The 1200+ Km Bike Trip --- Day2- Rishikesh to Pakhi-Joshimath

The day of Landslides:

Landslide1: 

We had our breakfast early and started our journey to Joshimath by 7:45-8am. We left Bamboo hut to move towards Dev Prayag. As we moved few kilometers the noise in the bike chain became loud. I had been neglecting it for some time now, in-fact the noise had started at the Upper Canal Road but it was not bad as it was now. Anyways ignoring it we continued the journey. The front brakes had also gone worse, the brakes issue was known but the noise in the chains had aggravated.
We had just ridden few kilometers; we had to stop as the road was blocked due to a small landslide. A JCB was clearing the landslide rubble. We had to halt for around 20 minutes before the rubble was cleared. While waiting for the landslide to be cleared we just adjusted and tightened the bike chain so that the noise reduced. We started riding again when the rubble was cleared.

Landslide2: 

We had just ridden for few more kilometers; we had to stop again due to a major landslide. A JCB was removing the rubble which was later joined by another beast machine which was specialized in carrying and removing big boulders and the rubble. It was pushing all the boulders and rubbles down the valley in the ravines. By the time the two machines could clear the landslides there was already a Jam of 2 km on the road. As we were on the bikes so we could maneuver and move to the front of the Jam near the Landslide area and witness the complete process of clearing the landslide. I must confess that it was a massive landslide. I had never in my life seen such a massive landslide.

Landslide 2 Area

While waiting for the landslide to be cleared, we realized we were getting Sun-burnt. Any part of the body exposed to the Sun including the neck area, hands, palms etc had the burning sensation. Synthetic clothes were adding to the itch. So we replaced our synthetic T-shirts with Cotton ones. This time wore full sleeves T-shirts. Also applied some ointment on the Sun-burnt areas.

After the herculean effort put by the machines the landslide was cleared in around 2 hours. We started moving again. After moving few kilometers we again had that pinning burning sensation on our palms which was still exposed to the Sun. We did not have any gloves so we wrapped our handkerchiefs around the palms. It was a great relief, this was something I would pen it as Desi Jugad (Indigenous Workaround).

Dev Prayag: 

Riding towards Dev Prayag we could see lush green forest cover over the mountains. The scenery was just awesome. As we rode towards Dev Prayag we were overtaken by a biker couple on their bike ("Tiger"). It seemed that they were some professional photographers/movie makers as their biking attire had tug points for fixing camera. Also their bike accessories had mention of their YouTube channel and Facebook page etc. The couple kept crossing us at various points in our journey.Anyways after riding for an hour or two we reached Dev Prayag.

Dev Prayag

Dev Prayag is a place where Bhagirathi River and the Alaknanda River meet to become the river Ganga.
During monsoon one can see the muddy waters of Bagirathi meet the bluish water of Alaknanda and move side by side for some distance. It is a sight that you would seldom see anywhere across the globe. The downstream river is known as the holy Ganges.
Due to heavy rains the rivers were flooded and flowing above the ghats. One of the Temples at the ghat was completely submerged in water only it's mast was visible.
We took some water and some chewing gum and started moving towards Srinagar. One thing we realized that if you keep chewing the gum while driving one you would not fall asleep and secondly probably it would get rid of any boredom. The road from Dev Prayag to Srinagar is quite wide and pleasure to ride. 

Srinagar: 

We were spellbound and mesmerized by the beauty all around. We would stop at various places to click few snaps before moving ahead towards Srinagar. After driving for an hour or so we crossed a big bridge over the river. It was an indication that Srinagar is about to arrive.

In the Garhwal Hills, Srinagar is the largest town. On the left bank off river Alaknanda, Srinagar is a buzzing city. It is home to the HNB Garhwal University and various other educational institutions.

By the time we arrived at Srinagar it was already mid day. It was around 1 pm. Badrinath was still a long distance away.
We quickly wrapped our lunch at a local Dhaba (roadside restaurant) and started to move again. Just driving for some time I realized the bike chain was again giving some cranky sound. We adjusted it again by the roadside and started to move again. We were again crossed by the photographer couple.

Rudra Prayag: 

The road from Srinagar towards Rudra Prayag is also quite wide for a few kilometers. Uttarakhand Government is coming up with an all weather road till Badrinath, in this endeavor we see the wide roads. As you start reaching Rudra Prayag the road again gets narrower. 

Rudra Prayag is one of the "Panch Prayag's" where river Mandakini meets river Alaknanda. Rudra Prayag is name after lord Shiva (Rudra). Mythology also suggests that Narad Muni worshipped Lord Shiva to learn music from him. There are a lot of Temples and Mythological Places here.

After riding for an hour or so we crossed Rudra Prayag. It was approximately 3 pm. We had still a lot of distance to cover till Badrinath. We wanted to cover the major journey in daylight as it becomes difficult and risky to drive in the hills at night. The way becomes steeper after Rudra Prayag.

Anyways driving for another 30 mins we came across a roadside waterfall. It was a majestic waterfall. We were attracted towards its beauty and might. We halted here for some time. We could see some locals and an army Truck also halted there. We got ourselves drenched in the waterfall shower, poured chilled water over our Sun-burns, filled our water bottles and soaked our feet in the chilling water. After spending sometime here we again started riding.

The road condition was really bad now, with potholes, mud and filth all around. The journey was made even more treacherous with the drizzle pouring in all the time. As we rode, we crossed a lot of streams flowing across the road. We crossed Gauchar, Karna Prayag, Nanda Prayag and Chamoli. Karna Prayag and Nanda Prayag are one of the "Panch Prayag's". Karna Prayag is a place where river Pindar Ganga meets Alaknanda. Nanda Prayag is a place where river Nandakini meets Alaknanda.

Landslide3: 

As we crossed the Peepalkoti forest check-post we saw police and forest officers stopping four wheelers. We could see a long queue (approximately 2 km long) of four wheelers who were stopped there. As we were on the bikes we were not stopped, again we got the benefit of driving two wheelers. At this point of time we could just not figure out why the officials were stopping all the four wheelers. Anyway we kept driving. Driving uphill for another 2 km, we again started to see a queue of four wheelers. Now we could sense that there is again a landslide coming our way. As we drove along we reached the landslide area. We realized it was a big landslide even bigger than the second landslide we came across today. The landslide had blocked approximately 60 meters of road. We heard the landslide had occurred 2-3 hours ago, but still until now the raid was not cleared.

The place was all surrounded by coniferous trees and there were around 100 people around the landslide area including the photographer couple. I had never seen or imagined in wildest of my dreams such a big landslide. It was already 5:30-6pm and we had no other option other than to wait. SDRF and local authorities were busy clearing the rubble. Now we realized why the four wheeler traffic was stopped at Peepalkoti check-post.

Landslide 3 Area

The rubble was being cleared at war footing. It was growing dark and hence another generator vehicle was driven to the landslide area. It was there to flash some light and illuminate the place so that the JCBs can remove the rubble at night. While waiting we clicked snaps of the conifers all around. The Landslide was cleared by 8 pm, it was already dark by then.

Bikers were the first one to cross the landslide area as they had queued in front of the four wheelers. We were among the first few to cross the landslide site. It was dark, the road was full of potholes and it was raining heavily which made driving very difficult. We could sense that we will not be able to reach Badrinath hence we thought we would do a night halt at Joshimath. But Joshimath was still 45 km away. Anyways we kept riding, all drenched in rain and mud.
It was around 9-9:30 pm, Joshimath was still 25-30 km. I could easily sense that by the time we reach Joshimath it would be late night. Lodging would be difficult to find at late night, as a backup we thought if we find no place to halt for the night at Joshimath, we would take refuse at the Gurudwara (Sikh Temple) at Joshimath.

The Gurudwara ("Gurudwara Sahib") at Pakhi, Garur Ganga, Distt. Joshimath: 

Amid darkness and heavy rain, when thoughts of night stay at Joshimath and arranging for night stay clouded the mind, we passed a well illuminated area. In pitch black night, this was the place that was visible from 10-20 km as it was the only brightly illuminated place. Soon by the looks of it I could sense that it was a Gurudwara. It was the "Gurudwara Sahib" Gurudwara at Pakhi, Garur Ganga, Distt. Joshimath. We thought that we could go to the Gurudwara, have Langar* and Tea and then again move towards Joshimath.

*Langar- Langar is the term used in Sikhism for the community kitchen in a Gurudwara where a free meal is served to all the visitors, without distinction of religion, caste, gender, economic status or ethnicity.

Taking a break at the Gurudwara seemed to be the right choice as we were already hungry, tired and completely drenched. Although the polybags had some protection to our luggage/bags the wind cheater/ raincoat I was wearing gave no protection against the heavy rains of the mountains. We realized that to get protection from the heavy rains in the hills you need heavy duty raincoats, anything other than that would not work.
As we entered the Gurudwara we saw around 5-10 people having Langar. We also collected the plates and sat down to have Langar and Tea. As we were having Langar, we realized that behind the Langar Hall there was a big hall where people were resting. Soon as the conversation in this regard grew we could sense that lodging was also available here. But we wanted to be sure about it. 
After the Langar we confirmed with the Granthi Ji (one who organizes the daily services and reads from the "Guru Granth Sahib") about the lodging. He said that in every Gurudwara you would always find lodging halls. We could collect the beddings, pillows, blankets etc and stay for the night. When we enquired about the lodging rent, he said it was all free of cost. Anybody can stay and have Langar at the Gurudwara for free. If anybody is well-off and wishes to donate he/she might do so but it was not mandatory. After hearing all this respect for "Sikhism" grew many folds in our mind, heart and soul.

We realized and were just amazed to know that this is a religion where people are given free food and shelter without distinction of religion, caste, gender, economic status or ethnicity.

This was a Eureka Moment for us all our worries vanished in a moment; we instantaneously made a decision to spend the night at the Gurudwara.
I put the bikes on double stand and on a firm ground, as if the bikes are on side stand and on the mud/rubble, the rains will wipe of the mud/rubble and the bikes will fall.

After the bikes were parked properly, we collected the bedding, pillows, blankets etc, chose a place in the hall and put the bedding there. It was almost 10:30-11 pm; we were tired hence we went to bed.
We decided that we would get up early at 5-5:30 am freshen up have some Tea and snacks and proceed with our journey. A very eventful and long day had come to an end now.

Lush Green Mountains

Our Journey:

Day 1: Gurgaon to Shivpuri-Rishikesh (Stay at Shivpuri)

Day 2: Rishikesh to Pakhi-Joshimath (Stay at Pakhi)

Day 3: Pakhi to Badrinath/Govindghat (Stay at Govindghat)

Day 4: Govindghat to Ghangharia & Valley of Flowers (Stay at Ghangharia)

Day 5: Rest at Ghangharia (Stay at Ghangharia)

Day 6: Ghangharia to Hemkund Sahib (Stay at Govindghat)

Day 7: Govindghat/Joshimath to Dev Prayag (Stay at Dev Prayag)

Day 8: Dev Prayag to Gurgaon

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The 1200+ Km Bike Trip --- Day3