"…that this was pleasingly beautiful, while the other was sublimely grand" -Meriwether Lewis, June 14, 1805
Chang La (5289 m), a pass south of Leh on a hired 350 Enfield
Chang La, a pass east of Karu, passing Chemne on the way
An Indian Army man hitching a ride up the Chang La on a front-end-loading BRO tractor hops off to make my picture while wearing my ‘Too Black’ jumper near the summit. The hired Enfield is strong up the too-many-to-even-guess number of switchbacks, while a monastery set on a hillock far off the road at Chemre is the next closest town. I fear I exhaust my fuel, with an Indina Oil petrol station along with a heavy military presence just further back in Karu; I hold in the clutch and kill the motor, coasting the entire decent while periodically releasing into a roll-start at any odd incline.