I can't see RomeoMike from where I stand - his fallen steed blocking my viewport. As I rush to his rescue, he lifts himself up. I find him unhurt but for a minor limp that will ease out in the minutes to come. He grins, exclaiming "Accha hua knee guard pehna tha!" (It was a good thing I wore the knee guards!). I grin too, comforted by the fact that he escaped unharmed.
But where are Spiderweb and Motorbreath? Surely they realize we're missing from their viewport for well over 5 minutes? Shouldn't they return to check on us? I learn quickly that they have covered a fair bit of ground without us. I find them waving at us from several meters above, a curiously twisted terrain displaying only a fraction of the ground they covered. We try to indicate to them that RomeoMike had a spill. But to our dismay, they interpret our gestures as playfully fanatical waves as they continue waving back. To my horror, they hop back on to their steeds and continue riding, disappearing into the curves above.
My head explodes. Here we are, minutes away from a spill that could have turned ugly - with only each other to see us through and two of the four, blissfully unaware of an accident that happened but meters away from them ride carelessly on so that they can make it to... make it to where? Where are we headed? Why are we in a hurry to get there? If it is to meet our maker, then the two have certainly adopted an apt strategy. It bothers me that the Spiderweb that saw the disastrous consequences of being left behind in Khardung-La should be so indifferent to the possibility of the very same consequence to those that follow. It bothers me that the two did not witness a crash that was loud both in sound and sight. And where one might forgive the compromise on sound for want of harmonious distraction, one wonders why the compromise isn't offset by a regular check of the rear view to ensure the well-being of your comrades.
We rest for a bit, RomeoMike and I and begin following the trail once more. We find the two posing for pictures next to a sign that announces are arrival at Lachunglung-La.
What follows next is a confrontation between Spiderweb and I, while RomeoMike and Motorbreath watch in silence. I accuse him of being self-centered, of being naive, of being irresponsible, of not being worthy of a lead, for he leads us not - he merely rides ahead - he cares for us not - he cares merely of himself. Spiderweb argues that we should have indicated to him that we had a spill. I inform him that it was exactly what we were trying to do but they misinterpreted our gestures. With no cell phone network, I had no communication alternative. I argue that there is no reasonable excuse for them to be more than a few meters away from us. Riding ahead achieves nothing.
Motorbreath tries to interject and diffuse the situation by taking blame onto himself for not noticing RomeoMike's crash. Spiderweb plays along stating that so long as he saw Motorbreath in his rearview, he deemed everything to be OK. I counter their argument stating that I never stated that Motorbreath was in anyway less irresponsible. Furthermore, I state, its not difficult to keep 3 people in the rearview. Stating that he had eyes only for Motorbreath's well-being was simply ridiculous. When they saw us from above, they should have waited instead of creating more distance between us, I contend.
With tempers ripping through the ether, RomeoMike eventually suggests we keep riding. It would be unwise for us to waste any more time and tempt the terrain to devour us. Spiderweb howls that he will lead us no more - much to my satisfaction. I ask RomeoMike to take lead. With a compromised steed and a recent spill, it would probably be in his best interest that we match our pace with him, instead of vice-versa. Motorbreath follows RomeoMike; I follow suit; Spiderweb tails.
At first I assume I imagine it. But in time it becomes apparent that Spiderweb is lagging. I know his pace, I know he can more than keep up. I suspect he does it to agitate us - in order to prove how our pace feels to him. I ignore his antics and ensure I stop every time he disappears from my rear-view. Anger or not, he is still subject to a spill as much as we are. RomeoMike and Motorbreath too ensure they await my arrival. With time though, Motorbreath seems to be riding with Spiderweb again. As we reach Nakeela, our last pass for the day, both Motorbreath and Spiderweb will refuse to pose for pictures. I ignore the pettiness, get a click of RomeoMike and move on.
As minutes turn to hours, we find ourselves blocked by a stream flowing across our path. A cage struggles to pull itself out of the boulders. RomeoMike hesitates, Motorbreath overtakes him in a bid to lead the way but hesitates too as he slowly makes his way across. Out of the blue, Spiderweb opens his throttle and rips across the stream in a single go, splashing clear liquid all over Motorbreath.
The move angers Motorbreath who, on a later halt, accuses Spiderweb of behaving like a spoilt brat. His disdain is palpable. In time we hit Gata Loops and pose for pictures once more. This time round, Motorbreath chimes in and poses for several minutes with requests for angles.
I recall Spiderweb awaiting the arrival of the Loops from his statements the day prior. He hoped to corner around the loops at breakneck speeds. I throw an open invitation to "those that wish to corner to ride ahead and wait for us if they so please". Spiderweb takes his cue and rides on. The loops though, turn out to be a lot less amenable to cornering. For pristine as they were in the year before - when our predecessors had past, they had since deteriorated aplenty. With gravel strewn across the pathways in no uncertain measure, cornering was not a possibility. In the moments to come, Motorbreath will once again change his mind about Spiderweb and leave us behind to catch up to Spiderweb. I remain lock-stepped with RomeoMike's tempered pace. We find the two awaiting our arrival at the bottom of the loops.
As we continue to ride, Spiderweb continues to trail. Eventually, frustrated with Spiderweb's antics, and aware that we are close to our destination with linear pathways, Motorbreath suggests we max out the throttle and let Spiderweb catch up if he so wishes. If not, we can always track his progress over the horizon. And so we do. We twist the throttle like we haven't in the days prior. It's a welcome relief. Spiderweb will realize quickly that we wait for him no more. He will end the trail game and catch up with us.
By the time we hit Sarchu, the sheer adrenalin rush of the journey so far and the prospect of conquering the final leg has put me in a non-confrontational mood. I believe Spiderweb experiences the same for within the hour we find ourselves chatting about the journey ahead.
Sarchu is brutal. The chill seeps into my bone with excruciating precision for it finds the weakest spots and drills right through them. I find myself shaking uncontrollably. We take cover under heaps of sheets but to no avail. Finally, the host suggests we take a few shots of Rum. To our delight, we find a theka right next door, stocked to the brim. We buy bottles of some local Rum, top it up with Thumbs Up and sink bank under the sheets. RomeoMike though, calms himself with swigs of Royal Stag. In time we will settle down, make friends with some local army personnel and find a way to contact our families using a satellite phone in the army base camp in the vicinity. With messages sent, we now sink back under our sheets and continue drinking. I will not move for several hours, until the host will direct us to our "rooms" - tin enclosures shuddering to the might of the wind.
Our collective lights go out quickly....
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