Getting Leh-ed: Day 6 – Sarchu

Woke up feeling sick. The rum and the overpowering kerosene fumes in the tent, probably to blame. Takes some time and chai to set things right. Darius, however, has it worse. Could be food poisoning from the mutton we had last night or could be just the altitude. Either way, it calls for an expectant mother’s morning dash to jettison the contents of his stomach from the last meal. Nitin seems to be fresh as a lark. He’s been up early, clicking pictures of the frosty morning and raring to go.

The South Africans need to head back to Keylong. They had been carrying very little fuel to begin with and the three unsuccessful attempts to get to Sarchu have depleted their stock. We request James to call our folks once he’s back in Keylong. A group pic and handshakes later, we’re on our way.

The familiar feeling of heading into something sinister is back. There are walls of snow at certain sections of the road and sheet ice on others. Sheet ice on the road is the worst thing. Ever. I mean, gravel on the road is a bitch, but sheet ice is a whole new experience with a fully laden bike. We start skidding and sliding even standing still. At one point, Darius seems to be struggling to stay vertical and behind him, for no apparent reason, Dhanno decides to skedaddle to the side of the road and topple over into a ditch. Engine oil spills over onto the white snow forming a puddle that looks like blood. With some help from Darius, I manage to get her upright again. There are no oil and lubricant shops around here. Now I am running the risk of seizing my engine as well. Perfect.

Nitin seems to be doing fine with his semi fat bastard MRF Meteor tyre and maybe because he had the sense to travel a bit lighter than Darius and me. But mostly because he’s an accomplished rider, leaning in, pulling back, dipping and ripping like a pro. I would push my bike up the rest of the way if I had to but the ice and thin air won’t allow me to do that either. And I have packed in extra clothes. Clothes. Like I would need them on this dusty, rough, cold road. My next bath was going to be in Leh.

As we go higher, we can see a line of trucks and cars snaking its way to the top. One or two vehicles have gone off the road, there’s traffic waiting on the other side of the pass, the road is narrow and snowed in. Nothing to do but switch the engines off and wait. Everyone’s waiting for the JCB snow cutter to clear the way. It’s a clear day with a brilliant blue sky. The sun’s bright enough to start burning skin and we can see our faces turn a nice beetroot.

We spend the next 5 hours waiting and inching our way up the road. There’s a poor truck driver who asks us for some water because he’s been stuck here all night with no food. He needs regular water to boil some rice on his stove, because he can’t get the water from the melted snow to boil. This is the first time, the plight of truck drivers on this arduous road is so apparent.

I have a nap on the road surrounded by trucks with my jacket to protect me from the glaring sun. Darius is still struggling with his sickness and is not napping as much as passed out on the asphalt. Soon we see a bunch of bikers headed down from the other side. These are college guys from Delhi returning from Leh. At some point they decided to take matters into their own hands. Literally. They’ve been lifting their bikes at places where there isn’t enough road to ride on in a straight line. We follow their lead and have some dodgy episodes squeezing past with a truck on one side and a sheer fall on the other. Soon, we’re at the top and voila, the JCB has done its magic and we get through to the other side.

The situation on the other side is even more bleak. There are possibly a couple hundred trucks backed up all the way down the pass and beyond, on the plain. There is quite a bit of waiting and dodging and maneuvering required, getting through the melee but we’re upbeat now. It is a strange feeling of relief and accomplishment that one feels riding down the other side of the mountain. After the last two days of being almost at the same place, it’s nice to be heading further away from civilization.

The landscape’s gotten more interesting. The land’s flatter, the mountain tops seem much closer and more gently sloping. The road is a narrow ribbon meandering across the arid plain. It’s fucking beautiful.

Soon, we’re at the camp. Sarchu is basically a bunch of 3-4 camps by the side of a stretch of road a couple of kilometers long. Antrak camp, run by the Tourism dept, is a set of Swiss tents with functioning, flushable toilets. Of course, in a separate, partitioned section, not in the main tent, like it’s a prison cell. Which is probably good since there’s two people to a tent…hmmm.

It’s awesome to be here. There's a feeling of openness here. The landscape is unreal and the sky is clear and black. The food is simple and warm and tasty. The staff is courteous. We have hot water bottles, the bed is comfy, well for a cot in a tent, and we’re tired as hell. Which is probably a good thing since it helps me to sleep, else I would be too excited to. Tomorrow, if there were no surprises, we’d be at Leh.