Ride the Himalayas
7-12-2019 Day 3 of the "Ride the Himalayas"
This day is going to be a long one so just prepare yourselves. After a chilly night I went out to take some photos of this magical area. So quiet and beautiful with majestic mountains all around.
The photo below is looking towards China
So one of the mysteries we all wondered about was how our bags got down here to the camp because you couldn't drive the truck or SUV down the road as it was blocked and the only way here was either on foot or the narrow concrete cow path. Well we learned quickly. The support crew was amazing. The bikes were barely big enough to sit 2 normal people on them but then these guys were hauling up monster oversized luggage and totes! Incredible.
Here is the fun part heading up to the main road.
The photo below is looking towards China
Here is the fun part heading up to the main road.
Today's route, the day with the most adventure.
The ride from the Eskape Adventure Camps back down to the Karchamm Dam was quite uneventful. We stopped for a quick break then headed up Highway 5 until we reached the town of Reckong PEO (where the Monk Travels is on the map) which is way up the hillside from the river below.
This "stop" would be the first of a few issues that we overcame on this day. It was here that we had a few hour layover for some sort of pass to go ahead further north on the road. We had to fill out some paperwork that was turned in along with our passports and then we waited and waited. While waiting we had lunch and also did a little bit of shopping and photography.
This was the crew that helped us all along the way. Yadav (left sitting was our tail gunner), Kapil Dev (2nd stair our chief RE mechanic), Dharam Thakur (cook), and sitting on the right is Amit (our leader and fun guy to chase around the Himalayas on the bikes)
The photo below is about the same place as the shot of the guys above I just turned left to about the 8 O'clock position and took a photo up the hill. The large tent was for a wedding that was going to happen in the near future with a DJ and the works!
Turning to the right looks down the road which we drove up. You can see my bike with my red jacket hanging on it. There are some small shops along the left side of the road.
Turning to the right looks down the road which we drove up. You can see my bike with my red jacket hanging on it. There are some small shops along the left side of the road.
This is looking up the canyon where we would eventually be riding. Road #5 goes along the river down below but we had to get the OK by the government or something to be allowed to continue or then needed a record that we were there. I'm not sure of what this checkpoint was all about.
After hours of hanging out we were finally able to start down the road however there was a landslide that blocked the road and we had to take an alternate route. Since we missed "The Death Road" because I think there was a landslide there the new road was called "Death Road 2" Rahul said it was just as treacherous or he said that just to make us feel good. Ha, ha, ha.
Photo by Dave Hamilton
After a few miles of this dangerous route we stopped for a quick break. This was the view from where we came. The road was a single lane (typical) but VERY few places to pull out and let a vehicle pass if coming from the other direction. The Indian people have nerves of steel to drive a car, SUV or truck on these roads as it is a LONG way down to the bottom and really no shoulder.
Here we are at the rest stop.
Once we got back down to the main road which was at least another hour of this road we waited until everyone arrived and then headed NE again on highway 5. I of course was stopping to take photos every few min so I got left behind which was fine with me. We went up and down and all over the hillsides. The incredible beauty was around every curve and I wanted to take photos of everything. Finally I decided I needed to catch up and started making time on the road as the sun was starting to get close to the mountain level. After what seemed to be another hour I started heading up the mountain side and around one of the curves it looked like a super long parking lot??? What the heck is going on? I decided to just keep riding and passed hundreds of cars and trucks. I finally got to the front where the rest of the group was and found out that there was ANOTHER land slide!
The next 3 photos are by Ken Freund who just hiked up to the slide to check it out. Great shots of what we were having to wait for. Somehow they had gotten heavy equipment up there to move the large stones and slabs, where they pushed them over the side of the mountain.
Photos by Ken Freund
What do a group of guys waiting for the BRO (Border Roads Organization) to finish up road work do? Either hold a protest or take a nap. Ha, ha, ha I have no idea who took this photo but we were tired and it felt good to relax.
The sky was turning dark by the time the BRO crew got the road cleared and we were happy to get back on the bikes and head to then next hotel. The road where they worked was soft & powdery which was a little tricky but once through we all took off. Around the next mountain and then up the switchbacks in total darkness. I turned around and could see what seemed like miles of headlights heading through the just cleared section. I wanted to stop and take a photo but it was to dark and I didn't want to get separated from others in our group.
Of course in the pitch black we (Dave Hamilton and I) came around a corner and there was a sign and some people standing around but I didn't recognize any of them. Dave stopped and I kept going up the mountain. Hey, I love curves and was having a great time but after a few min I had passed every car and truck and there was nobody ahead of me. I had been watching my mirrors and saw someone on a bike slowly catching up so I slowed and it was Amit. That curve in the road was where we were supposed to turn off to the small village of Nako where our hotel was, The Lakeside Inn.
As usual the small road to the hotel turned into a small trail and dirt but we all parked and checked in. Our room was on the top floor which was very nice. The funky hallway was to the back and up some irregular stairs was not lit, so a bit of stumbling went on. Ha, ha, ha I think most of us either washed our clothes that evening or they were soaked so everyone put them on chairs to dry out on the large balcony. I told you today was a big adventure.
This is looking up the canyon where we would eventually be riding. Road #5 goes along the river down below but we had to get the OK by the government or something to be allowed to continue or then needed a record that we were there. I'm not sure of what this checkpoint was all about.
After hours of hanging out we were finally able to start down the road however there was a landslide that blocked the road and we had to take an alternate route. Since we missed "The Death Road" because I think there was a landslide there the new road was called "Death Road 2" Rahul said it was just as treacherous or he said that just to make us feel good. Ha, ha, ha.
Photo by Dave Hamilton
After a few miles of this dangerous route we stopped for a quick break. This was the view from where we came. The road was a single lane (typical) but VERY few places to pull out and let a vehicle pass if coming from the other direction. The Indian people have nerves of steel to drive a car, SUV or truck on these roads as it is a LONG way down to the bottom and really no shoulder.
Here we are at the rest stop.
Once we got back down to the main road which was at least another hour of this road we waited until everyone arrived and then headed NE again on highway 5. I of course was stopping to take photos every few min so I got left behind which was fine with me. We went up and down and all over the hillsides. The incredible beauty was around every curve and I wanted to take photos of everything. Finally I decided I needed to catch up and started making time on the road as the sun was starting to get close to the mountain level. After what seemed to be another hour I started heading up the mountain side and around one of the curves it looked like a super long parking lot??? What the heck is going on? I decided to just keep riding and passed hundreds of cars and trucks. I finally got to the front where the rest of the group was and found out that there was ANOTHER land slide!
The next 3 photos are by Ken Freund who just hiked up to the slide to check it out. Great shots of what we were having to wait for. Somehow they had gotten heavy equipment up there to move the large stones and slabs, where they pushed them over the side of the mountain.
What do a group of guys waiting for the BRO (Border Roads Organization) to finish up road work do? Either hold a protest or take a nap. Ha, ha, ha I have no idea who took this photo but we were tired and it felt good to relax.
No comments:
Post a Comment