For the sake of keeping it short and in order to avoid a writer’s block, I would be condensing two days of riding in one post.
After the conquest of Khardung La, the ride back was some what depressing… what would a person do if the one thing which kept him going was a dream fulfilled? But these bouts of depression did not last long once BB was parked… had other things to consider… should I do the return leg of the journey from Srinagar/Jammu or come down to Manali and hit the plains from Ropar? and whether it would be easier than reaching here?
Todays onward journey to Gopeshwar was going to be a taxing one, as the distance to be covered was more than 110km, with everyone being so tired.
We had opted for the Route to Chamoli diverting from Kund via Ukhimath, Chopata, instead of the regular route via Rudraprayag. The former is shorter as well as more picturesque, with Chopata known as another mini Switzerland of India. Unfortunately, this day most of us were not in a mood/condition to enjoy the scenic beauty.
We halted after Ukhimath for a tea break and a breather for the engine at a shop located around a corner of the road. My mother was very uncomfortable by now. Here she relaxed and even got a couple of local girls to pose with her. Toshi took a Potty break here.
There was some work to be done at Dehardun, the capital city of Uttranchal and it could be done over a weekend. I had an opportunity to take a chopper ride in the morning so morning was gone in any case. Doon is not too far (5-6 hours from Delhi) away so we decided to make use of afternoon by driving and probably get some more time at Dehradun. We planned to be there before it gets too dark. We took NH1 and went till Karnal, took a right turn at ‘Liberty Chowk’ towards Yamunanagar and after crossing Saharanpur, Chhutmalpur, we were at Doon by 8ish. We had booked ourselves at ‘Hotel Ajanta’ and did nothing much that evening.
After the futile effort of sightseeing in Leh due to the bike troubles and all that pushing & pulling, I had decided to crash out and enjoy my drinks in relative comfort of the hotel confines… Well that did not do much of good to me… woke up at 0530 hrs to a splitting headache… Not a very pleasant feeling if you ask me.
A whole bottle of water and several cups of tea later, I felt like I was bordering on feeling like a human and decided to get ready for the big ride… 52 kms of high altitude extravaganza which would see me, a normal run of the mill bloke, at 18380 Ft ASL… the highest I could go… I mean an out of shape, physically unfit individual like me… Many of you might disagree by saying “I am in shape. Round is also a shape.” I would counter by saying “The round shape is only good if you fall… loads of padding to keep the injuries to a minimum” (Have a blast figuring out how I know about shapes and injuries ;-))
