alltitude Pulmonary Adema.
What a dilemma, with contradictory voices of Pride, Experience, Reason and Heart! Heart, the bane of humankind, generally rules!!
ReplyDeleteOn the first day of riding, it was after Palchan that the actual climb started. Till then we were along the Beas River from Manali and the slope was mostly gentle. The irony of that ride ahead of Palchan was that it was among the most scenic we would see during the trip, well in the conventional way of having a lot of greenery, picturesque streams, small waterfalls etc. But it was a trying steep ride. Also, being the first day my thigh muscles jammed twice and made me stop to massage them and assure them I wouldn’t put them through too much of misery (I was jus joking with them…..even I did not know what they would be put through!!). Three separate segments of climb had to be gone through before we got the PWD Rest house in our sights. Manali was at 6500 ft and Marhi at 11000 ft, the arithmetic can be worked out!!
ReplyDeleteAmazing guys! Fantastic!
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