A Slushy Half-day OTR with JeepThrills

The JeepThrills team had planned a day event at the Bidaraguppe lake near Sarjapur. The lake bed presents quite a challenging obstacle course for the 4x4s while the risk of breakage is relatively lower since it's all mud. This time around it was a smaller group with about 7-8 vehicles with a healthy mix of Jeeps and Gypsies.



I had done a similar OTR in 2013 and you can read up on it here (Sunday Morning OTR - Bidaraguppe Lake).



However, if you look at the picture above, the last time we came here, it was summer and everything was dry. But this time it was very different. The whole place had transformed into a green shrub forest with slushy tracks all around.



There were small water bodies all across and we had a good time with this one where it was only a few gypsies that made it through with their high revving engines and light weight bodies.





All the jeeps just sank in the mud at the exit, including mine!



There was a lot of recovery that had to happen and the winch came in good use.





The next obstacle was a climb through a slushy incline and this is where the Jeeps could do it more easily than the Gypsies because of the low range torque.



The gypsies needed to be revved hard and taken through without losing momentum and that means there's a lot more tossing around that happens as compared to the jeeps.



Overall it was quite a fun day with a challenging trail and a lot of recoveries. Good thing was that there were no breakdowns and everyone made home safely. The weather too was cloudy and cool all through the afternoon which made it a pleasure to be outdoors. 

PS: Unfortunately, I hadn't carried my camera for this event so all I got was some phone camera pics. All images used in this post are shot by Caleb Shireesh Jacobs and are reproduced/reprocessed with his permission.

Been There & Done That....But We're Going Back For More!

Ever since our first trip to Ladakh in 2007, the place keeps pulling me every year and I can never seem to get over it! A lot of people ask me, don't you want to see other places! What's so special in Ladakh that you want to go there each year, haven't you been to most places by now? Well, the answer is yes, I've been to most places and done most of the things that everybody does there and even some which not everyone dares to do. But the place has so much to offer that I'd never get to a state where I get bored of it. For a place to be so good, it can't only be the landscapes, it can't only be the people, it can't only be the weather, it has to be a confluence of a lot of things that makes Ladakh a very unique experience. If there is something that I'd recommend as places to be before you die, this would be at the top!

Now, I know that not everyone is as crazy as us (Gozu and me) when it comes to travel. We're not the ones who enjoy the relaxing leisure trips where there's nothing to do but sit on a chair and read books or stay in bed all day. Not that it's a bad way to spend your vacation, but I guess we're just not cut for it. We don't really care for expensive hotels to stay, big variety of food for our meals, or even room service for that matter. All we need to have is some action everyday on our trips, be it adventure, driving, exploring new places, or even shopping at times. Photography is always the hidden agenda for all trips given the fact that I'm so into it now and a dozen of good pictures just makes it feel so rewarding that all expenses are quietly forgotten.

This year is special for the both of us as little Pozu will embark with us on her first journey to the Land of the Lamas, Ladakh. We had canceled the trip last year due to various reasons related to work etc. But for this year, we have firmed up our plans to make a road trip with her and the preparations have already begun. It's not going to be easy, but who the hell ever said that we wanted it easy!

Over these years, I've shot numerous pictures of the place and I'd say each one is special in some way or the other. So last weekend, I dug out some of the extra special ones and processed them again, but this time in B&W. Whether the picture flaunts the brilliant blue skies or the grey monotones, whether it is at the ever so beautiful Pangong Tso or at Moreh Plains or at Hanle, there is a certain magic in these places that catches your eye.

A must visit for everyone who goes to Ladakh is Pangong Tso. The beauty of the lake is typically said to be in the calmness and changing colors of the water through the day, though there are quite a few idiots who go there only to see the shooting location for the film 3 Idiots. The saline water body at 14000ft that gets fresh water from the melting ice each year and yet continues to be lifeless around it is in itself a marvel. Add to that the snow capped mountains that surround it along the boundary and you have the perfect rejuvenating picture in front of you. Nothing really moves apart from the fluffy clouds and the colors in the water, it does feel like time just stops here!

Here's one of my favorite shots of the lake from my last bike trip.

Tech Specs:

Canon 400D + Canon 10-22mm F3.5-4.5 USM
Shot at 10mm, 1/100s, F14 and ISO 100

The Land of the Lamas!

Ladakh - the mother of all naturally beautiful places. Its not a cosy place to be in, but it can be the most rewarding experience if you rough it out. I'm hooked on to the mountains since 2007 when we made our first trip, I had a borrowed Kodak P&S camera back then. But you can hardly go wrong with your camera in Ladakh, every place is equally beautiful and even random compositions turn out to be keepers.

The last year (2010) was the 4th year in succession to the Himalayas. This was originally conceptualized as a solo bike trip, but the head of the house had set conditional permissions and I was glad to get Elvin and Anand to ride with me. We're old college buddies so this became a good bachelors trip out into the wild.

I wanted to explore newer places this time and also wanted to experience staying at Pangong overnight. So the itinerary was chalked out and arrangements were made. This time we were going to cover Zanskar, Leh, Pangong, Hanle and Tso Moriri. But as things unfolded when we started the trip, we had to drop a couple of places out from the plan. We still managed to do Hanle and stay at Tso Moriri for a night which was a very satisfying experience.

The lake has so much to offer that you could stay for weeks together and still have more angles to shoot from. Here's one of my favorite pictures of the lake taken in the early morning hours (6AM).

Tech Specs:
Canon 400D + Canon 10-22mm
Shot at 10mm, F14, 1/25s, ISO 100



Cheers!