Himalayan Odyessey Day 3 - Gushaini to Narkanda via Jalori Pass

We left Gushaini early early to our next destination Ramphur Bushair in Narkanda at an elevation of about 2,700' down from about 4,700' in Gushaini and 9,000' from Jalori Pass.  The travel distance for the day was about 120km.  The whole trip was arranged in a way that we will get ourselves acclimatised slowly with the elevation and lower oxygen level within the next several days before attempting to stay longer beyond 8,000'.

Altitude sickness also known as acute mountain sickness (AMS), altitude illness, hypobaropathy, or soroche is a pathological effect of high altitude on humans caused by acute exposure to low partial pressure of oxygen at high altitude. It commonly occurs above 2,400 metres (8,000 feet). It presents as a collection of non specific symptoms acquired at high altitude or in low air pressure, resembling a case of "flu, carbon monoxide poisoning, or a hangover". It is hard to determine who will be affected by altitude sickness, as there are no specific factors that correlate with a susceptibility to altitude sickness. However, most people can ascend to 2,400 meters (8,000 ft) without difficulty.

The rate of ascent, altitude attained, amount of physical activity at high altitude, as well as individual susceptibility, are contributing factors to the onset and severity of high-altitude illness.
Altitude sickness usually occurs following a rapid ascent and can usually be prevented by ascending slowly. In most of these cases, the symptoms are temporary and usually abate as altitude acclimatisation occurs. However, in extreme cases, altitude sickness can be fatal.

 

 It was morning and when the sun came up it only lit up the opposite mountain tops while we were still in the shadows of the valley for a while..

We had to make our way to the cottage and out by pulling ourselves across the river on a metal basket that dangles on a one-inch thick wire.To glide across a white water on a rope pulley with the cool breeze in the face was an unprecedented experience an an adventure.

The local folks waiting for public transportation

School girls waiting for their bus.

Passing by one of the mountain towns.

The single lane town street.

The public transportation.. what to do when the bus is packed - sit on the roof top.

Single lane asphalt roads even in the mountains

The pleasant morning ride up the asphalt mountain roads was long.

 As the we climbed up higher towards the Jalori Pass, the roads gets rougher and in some parts its like going through a rock gardens..

The slow and rough ride and up the Jalori Pass.

 Finally, we reached Jalori Pass about 11.00 am and took a break

Until someone realised that he had left his wallet at the homestay about 40km back.  Two guys rode back to retrieve the wallet and while the others waited and ended up having lunch here at the pass.  Menu options - Maggie Mee or Chappati or both.

Posing around.. 3 hours is a lot of time to kill while waiting for the two riders to ride 80km to Gushaini and back.

More posing around with models in short supply with a view below from Jalori Pass at 9,000' above sea level

Riding on the other side of Jalori Pass

 Cigarette breaks next to a hut with heavy shale roof. Me? No, I don't smoke.  So it is called a watch the smokers smoke break..

 Passing by amazing steep mountain-side villages perched on cliffs.

A landslide - we were held back for another 2 hours while waiting for bulldozer to clear the roads.

We were late by the time the bulldozer cleared the landslides at about 4.30pm as we have barely covered 60km which is only half of the way. We were practically racing our bikes the moment we reached the asphalt road towards Luhri.  The road to Luhri was scenic as the narrow road was carved out from a cliff face meandering around the mountains following the river below. We took another break in Luhri for some light refreshments before proceeding to Ramphur Bushair just as the sun went down.  We reached our hotel past 7.00pm. (No photographs were taken due to the rush)