Following Yamuna to its Source – A Road Trip….Part 2

02 July 2011

Continuing from where i left in the last post, the road till Yamuna Bridge was well laid but then again there were bad patches and mud puddles all along the way for which i had to stop the bike again and again and ask Adhiraaj constantly to get down so that it can safely be crossed.  By the time we reached Yamuna Bridge, i was feeling tired and my eyes were shutting down. There was a shop on the right hand side just before the Yamuna Bridge and i stopped the bike there…

On the way to Yamuna Bridge...

Upon asking the women present in the shop that “Is anything available, so that we can sleep for a couple of hours”. The answer was “No” and the reason being the 2 rooms that they were having were already booked. Fair Enough, I asked her if i could sleep on the chair for some time and again the answer was “No” and this time the reason being “The customer’s will be coming.”  As there was nothing left to say, i came out of the shed with a blank expression. But then there was an old gentlemen sitting on the chair next to that shop and there were couple of empty chairs as well. He called us, we sat there and thus began the conversation. I was soon asleep, didn’t know what Adhiraaj and he were talking about. Every now and then my eyes were opening up and it was getting difficult sleeping on a chair. Somehow an hour passed, i was up again but this time we decided to move forward. Slowly, i moved towards the bike, plugged in the key and pressed the ignition switch.

One of many waterfall's enroute...

From Yamuna Bridge....

Yamuna Bridge...

As we crossed the Yamuna Bridge, and after a few kilometers we saw a road diverting to Mussooriee and the distance was only 30 km. I had seen the same on Google maps while planning for the trip but didn’t know the distance and the condition of that road. And soon we entered for the first time to the district of Uttarkashi, the sight in front of us was just amazing. I just kept on wondering of a way possible for me to have a home on the top of the hill that was in front of me. Everything was so simple yet so serene. It was the nature’s way of telling us ” Keep on moving… I have got more in store for you.”

On the way to Nainbagh

Yamuna all the way along

On the way to Naugaon

Near Naugaon...

It was around 11.30 am that we reached Barkot. With time the distance to Yamunotri was decreasing but the rate at which i was stopping was increasing, be it for a water break or a photo break. I kept on wondering on how the road to Yamunotri will be like from Barkot. And in matter of minutes i had an answer to my question. My hope of getting a good clean road was diminished. At that point i didn’t know that the worst was yet to come….

On the way to Yamunotri

So near yet so far...

On the way to Yamunotri

We kept on navigating through the snaky, bumpy roads with mud puddles every now and then. And it was time when we had our first bike slip. The culprit was the mud puddle. This time i didn’t tell Adhiraaj to get down and kept on driving and halfway through the bike got stuck, and immediately i turned the handle a bit and applied the disc brake which caused the bike to slip and we fell on our right side in the puddle carrying the weight of the bike on our legs.  I pulled out my leg, got up, looked at Adhiraaj and we shared a whole hearted laugh as if our trip wouldn’t have been completed without it. The puddle was the culprit but then it lend its saving hand as well. No damage was done, not to us apart from the clothes and not a scratch on the bike as well.

On the way to Yamunotri

On the way to Yamunotri

On the way to Yamunotri

Spot the two Waterfall's in this pic

As we were cursing along smoothly, navigating though the mud puddle’s and the steep, curvy, grainy roads even move carefully. And there we had our second accident. It was all of a sudden and the impact was hard. The culprit an old man coming out of nowhere from the back of the van parked on the right side of the road. To avoid the collision, i pressed the disc brake hard and the gravel on the road did the rest. We slipped to the right side, on the road and the gravel and this time and sustained some injuries. My right knee was hurt and Adhiraaj had some bruises on the legs as well. But this time too we were saved and the hero was the leg guard which got bent in the whole process. The people from the van came out and i said nothing, not a single word. Instead they started “We saw your bike coming and we told him not to move around by the time we cross but ….”   But…… – that’s all that you have to say now….

On the way to Yamunotri

We sat there for a while, thinking of what just happened. Slowly i started moving my legs and i knew no more traveling and walking for the day. After 10-15 minutes we stood up and covered the final 4-5 kms to Janaki Chatti – The base of Yamunotri trek but the Final Destination was still 6-7 kms away. It was 3 pm and the clouds were building up considerably with all the possibility of rain later in the evening. I stopped the bike near the first shop that i saw upon entering Janaki Chatti. Besides that shop there was an empty space where 2-3 cars were parked. We went inside that shed and patiently the shop owner answered all my questions. The crowd was very less and the reason was the news of that landslide which before starting for the trip we also pondered upon for sometime but……rest you all know…. At that point of time trekking was out of question as we just traveled for 18 hours straight and 10 minutes back the second bike slip confirmed that. Now we had two options – 1. To spend the night in Janaki Chatti and starting trek to Yamunotri early next morning. or 2. To find and hire a horse from someone whose willing to take us to Yamunotri at that point of time……

At last....Reached to the base of Yamunotri Trek... Janaki Chatti...

Contd…..