Sach Pass - The tough way round

[Salil]

Day 1: Delhi to Sundernagar.

We started the ride from the bypass at 5:30 in the morning. Manik was waiting for me as I reached there. It started to rain as soon as the light came out, and we took shelter at a petrol pump to see if we can wait the rains out. Rains were inevitable, and expected. It had been raining all over North India for the past couple of days. So I came prepared. After waiting a while, we put on whatever rain gear we had and started off, as it looked like the rains had stopped. We had ridden only about 20 or so Kms when it started raining again; this time, heavily. We decided to have our breakfast and hoped the rains would stop by the time we were done eating. But that was hardly the case, and from then on, it was a long and tiresome ride in the rains till we reached Chandigarh.

About 70 Kms before Sundernagar, we saw a long line of trucks waiting to pass through. When I say long, it was like a 3 to 4 Kms long queue. We though it was something to do with Independence Day which was the next day. But riding further, we saw another massive jam. Trucks, cars, jeeps, all of them. The advantage of riding a bike was soon obvious, as we managed to squeeze through the narrowest gaps possible, for about 5 Kms, before we came to a point where we could proceed no further. It had been raining heavily for days here, and we came across multiple instances of landslides, huge boulders and trucks stuck on tyre deep mud. Manik got talking and found out that people have been waiting on the roads for almost two days now! But the good news was, the landslide was just around the next curve, and was about to be cleared finally. About 30 minutes later, the traffic started crawling, and we got going. Thankfully, there were no rains after Ropar, except for the occasional drizzle. It was already 7 and getting dark by the time we crossed the landslide zone. A day of riding in the rains and Manik’s placement of the HID ballast in full exposure to the elements resulted in a conked out HID ballast. Riding on the dark on wet roads with no headlight was not an easy thing to do, and we decided to call it a day at Sundernagar.

We stayed at the PWD rest house at Sundernagar. An hour after we checked in, our bungee cords were put to use to make clotheslines, and it looked like a batch of clothes fresh from the laundry had arrived on a rainy day, to be dried under the ceiling fan. We hoped day 2 will be drier; we were behind schedule and had a lot of catching up to do.

Our room at the Sundernagar PWD rest house.

Day 2: Sundernagar to Sissu

We always planned to start the day early. It’s another thing that we never succeeded in doing that. So as usual, we started pretty late in the day, around 10, after we spent our own sweet time having getting ready, and tending to the bikes, and finally forgetting to pay for our food and stay! Now, this was something new. I had the money in my shorts pocket when we went to the dining hall to have dinner the previous night, but somehow it was still in my shorts pocket when we left the place, as I discovered after I got into it at Sissu.

Progress was erratic. It started raining again, and we had to stop to get into our rain gear. It looked like it was going to rain heavily and we decided to have our brunch stop. The rains were gone by the time we were done with brunch and progress till Manali was smooth. We had a stop at Manali to refuel, and Manik brought a jacket while I got myself a wind cheater, having misplaced the one I carried from home somewhere. We started our climb to Rohtang amidst buildup of heavy clouds, and a drizzle that had started; a typical evening on this stretch. Rohtang was beautiful this time of the year, with lush greenery all around, along with wild flowers that covered the mountain slopes. Clouds added to the beauty, though at times we ran into thick fog making progress slow.

Marhi from high above






It was foggy and dark as we reached Rohtang. We didn’t bother to stop and click the signboard that I have passed by numerous times now. The other side of Rohtang was covered in even thicker fog. I had an H3 HID, which meant it had just one beam. Even though it was getting dark, switching on the HID was not an option, as it reduced visibility further due to the thick fog which simply reflected back the beam from my HID, making it impossible to see anything. And thanks to the heavy rains in the past few days, there were virtually no roads, and we constantly ran into thick slush. It got better as we climbed down further. We reached Koksar at around 7, and headed straight into the PWD guest house. Being a long weekend, it was booked to capacity. There were not many options for accommodation in Koksar, and we proceeded to Sissu, and checked into Triveni guest house. Well furnished room, carpeted floor, running hot water and great view of the mountains across the Chandra River; we loved the place. Hope the dinner we had was half as good.

To be continued...

__________________________________________________ _________________________
Day 1: Delhi to Sundernagar
Day 3: Sissu to Udaipur
Day 4: Udaipur to Tindi
Day 4, 5 : Tindi to Killar
Days 5, 6 : Killar to Bagotu
Days 6, 7, 8: Back home
__________________________________________________ _________________________

[KurtRules]

So the Sach Pass travelogue is out eh! ..Free stay in Sundernagar!!. And you went the other way round ... Gr8!! Looking forward to more..

[Yogesh Sarkar]

Finally!

[abhi1975]

Nice start Salil and I must say, very early!!! You had almost 1 year left to start this log

And hey, which place is Sissu exactly?? My father is there right this very moment.

[Salil]

Thanks all.
Abhi: Sissu is between Koksar and Tandi after you cross Rohtang pass.
It's like Rohtang - Koksar - Sissu - Tandi - Keylong and so on. Wonder which Sissu did you mean when you said your father is right there. Rohtang pass has long been closed I guess.

[darth_lucifer]

ohhhhh...its here finally.....i am already subscribed to this thread.


*gets popcorn*

PS:HIDs and fog never goes together.Infact it makes life worse even at 4300k.I had a tough time in bhutan too whereever there was fog.H3 toh h3,bixenon H4 doesnt help either,more light is reflected with dipper.


PPS:Wrong thread to write it but Avvy coil+Putting back 55 w H4 halogens back in headlamp unit and H3 HID spotlamp on need to use basis only might be the way forward for pulsars which are touring.H3 HIDs are way better H4 HIDs.

[Salil]

Originally Posted by darth_lucifer

ohhhhh...its here finally.....i am already subscribed to this thread.


*gets popcorn*

PS:HIDs and fog never goes together.Infact it makes life worse even at 4300k.I had a tough time in bhutan too whereever there was fog.H3 toh h3,bixenon H4 doesnt help either,more light is reflected with dipper.


PPS:Wrong thread to write it but Avvy coil+Putting back 55 w H4 halogens back in headlamp unit and H3 HID spotlamp on need to use basis only might be the way forward for pulsars which are touring.H3 HIDs are way better H4 HIDs.

Totally agree with that. That's something Manik observed as well, after using both H3 and h4 HIDs.

[prem.arora]

Its going nice, keep going buddy. Nice shots there from high up for Marhi.
Triveni in Sissu has become very common night halt for all of the people here I think.
cheers...

[mountaintrekker.india]

Salil.... eagerly waiting for the D day/DAYS

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[Devil.Dj]

Finally !!!! Eh...

Salil ... the next part is eagerly awaited now...

Cheers,
DJ