Day2: Leh Manali

Having crossed the 5000m altitude mark 7 times by now, there was considerable confidence of crossing over Tanglangla. Claimed to be the 2nd highest(3rd according to my GPS) motor-able pass. The BRO had built a runway on the hills. The climb was a long one with only short patches that were bad. It was a  good broad road with snow on the sides as I moved higher. I was fortunate to have a glimpse of the Himalayan Pica (a cute rodent) which I later managed to capture (persistence).
The road makers were finally found at the pass.

On the climb to Tanglangla

Road to heaven! Hats off BRO

Himalayan Pica

 The descent from Tanglang la was not as
comfortable. It was practically a bumpy slush ride and the road dried up to dust as I reached a terrain relatively plain but with a punctured tire. Not having used the new tire that I carried all along, I decided to put it on to avoid the cleaning part during the puncture. I was nearing morey plains and water was a precious resource now that shouldn't be wasted. After plenty of rough riding on miserable terrain this was the first flat in this state... the tube had given up.
Not much climb was what I assumed and overall some more descent to Pang. That was correct and this ride seemed to be more pictursque than any before. It was one of the riding days with most number of snaps taken. Now came the morey plains which I had been warned about for shortage of water. Apart from enjoying the terrain and wondering why this was so inhabited, there was a major question that I had to answer. How to survive here? It was an important one. The terrain was flat, the road was good and I had less than 50 kms to cover to find Human company but then there was the terrible headwind.there was no escaping and every now and then, I considered a plan-B of setting on under some rock. Water would not be a problem. There was snow and some puddles were observable at my service. I had let Tso kar pass which was an offroute. Should I have visited there and tried out my survival near a lake? The most reliable thing to do was to pedal hard even if it got dark. I did not expect the wind to reduce at nights.
But these natural threats are always welcomed when the views are pleasing:

towards one end of the morey plains, one can find shrubs, sheeps&yaks, shepherds

The Morey Plains

One such puddle that gave me considerable confidence

While the pedaling continued, it was about to get dark, I came across a view to my left.. It was a gorge. Can't do the justice to the view with my snaps but they reveal more than the words. Here's the pic:

The gorge was pleasing. The hills to my right reduced in height and I saw the sun. It grew a bit brighter here. There was water and a gorge is suitable for survival. But looking down and following the river I got the relief. Below was Pang. It was a small downhill and I reached the bottom. I was no longer tired and granted myself a holiday for exploring the gorge. It was exciting to stay up at night and catch some glance of the gorge but it was too cold. Not that I wasn't out.
Following day(day3) I walked up the river. Though I didn't seem to move quite far and that aspiration remains to trek further to the end of this river. Probably they are the mountains at the horizon. Apart from the wild asses and some birds, I saw the humans(locals) on my return to Pang

There is pleanty of room(warm tent cum restaurant) to stay and most of the tourists put up here. Some motorists after meeting the challenges on the route from Manali to Pang get so determined to reach Leh(>200kms) that they take up the ride even in the dark which seems more of an escape. Roads on passes could be icy at night and this stetch is one of the most picturesque.