Wander through India : THE SPITI EXPEDITION ( DAY VIII RECKONG PEO TO POO)

DAY 8: RECKONG PEO – POOH (72 KM)

Destination: Pooh, Himachal
1.       The eighth day of me being on the road. I had surpassed all my previous travel experiences by a long haul as I got myself all geared up for a very crucial day of the trip. We woke up by 0430 hrs and by 0515 hrs we were ready to roll. The sleep was comfortable till about two thirty in the night but after that maybe because of the cold I really could not sleep and was tossing and turning waiting or the night to end.

2.       We soon approached the Pangi Nullah site by 0600 hrs and we were the second car to reach so I parked the INDOMITABLE right up at the starting line. The weather was perfect but I was aghast to see that there were still sporadic rocks tumbling down. This really did not look good so early in the morning with hardly any wind. Suddenly a few rocks changed their course and one of them damaged the windscreen of the vehicle just in front of us. This made me immediately back up a bit and wait for the BRO team to arrive.

3.       The BRO team arrived by 0815 hrs and were on job by 0830 hrs.Slowly the number of people started to increase. The progress of the road clearing was again slow just like the previous day as the rock slide just did not abate sufficiently to make any substantial progress. Slowly the moment of decision started approaching as I had to make up my mind as to what was going to be my next step. By 0930 hrs I decided to back up the car so that in case I needed to head back I could before the entire road behind me got filled up. So accordingly I backed up quite behind relinquishing my earlier spot. My companion was all for heading back and kept urging me to turn back and make up for the lost time and at that point of time that was most logical step to undertake.

4.       Soon the foreigner group too arrived and after spending some half an hour the decision was made by the guide to head back towards Manali and the drivers started reversing their Innovas.I wanted to tag along with them as this was a good opportunity because I was not clear of the route and so I told them that I would soon catch up and headed back towards the car, my decision to turn back made up. As my mind was grappling with the changes and numerous other details that now needed to be worked out, I decided for the last time to head to the rock slide to have a look.

5.       Accordingly I signaled my companion that we were heading back I moved ahead for one last time. Suddenly hope sprung up like a geyser of warm water gushing upwards as my eyes saw that the rock slide had abated for about 10 -15 min and the BRO crew were working like people possessed to regain control of the situation from both sides. I now knew that there was not going to be anymore turning back for a small hope is all one needs to cling to in a helpless situation.

6.       Soon the vehicles from the other end which were carrying fresh produce meant for the markets were rushing over unmindful as to what was being hit on the undercarriage of the vehicles .The clearance was very bad, for the more time the JCB worked in clearing the rubble the shorter would be the window available for the crossing over. I rushed back and informed my companion that we were going to move AHEAD!!!

7.       Soon it was my turn to move ahead and I just did moved ahead praying that the rocks did not take the undercarriage off and that no stone should come flying from above. In a matter of minutes I was across and moving ahead negotiating the oncoming vehicles trying to cross over for everyone knew that the rocks slide was just taking a breather and would resume soon enough.

8.       The road past the rock slide was straight from out of this world , I will not use the word Hell for I still loved the road however it was but it is true that it was no road for a vehicle and much less for a sedan. Absolutely filled with loose stones it needed a constant focus on the road and to move ahead in the first and second gears. A few kms ahead we decided to stop and clean up the car and also take a breather. I performed a quick check under the car and observed nothing abnormal. We came across numerous signboards informing us that we were travelling on the most treacherous road in the world though in my opinion this would be one among the top five treacherous roads in the world.As the saying goes ," interesting people are met only on roads less travelled" and so it happened that i met Akshay near Kharo bridge and a friendship has sparked off which holds the promise to grow and age with time.A biker by soul his travels are worth emoluting and i wish him numerous more journeys to come in the days ahead.

9.       The IDOMITABLE really took a hammering in terms of the suspension continuously working to stabilize the car but barring three odd occasions till date the sump guard had still not made contact with the road and I was amazed as well as pleased with this. There were three more rock slides ahead and we had with us a local whom I had given a lift who helped us in negotiating and also identifying these areas. So I was mighty glad that I had him with me. There were tense moments when we were crossing these areas for there was no BRO presence to warn of any incoming rock and so my companion had his eyes stuck to the horizon as we were crossing the area.

10.   We reached Spillow by 1225 hrs crossing Akpa check post ,Moorang( a great village to visit but I could not , surrounded by apple and apricot orchards) and Ribba Villages and Pooh Village by 1515 hrs.There is an army help post just before Pooh where they offer on the house refreshments for those wishing for the same. A small gesture but then it goes a long way in making an impression. The drive through Pooh village had to be done for the other road skirting the village was under repair at that point of time and for me that drive through the village was the most challenging of the trip till date. The road was extremely narrow and of a very steep incline that I was in first gear constantly and hoping against hope that I don’t have to stop for I knew that I would be able to move forward if the car stopped .As luck would have it I encountered oncoming traffic and I had no option but to reverse and reversing on the narrow twisting road took its toll on me as well as the INDOMITABLE for at many places I had to move ahead again to align the car and then continue reversing. Finally on one occasion I just could not reverse a particular tricky part however hard I tried and I ended up burning the clutch on more than one occasion. The car was now stalled and I just could not move ahead or behind. The oncoming traffic kept building up and seeing my predicament a local driver offered to help.i I immediately agreed and he in no time showed me how much more I still have to learn in driving skills.

11.   I swore never to enter the town again for the danger in driving on that particular road.Finally we were able to complete our path through the village honking most of the time to warn the other cars that there was oncoming traffic. We then reached our destination –OM GUEST HOUSE which actually is a very well maintained place with spacious rooms and comfortable. The car was grimy like me after the drive and I was aware that today’s drive had taken a lot out of the INDOMITABLE but it had really performed very well at all sections of the drive and any fault encountered was actually mine .There was something which did happened which was going to influence the events the following days. As I had a habit of checking the car undercarriage every few hours for any abnormal signs, around 10 kms before Pooh I noticed black oil drops dripping from near the area of the oil sump. I immediately examined the drop and concluded that it was too clean to be engine oil so that narrowed the source of leakage to either the brake fluid or the power steering fluid and both were bad news for I was carrying spare for engine oil and coolant but not the above two.

12.   Anyways to understand it better I jacked up the car on the road itself and got underneath to see the source of leakage. The source seemed coming from the axle line so I was thinking that it could be the brake oil .Anyways with a bad feeling I drove to Pooh and found a mechanic shop where the single guy informed me that the head mechanic was out towards Kaza and taking a look at the leak he said that the gear box oil was leaking out. This was really bad news because of all the parts the gear box had to be filled with oil at all times and the gears had to be kept lubricated.

13.   Reaching the guest house I used the hotel owner’s phone and called up the service centre at Mumbai and explained my predicament and I was informed that to continue driving the car in this state was highly not recommended and that in case of a seizure of the gears the car would just become totally immobile within fraction of a second. This statement did not help me one bit for here I was in the middle of a place that was away from all possible means of support or help especially for the Logan which was just not visible out in these parts. I was really perplexed as to how to sort this issue for no immediate solutions were coming. Was the trip going to end this way?? I don’t know for going ahead meant risking the car and getting in to a situation which would be infinitely worse than what I was presently in .The Mahindra help line did not help either because the poor guys on the help line just could not locate the area I was in on their computer and were telling me names of service centers that were so far that they might as well be on the moon itself.

14.   Anyway I decided to do something and wanted to find out the source of the leakage to see if I could use some kind of an adhesive to plug it. Seeing me tinkering on the car I was approached by a god send help in the form of Mr Lamaji by all who stood by my side for the next three hours calling all whom he knew who could provide assistance. At all time he kept encouraging me stating that I could make the trip till Manali comfortably. I had no heart in telling him that I was not planning to cross the Kunzum pass and my itinerary was retracing the same path back to Barog after I reached Lossar.

15.   The news by this time had spread of an out station car in trouble and I was visited by all sorts of friendly people offering advice and words of encouragement. Finally it was turning dark and I resolved that I would continue to Kaza the next day and that I would keep topping up the gear box with gear oil every one hour. The decision to go back on the same route was also shelved for in this condition of the car I just could not go back on the same path from which I had come.

16.   That evening I was close to despair for quite some time for I was just not sure what path and deciosion I had to take for my hands were tied due to lack of resources and circumstances. But I thank God that I had people like my companion and Lamaji who though could not help me technically yet were pillars of support in encouragement. That evening I spent sitting and talking to Lamaji and his friends on Buddhism and the positivity that it bought to all. As I write this down I realized that I was content that evening in that company to be there not sure of what lay in store the next day or the days ahead, what hardships I was supposed to undergo yet my heart had calmed down and I was slowly but surely having a feeling of peace and tranquility sitting on that bench with Lamaji in the gathering chilly night.

17.   Final Odometer for the day. RECKONG PEO : 56830 – POOH : 56902