The Mother of All Drives - Part 3. Darcha - Bara Lacha La - Tanglang La - Leh

At the start of the More Plains.

The road stretched straight as an arrow across the More Plains in a classic demonstration of parallel lines merging at infinity. In this case, the perceived distance of infinity was substantially more than that at sea level, thanks to the incredible clarity of the high altitude atmosphere, the lack of smoke stacks and the lack of moisture.

Whooping with delight, I slipped the transmission into fourth and floored the gas pedal. The overloaded Gypsy lumbered forth, accelerating slowly. Soon we were going at a fairly good clip and the landscape whizzed past, the occasional nomad family glimpsed in a blur. It was the first time since leaving Solang that we had achieved a speed exceeding 50 kmph and I was elated.

View from the edge of the More Plains

Our elation did not last long. Suddenly, the steering wheel seemed to be possessed - the whole contraption began to vibrate violently. I slowed down. The vibrations continued. My three companions looked rather concerned. I knew what they were thinking: without steering control, the next turn on these mountain roads could be fatal. I pressed down on the wheel in an effort to stop the vibrations. Soon, I was leaning with my full upper body weight on it and it seemed to help. I drove slowly in this positively inelegant fashion for quite a distance before easing off the pressure. We were almost at the other end of the More Plains and the first curves were in sight.

Looking back on the road - seen here as a faint line on the slopes to the left - leading up to the Tanglang La

Downshifting on the gears, I turned the steering gingerly. The Gypsy responded. With a sigh of relief, we continued. The Tanglang La, the highest pass (at 17,582 ft above sea level) ) on the Manali - Leh road loomed ahead many kilometres away and we kept our fingers crossed. It was cold and windy on the pass and a brief snow shower welcomed us. We lingered just long enough to thank the powers that be at the small shrine built and maintained by the Border Roads Organisation, the omnipotent entity without whose sterling work travel on the northern frontiers of India would be impossible.

The multi-faith (Indians should be proud of this!) shrine at the Tanglang La.

Leh was now only 111 kilometers distant and it would be downhill from here all the way.

Flashback to 14 June 2001. Rohtang Pass - Darcha

The escape from the hordes thronging Rohtang Pass was well timed and all four of us sighed with relief as we glided down to Khoksar and headed for Darcha. Every time that I have crossed the Rohtang Pass, the meaning of Rain Shadow has been driven home. On the Manali side of the road, rain falls copiously and the landscape is green and verdant, forests clothe the hillsides and clouds lie in the hollows. On the Lahul side of the pass, a sea change is immediately noticeable: the air feels drier, the hills assume a more rugged profile, the colours of the slopes take on more earthy shades of brown, beige, russet and ochre. The clarity in the air accentuates every ridge, every slope, every rock and pebble and imbues the world around with a subtle divinity.

We stopped briefly at Tandi bridge to refuel and as we turned off the road which leads further to Udaipur a shiver of anticipation ran through my being: the route from here onwards would be new to me. I had passed through Udaipur en route to climb Menthosa in 1986 (see http://taccidental.blogspot.ca/2012/08/menthosa-climb.html ) but the road to the Bara Lacha La and beyond would be a new experience. We reached Darcha at dusk and found a lodge on the roadside where we could spend the night.  The night was cold and chilly and the place was extremely quiet. We were the only tourists here and we savoured the exclusive solitude. We retired to bed early with instructions to the tea shop owner next door to wake us up at 4 am with a brew. I anticipated a long day ahead and it was imperative that we cross Pang before the authorities closed travel on the Pang - Leh section at 3 pm.

15 June 2001. Darcha - Bara Lacha La - Pang - Tanglang La - Leh.

It was well below freezing as we motored out of Darcha in the dark at 4:30 am. We drove in silence as the headlights picked out stretches of the road ahead, its feeble artificial glow competing with the splendour of the dawn as the world around us began to light up slowly. At Patseo, we crossed an Army check post where my license and the vehicle documents were checked and our passage registered. This ritual would be repeated many times on our way to Leh and we soon had a drill perfected: as soon as I spotted a check post ahead, I would slow down and come to a stop, Ravi would hop out with my license and the documents and trot briskly across, greet the soldiers with a cheerful smile, make small talk, complete the formalities and trot back to the Gypsy. Ravi had been born with a permanent smile and it was great to have him on board.

Approach to the Bara Lacha La

As the Gypsy laboured up towards the Bara Lacha pass I had to lock the front wheel hubs, engage the 4 WD gears  in Low mode and nurse the vehicle up in second gear. We were heavily loaded and I do not think the Gypsy had been designed to carry such a weight. A small bus carrying a group of BSF (Border Security Force) men and emblazoned on the front with the Swaraj Mazda logo soon overtook us as we crawled slowly towards the top of the pass. I envied the bus its diesel heart and the torque that it could pump out!

Suraj Tal - just before the crest of the Bara Lacha La

The music of Phil Collins and UB40 kept us humming to their beat, the reggae of the latter especially suited to our leisured progress.

At the Bara Lacha La. L to R : Franklyn, Franco, Ravi.

We stopped for a couple of pictures at the pass before beginning the long descent to Bharatpur, the oddly named collection of teashops and dhabas. The name was totally at variance with the more local names of the other stops on the route. A motley collection of vehicles was parked here, headed for Leh or Manali. There was a bus which had come all the way from Kashmir and I could only admire the stamina and fortitude of both the passengers and the driver for undertaking such a rigorous journey in the spartan comforts of public transport.  Suddenly, I noticed a truck mounted on a Tata 407 chassis which looked very familiar. On closer inspection, it turned out to be the same one I had seen at Auli a few weeks earlier on my return to Joshimath from the Bagini Glacier trek
(see http://accidentaltrekker.blogspot.ca/2014/04/bagini-bouquet.html ). I said hello to the crew, they were the staff of Rimo Expeditions, the outfit which had been in support of Harish Kapadia and Suman Dubey's expedition to the Nanda Devi Sanctuary and whom I had also bumped into at Auli!
(For Harish's account of that trip see : https://www.himalayanclub.org/hj/58/9/nanda-devi-juggernaut/)

Ice still covered parts of the fledgling Tsarap river as we descended from the Bara Lacha La

A Lahuli girl in one of the dhabas whipped up omelets for our breakfast in record time. Thus fortified, we drove onwards towards Sarchu, enjoying the rugged scenery. There was one more social call to make a few kilometres before Sarchu. We drove into a flat meadow dotted with tents and a sign declaring North Quest Adventures. Vijay, an acquaintance of Franco's, who managed this campground, pulled out some chairs while his staff plied us with biscuits and tea.

Bharatpur

Ravi taking advantage of a photo-op between Bharatpur and Sarchu

Vijay (left) plays the genial host at the North Quest Adventures camp ground.

Things went fairly smoothly after the steering wheel incident at the start of the More Plains, but we kept our fingers crossed nevertheless as we descended on the snowbound stretch below the Tanglang La. Sighting a herd of yaks cheered us up as the snow gave way to gravel lower down. Soon evening chai was called for and we pulled in at the 3B "restaurant" which was constructed from the ubiquitous old parachute cloth covering almost every tea shop on the route. As we waited for the tea an olive green Army Gypsy came to a halt outside and an extremely smart looking lady officer dismounted, accompanied by a private. She had a baton under her arm and her cap was planted authoritatively on her head. Though a ragged bunch in comparison, we almost sprang to attention like a couple of soldiers. She acknowledged us with a curt nod, spoke briefly with the tea shop owner, and strode out as quickly as she had come in.

"She is a doctor," whispered the chaiwalla to us as we sipped the refreshing liquid from the cups he now offered us.

Descent from the Tanglang La - the black dots in the middle distance are yaks

At Upshi the road joined the one coming from Mahe and as dusk fell we could finally see the mighty Indus as it flowed northwest towards Leh. It was almost dark when we passed through Shey, the famous whitewashed chortens looming and vanishing as the road took a slalom course through the monuments.

At 8 pm we arrived in Leh, almost fourteen hours after having left Darcha. We were tired and hungry and longed for a good night's sleep and almost immediately fell victim to the solicitation by the son of the owner of the Nezer View Guest House!

The next morning we drove to Choglamsar to a Maruti service station to have the steering wheel problem looked into and to contact a muleteer for the pack animals we would need for our trek from Martselang to the base of Kang Yaze, the peak we planned to climb. For that story, see http://taccidental.blogspot.ca/2014/10/kang-yaze-trekking-peak.html

Car wash at Choglamsar

For the moment, we were content to let the two enthusiastic boys wash down the grime of the journey from the Gypsy after the bearings supporting the shaft of the steering wheel had been replaced. These two boys were the most cheerful lads I have ever seen working in an auto repair facility anywhere in the world!

We left the vehicle in the premises of the Hotel Horizon on the evening of 18 June because our guest house had no parking space. It would remain there till the next phase of the drive. In the meantime, we had a mountain to climb!

to be continued.....

View from Nakee La

Refuelling en route

The Indus river at Choglamsar