Traversing the Manali-Leh Highway (3)

Day 4: Keylong to Sarchu

The day begin as usual, pack the bags, load the bikes, struggle starting them up cold... PEG must have be a bad influence on Meeraj's bike.
http://flic.kr/p/8nWH5j


The scenery is nothing really to write about.


A few of the switchbacks heading up to the high altitude passes (after the first 20 I lost track...)-


We finally reach Baralachala at 16,500'. The mountain mountains finally begin.


It's as cold as it looks, but we're too distracted by the scenery to really care.


Baralachala is one of the (many) passes that we were a little concerned with before leaving New Delhi. On a Manali-Leh Highway touring Internet forum, stranded bikers posted updates like-

"I was riding with bikers who have done the manali-leh route almost 4-5 times and they could swear on their bikes that this was the scariest experience of all and they have never seen so much water and snow before."

Yep, not too much of a confidence builder, and the posted photos and videos also made Baralachala look umm... a bit "challenging" thanks to a recent avalanche.

Photo/Video a few days before we got there-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oAbqofWsPw&feature=player_embedded


Snow is one thing, but snow+bright sun results in water. Lots of it. Hard to believe it's not a river.


Crossing the Baralachala nallahs with PEG, the 400 pound she-beast of a bike-



I actually made it through the Baralachala nallahs in one piece without falling, but unfortunately I wasn't so lucky at crossings earlier in the day. At one point PEG was underwater for 5 minutes, but surprisingly started right away without any problems. My psycho ex-girlfriend definitely has a split personality. Nothing is quite so tiring as getting thrown off into snow melt/rivers and having to pick your 400 pound bike back up. Ugh! Manali-Leh Highway: 6, Me: 2.
Meeraj's Baralachala crossing video (be sure to watch the last 2 seconds, hah!).


After a long and exhausting day, we finally arrive at Sarchu, tent city.

The mountain scenery is almost like a painting which makes it all worthwhile.