Trans Himalalya 2019 – Miru to Shang Sumdo, July 25

After a comfy warm night inside the home stay at Rumtse offered freely by the kind lady at the nearby dhaba I ordered 5 aloo parottas for the next pass crossing of the Shapodak la at 4660m to Chogdo. I had one parotta and tea for breakfast and was ready to go.I also restocked my ration of chocolates, peanuts, biscuits and ready to eat noodles for the next few passes where I might not encounter any shops after leaving the highway.I bid goodbye to my kind host and her mom who fed me dinner and breakfast and jumped on the 7 am mini bus towards Leh. At the next village of Lato the bus was jam packed with people and baggages. I got down at the small hamlet of Miru.From Miru one follows the trail along the stream into a left side valley. Several old rock homes and ruins make up the small hamlet of Miru. Newer homes and large green farm lands can be seen on the opposite side of the highway.A less frequently used trail ascends through the barren valley marked by cairns. Some older horse dumps can be found along the way but nothing recent. At one point we turn into a right side valley (unlike Olyzane maps which show the pass straight ahead).We hop across a small ridge / saddle into a neighbouring valley which leads to the Shapodak la. Cairns continue to clearly mark the route. Higher up the valley there is some confusion where the valley splits. Both ways there are trails and foot marks.I decide to follow the main valley which ascends more gradually towards the ridge. On the other side of the pass there will be a cairn which indicates I should have taken the other side valley which is a shortcut and crosses over at the actual pass. The other valley gradually descends towards a first small hamlet with two homes surrounded by furtile green farmlands dotted with beautiful yellow and blue flowers. Soon after one gets into the main valley near Chgdo village, a popular exit route from the Markha valley.Feeling hungry I have some snacks at the stream near Chogdo. From here I hop onto the road towards Shang Sumdo 5km downstream where I find a small cafe and order Maggie with eggs. To my shocking surprise I find my bag with electronics missing in my backpack! My charger, powerbank, USB drives with one month photos, my spot GPS tracker all gone!I head back immediately to the stream where I had snacks and possibly forgot my bag. Unfortunately I find nothing at the same spot. Did I miss the bag while leaving from Rumtse? I decide to proceed to the highway and catch a ride to Rumtse to find my missing things.Lucky I can hitch a ride on the back of a jeep towards Martselang. From here I start walking along the Manali-Leh highway until I get a ride in an army truck to Upshi. Here I get to know there is a 5pm bus to Rumtse and I have some mommos for dinner.After a one hour ride in the bus to Rumtse I reach back to the homestay. Unfortunately here also no trace of my bag. Disappointed I hitch a ride back to Leh to buy a new charger and powerbank to continue my journey.My heart felt bad for the loss of my spot GPS tracker and one full month of beautiful photos and videos on a 64gb flash drive. I spent the next day at Leh to sync up on my online messages and head out to Shang in the afternoon to resume my planned journey