# DAY XIV : Hanle to Leh
#116. In this trip I left
out three major sectors and these are Tso Moriri , Zanskar , the lakes around
Eastern Ladakh and two main passes which are Marsimek La and Photi La. These
could not be covered owing to a variety of reasons which included the strain
that was being felt by my co navigator J and
the lure of the Durga Puja which was fast approaching and also one major factor
about which I will speak in a while.
#117. Today we were
scheduled to visit Tso Moriri and spend the night at Karzok. Accordingly we bid
good bye to Sonam and his family and set out on the route to Tso Moriri which
was an easy track. Out on this day I got stuck in a bad manner. There was this
road repair happening on the road which is from Hanle to Rongo and accordingly
I was leaving the road to go on to the dirt/sand track and then rejoin back.
#118. At one such section
owing to a combination of factors I digressed from the tar road and the speed slowed
down considerably and I stalled. Well no problem I thought will revv the
accelerator and move out. I did the same and no movement at all, the wheels
went in a bit more. Got down to check and saw that the front right wheel was
having no grip at all, I decided to reverse and move back .Accordingly I did
that but to no avail , I went a bit back and got stuck again. This was getting
serious, so opened the boot and took out the shovel to take the sand out and
lay down stones in order for the wheels to get a grip. This technique did work
and I was able to move a bit but somehow was not getting sufficient momentum to
make it out.
#119. So I resigned myself
to a long excavation process and work on this in a methodical manner rather
than the quick solution that I was looking at, accordingly started removing the
sand from the entire path around the wheel and the path that the wheels would
travel , around 30 min passed and I was going on it with determination when I
saw two gypsies coming, I immediately flagged then down and they turned out to
be senior army officials on a inspection visit. Seeing my dilemma, they offered
to pull me out and using the shackles and rope that I had, it was a matter of
minutes and the IDOMITABLE was out effortlessly.
#120. I thanked them
profusely and in return they offered me hot ginger tea on a lonely Ladakhi
Highway, now that’s what is called as Army Hospitality at its best no matter
what ever is the situation or the place. Lesson learnt is that one has to be
ever watchful in Ladakh , had I been careful and paid attention to speed and
terrain I would not have been stuck in such a manner.
#121. Soon after this delay
we moved ahead and by noon we were at the turn off to Tso Moriri at Mahe, out
here somehow after a brief discussion the trip to Tso Moriri was called off and
we proceeded to Leh. The road to Leh through the Changthang region is under
repair and the going was slow as we were stuck thereafter in a massive army
convoy on the narrow road. Eventually after a grueling trip we trudged into Leh
at 1700 hrs. The INDOMITABLE was emanating a hissing sound on some occasions
and this was playing in my mind as I was unable to diagnose what was causing
this.
ODO for the day stood at 76196.
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COLOURS OF HANLE |
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WE WERE THE GUESTS OUT HERE |
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TAKE ME BACK TO THIS MYSTICAL PLACE AGAIN |
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