The Next Morning we started from the hotel and continued to climb up and thru the nearby village of Shoja which is at 10,000 feel elevation. Then we began a series of descents and climbs thru a series of severe switchbacks, curves and hairpins. This area was in a lovely forested area but I dared not take my eyes of the roads as I dealt with the multiplicity of turns. The descents and climbs quickly began to rattle me; mental exhaustion returned. I was finding it hard to stay focused as I attempted to keep up with my companions who seemed to be effortlessly slicing thru the turns. I was especially challenged by the descents. Gravity was pushing me down the straight stretches and increasing my momentum into the next hairpin turn and I was constantly riding my brakes and almost slowing to a stop as I negotiated many of the turns. It was becoming obvious to me that while I could, at my own pace, have made my way down these high hills, there was no way I was going to be able to keep up with the group. Frankly, I was slower on the descents than ascents. When climbing, gravity worked to my advantage. Simply by reducing throttle, I could slow down. But on descents I had to both back off on throttle, apply brakes to compensate for the growing momentum from gravity, and negotiate the centrifugal forces generated with each turn.
Around 11:00 AM Paul and I climbed back up to another high ridge and the group was waiting, patiently taking a rest stop while appreciating a lovely panoramic view of Panchtara Ridge. Here I decided to get off the motorcycle and switch back in the truck. I dismounted the Himalayan and walked over to Damen and told him that Sanjay should take over the bike. He didn't argue.
I am sure that this was the right decision. If I continued to try to keep up with the group, I would probably ultimately have missed a turn and gone down. This was the 2nd to last day of the trip and it ended up being my last time on the Royal Enfield. But I have No Regrets. It was the right decision. I had no desire to wipe out with only one full day left. Time to relax, reflect, take photos and appreciate the scenery.
Shoja to Chail
Sitting in the left seat of the truck, Baloo and I followed on Highway 5, descending and ascending and crossing ridges. The group gradually dropped down out of the forests and into more apple orchards. Going down through heavier traffic and many more switchbacks and curves we finally came to Highway 305 along the Sutlej River Valley, bottoming out at about 5700 feet elevation.
Along the hillsides we came upon heavily terraced sections and many, many commercial apple orchards. We saw a 7 story apple warehouse rising up on a slope. As usual, the apple trees were all covered with nets to protect from birds. And there were many bee hives along the road. Pollinators need to make a living as well. Busy bees....
Hillside Apple Orchards
7 Story Apple Warehouse On the Slopes!
Truck of Loose Hay
Small Terraces
Cargo
At the town of Theog, the thickening clouds finally decided to get serious and a heavy rain began.. Baloo and I had previously lost touch with the group but then we looked ahead and saw the bikes pulled over at a Dhaba with a large awning and our companions sheltering underneath. Baloo pulled over and I reached behind me to the back seat and out of my day pack I pulled out my blue rain jacket and brought it with me when we scampered out of the truck and under the protection of the open shelter. The group had ordered some Chai. I passed the jacket onto Sanjay so he'd have better protection than the flimsy poncho he'd worn several days prior when we'd been in the earlier rains. He accepted it gladly.
Heavy Rain
After a while, the rain began to moderate. Damen signaled that it was time to go and I watched, without envy, as the group remounted the motorcycles and headed back out on the wet roads and into the traffic.
Back On the Road
Sanjay in My GoreTex Jacket
Fun in the Rain
At some point the rain thinned out and then ended as we started climbing side hills again. The vegetation shifted back to forest. We climbed and climbed and then entered a very touristy area with gift shops, homestays and hotels. It turned into a heavy traffic jam. The group on the motorcycles were able to wedge themselves between the cars and gradually get ahead of us in the truck. There was obviously no way we could keep up and we stayed jammed in the craziness.
Resort Area Traffic
Later, the road opened up again into a series of switchback and we climbed up to a ridge with more hotels. We eventually made it to our destination, the very elegant Chail Palace which was a hill station built in 1891 by Maharaja Rajendra after he had a dispute with the English General Kitchener and was disallowed to spend Summers in Shimla the nearby hill station of the British Raj.
We were to stay in our own suites in what would have been originally the homes/barracks of the high officials/officers of the army of the Maharaja.
A "Hill Station" is where European colonial officials would retreat to in the high heat of the tropical summers. At higher elevations, the officials and staff were more likely to survive temperatures that they could hardly survive at times. Many did die from the prolonged months of heat and humidity. When I was recently in Brazil, I found that the Portuguese also had summer hill stations at higher elevations for the same reason.
Our Group dining at the elegant main dinning Room. From left are Robin, Neil, Charlie, Baloo, Sanjay, Paul, Damen and Lynn
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