The next major obstacle was a long decline. Long and steep, o make that very steep. I don't know of one person who tackled the decline without stopping and first inspecting the terrain ahead. One cardinal rule in an OTR is that if you are not dead sure about the terrain ahead of you, stop the vehicle, step out and if possible do the route on foot yourself. If not possible in steep inclines and declines, deep ditches, water fording amongst a few situations, then at least assess the terrain ahead by taking a good look at it and mentally chalking out a plan on how to tackle it.
The decline was not only very steep, it was grass ridden and wet. Thanks to the constant downpour. Also with every vehicle that went down, the next was at a slight disadvantage in terms of traction. Traction being very important here. Experts were advising each participant before he took the plunge. there were also others who threw advice at you whether you needed it from them or not. "Keep the steering straight, dont use your clutch, forget you have a clutch, dont get tense, dont turn left or right, go down in so and so gear, dont brake, brake, dont downshift, dont shift, follow the track (which one?), stay calm, etc etc.
What makes this decline more difficult and dangerous is the fact that its grassy (long uncut, thick kind of "Jangli" grass, which faces downwards with every vehicle passing over it. As the number of vehicles pass, they make their own track, exposing the wet mud and making traction more difficult. To top that there are a whole posse of persons giving you directions on how to handle the incline and then as you tackle it, many more shouting instructions at you making matters worse.
The descent. A view from the top Jiggy (In Blue) discusses with Amol (In Red) about the terrain a little into the decline, while Pinky paaji and our Hyderabadi friends work out a strategy to handle the decline Devang was also explaining to me how to handle the decline. He decided to go first and i stayed back to study the way his Monstar rides down. Devang in his "Monstar" lines up. Thanks for your timely advice Devang. and goes down while UBS, Jiggy and group discuss modalities. Meanwhile im studying every little move the Yellow Gypsy makes. He sails down beautifully which makes me more confident to attempt.
Technically being a newbie, (only two OTRs old, only one as a driver) I walked to various places to check out how the vehicles were coming down, what was the angle and what should be the driving technique. Sharat aka Samurai and UBS were always by my side giving me the all important advice i needed for whatever obstacle. Better to ask what you are not sure of rather than go on an ego trip and make matters worse.
Thanks Sharat and UBSji for your timely and well given advice. Was very much needed and appreciated.
Video Time:
The Thar handling the decline. A bit too fast for my comfort. Me tackling the decline after a lot of discussions, pros and cons and advice from experts and trust me there were many around
After one slid down another obstacle awaited us which can be seen in some of the pictures I have posted above. Two ways to get to the other side where the cars were parked, all through slush-rock-stone. Very very few got through this. The catch was to steer into the slush till a particular area and then get traction on the rock at the corner of the huge mud filled ditch. Not very easy to manoeuver a vehicle in deep slush with mud coated tyres and virtually no traction.
Sorry i have no pics of the same. Im sure someone took them, kindly post them.
Here i almost tried to take the easy way around when i saw veterans like Arka and a whole lot of other experts get stuck here. Sharat again appeared from no where and asked me what was my plan. When i told him he looked surprised and said.."You??? You want to take the easy way around? You came here to get around obstacles the easy way?" Come on get in your Jeep il guide you.
There were three ways out of this, the slushed one, the semi slush and very rocky (spelt Slippery) and the normal easy route. By the time i got around sitting in the CJ and lining up behind a few others, he realised that eventually i would get stuck too as the slush got deeper and deeper with every vehicle crossing, getting stuck and all that. He suggested i come from the rocky path which was by no means easy. Just then Patric appeared and shouted.." Gogi come on man, what you're thinking so much, come ill guide you, if you do as i say you will make it through, trust me. You have to make sure one tyre is on the rock for traction" I trusted him and yes he guided me out of that place i one attempt. Thanks a lot Patrick awesome spotting, navigating and confidence boosting
We drove to a path with thick foliage on either sides at a slant. One side was barbed wire ridden and the other was a sheer deep drop. In between lay a path, thin and boulder ridden. One wrong move or slip would land you in the ditch for sure and too much avoidance would take a toll on your underbody.
We tried to remove some stones but found that they were bigger under the earth and were not stones but boulders. Here again i was guided expertly by Patrick. Thanks again boss for being so helpful. Notice the shrubs on the side, well that was the sheer drop. Patrick stands with his hand on his hip supervising every move
I every step and every obstacle i was learning and registering the advice from the experts. Each obstacle was making me a wiser person not to mention a more experienced offroader. No rash advice given even from those whom i expected it from.
The Thar was making its own road through the dense foliage.
....more tomorrow.....