"The Trail" : Day 7

Leh to Pangong Tso

Our seventh day started quite early in preparation for our 154 km long trip to Pangong Tso - a grand, high-altitude lake that is shared by India and China. We had to make it back to Leh too , so we decided to leave as early as our sleep permitted! However, just to be on the safer side, we packed our sleeping bags and our tent too. Later on through the day, we would thank ourselves endlessly for making that decision!!

At 06.30hrs and with 1167.3 km on the odo, we started from the hotel towards Pangong lake. The ride was uneventful (the mountain roads had become second home to us by now!!), albeit for the numerous reportings at Army TCPs, where we had to submit copies of our passes.We reached Chang-La : level 6 and an altitude of 17800 ft above MSL and also the third highest pass in the world, at 10.00 hrs. To be frank, after climbing the first and the second highest motorable passes in the world, that feeling of elation was a bit weak at Chang-La! Maybe we didnt see 17800 ft as an awe-inspiring height anymore!!!

The sun was bright as we snaked across the roads to Pangong Tso, occasionally passing a few scorpios and innovas on the way. The road was meant for ripping and the views absolute speed-breakers! There were also quite a number of river crossings on the road and a few bridges to boot. After crossing the last bridge, 4 km before the lake, we had the first view of the fabled Pangong Tso. The time was 13.00 hrs and the afternoon sun was shining gloriously on the placid waters of the lake. We sped towards the lake and when we came to it, we just sped across the shoreline in search of a good spot- only to find out that ALL the spots were good spots!! We just parked our bikes at a vantage point, hopped off and took off our helmets to soak in the glorious view that was in front of our eyes. You can make out EVERY shade of blue on the surface of the lake and the sky was a shade of blue that I had never seen before. We just sat down for a while trying to take in as much of the lake's grandeur as possible, knowing that none of our digicams would be able to replicate what we were seeing then.

Then started the flurry of camera shutters going off, as we tried every shot possible. Amol tasted some water from the lake and to our surprise, we found out it was a salt water lake!! I never thought that a lake with its main feed from glaciers would be a brackish lake -and that too at such altitudes.

After quite some time, as we were just discussing our time of leaving, we were informed by some fellow tourists that the bridge that we had crossed just sometime back had been washed away by an avalanche!! Shocked we were, cause we were 154 km from Leh and as the Army put it-the bridge would take atleast a week to be built!! We were, however, informed that there was another way circumventing the lake, passing near the Chinese border and taking a detour that would add another 200 km to our route. Having no option left with us, we decided to follow a couple of scorpios that were also stranded on the lake.....but not before having a look at the raging river of snow and slush!!!! Off we were on the bikes towards the bridge and one kilometer from the bridge we could hear a deafening roar-even with our helmets on! We proceeded to a group of Army jawans standing on a cliff like structure and saw what exactly had washed off- or rather blown off the bridge and the road! A huge river of snow and mud was slushing down the slopes of the hill and there was absolutely not the slighest trace of the bridge that we had crossed just an hour back. The noise was LOUD - in very timid terms! I was witnessing live what we generally get to see only on adventure tv! There's no denying - mother nature IS to be respected!!

Not sure whether we would be able to make it to any village on that day itself, we decided to eat properly and carry some biscuits and chocolates. We hogged well at a lakeside dhaba and without much ado, we started off for uncharted territory. The "alternate" route was hardly a route. There was no road, only a dirt track made by the scorpios scurrying ahead of us. The land was all rocks and sand, cliffs and valleys- nothing more. At times we were riding on cliffs that were dangerously rocky and a fall on the wrong side of the "road" meant a steep dive to the icy lake waters below. It was 16.00 hrs and the temperature had started nose-diving making our cheeks burn as the wind hit our face. After a while , we came to tourist guest house by the lakeside and the "road" ended there - a stark board saying " No Vehicles Permitted Beyond This point. Trespassers will be Prosecuted"!!!! We could do nothing except move on, the terrain offering no respite. There Many a times I wanted to take snaps of awesome places, but my mates advised me not to as we were in a prohibited place and that too near the border!! We had to cross small rivulets and we had to take care so as not to splash water on our clothes - the water was freezing cold!!!!

We rode on ; the terrain was impossible; the huge rocks throwing us off-balance every now and then. Umpteen times we had to struggle with our bikes to go steady;umpteen times we got stuck in the sand and had to mercilessly revv our bikes to free ourselves; umpteen times we almost fell down after running into patches of soft sand suddenly; umpteen times our bikes bottom scraped jutting rocks and after what seemed an eternity, we came across a barren stretch of land-sandy and chilling. I called it a "mexican desert" - nobody to be seen for miles and extremely cold. To make matters worse, we were making terrible time. We were able to cover around 30 km only in about 2 hours!!!

It was dark now and we had to turn on our headlights. It was really eerie riding in that cold desert. The mountains casting a deep blue on the edges and the sky dark after that. Himanshu was like " Just hope that no Chinese check post picks up our headlights and start shooting at us"!!! Our ride seemed endless, not a soul to be seen around, until we encountered a police patrol van. Upon enquiring, we were told that the next village, Chushul, was around 30 km away. We groaned, knowing that those 30 km would take us another couple of hours. After taking some water, we started off again on the rocky/sandy/muddy track. There were quite a number of times when we lost the road and came to dead ends, and Amol would search for the right track with his torch and guide us. And once Himanshu ran right into a herd of black yaks!!! He had to honk his horn for quite a while until the road cleared!

Continuing our adventure, we rode in the pitch blackness of the cold desert/lost world until we saw some faint lights ahead. I pointed out towards the lights and Himanshu shouted back "I see, I see!" Nevertheless, it took us a good 45 minutes to reach those lights . We had arrived at Chushul at 19.30 hrs and after a "julay" to a villager, we asked about our whereabouts!! There was no accomodation facility in the village and we were told we should proceed towards Tang Tse, which was an Army camp, for accomodation. Most villagers had come out of their homes to have a look at us - riders in the night, on bikes and battling the freezing cold and just saved from getting hopelessly lost!! We were told that the next couple of hours ride would take us to Tang Tse and that the road was good.

Without further ado, we rode on and soon started the climb uphill. It was something I really had never tried before - riding in the dead of the night, on steep and dangerous mountain terrain, the night freezing cold, hairpin bends every now and then and with only our headlights for navigational aid. I was made the "navigator" and Himanshu herded the bullets! One pulsar was leading the pack and the other trailing, leaving the heavy bullets in between. The cold was biting and my jaws ached, my fingers were numb and the heavy layered clothing was what provided us with some respite. It was so cold that the engine shut off at idling and we had to keep the revs above 2k rpm just to avoid a engine shut-off.

The nocturnal ride was an experience in itself. We came across wild rabbits, deer and fortunately, no snow leopards!! I was so cold and hungry, I literally saw sumptuous meat as the rabbits scurried ahead of me!!! We took extreme care to ride slowly and I turned on the blinkers every time I came across a blind or a hairpin turn, so that the heavily laden bullets could be prepared for the turns.

An hour or so later, we came across an Army barrack at Parma. The altitude was 15262 ft and the I reckoned the temperature was around 1-2 degree celsius. Kenny suggested that we shouldn't push our luck any further and stay at Parma itself. It was 21.00 hrs and Tang Tse was another 90 minutes away. We had already been riding vitually blind on merciless roads and had been fortunate enough to be alive!!

We informed the jawans of the situation back at Pangong Tso and requested for stay overnight at their barracks. Initially they hesitated citing lack of beds ( which was indeed true) as a reason, but we insisted that we could adjust anyhow. They contacted their CO and after the requisite approval, they told us we could stay. Once inside, we were immediately provided with stoves to warm up our hands- which was so very much welcome!! The Army people were really swell guys and very very hospitable. We were treated to what not - from pista badam to cheeselets to tea to biscuits to gulab jamuns to warmed up mango juice!! We told that dinner was over for us , but still a couple of them went to the kitchen and got onto making some rice and dal. That rice and dal felt a feast fit for kings. Maybe it was the cold, maybe it was the hunger, maybe it was the warmth with which we were treated, that the simple meal tasted so exquisite; but I will never forget that humble meal in my entire life.

Post dinner, we had to manage with 5 people on 2 beds and mind you, Sanjay was a huge guy!! It was here that our sleeping bags saved us - or we would have frozen stiff by midnight!! After much squeezing and adjusting, we all finally got onto the beds and at around 23.00 hrs, we turned off the LED lamp ...hoping that the cold dont get the better of us!! And probably, for the first time in our lives, we were sleeping so high up in the world........

The pic below may help to know what exactly I meant by a cold, dark "mexican desert". Thats a mountain top casting a luminiscent blue along the edges only......