Day 7: Tulparkul to Sary Tash

Hike cut short

Breakfast was meant to be at 0700 and we were supposed to depart at 0730 for our hike.  But breakfast ran late and we weren’t ready to go till around 0800.

Then some confusion set in.  Some thought we were meant to be driven in the car to the start of the hike while others thought the start was accessible by foot.  Fortunately, one person was knowledgeable and confirmed it was the latter.

We set off at 0830 up the gentle hills behind the yurts.  The track got steep then we descended to cross a river by bridge before ascending on the other side.

We went past some large camps in the form of tents further along.  These were the base camps for those going to Lenin Peak (now Abu Ali Ibn Sino, 7134m).

On paper, our hike was meant to be 5h, taking us up to Traveller’s Pass at 4130m, with views of glaciers along the way.

As we had been given a departure time of 1100 by car from the yurt camp, we turned around about 1h30 after we had started.  It was no big loss as the mountains were partially shrouded by cloud and the area ahead was quite flat, meaning that we already had as clear a view as possible (unless we went much further).

The return hike was about 10 mins quicker and after a short wait at the yurt camp, we hopped into the car for our drive to Sary Tash where we had lunch at the same diner we visited yesterday.

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The view along the way had expansive stretches of snowy mountains in the distance.  They stretched so far in any one direction that they couldn’t’ be caught in one wide-angle camera frame.

Arriving at the diner at an earlier time of 1240, they had a variety of meals and I chose something that resembled a cheong fan.

After lunch, around 1330, Karat dropped me off at my homestay Sary Tash which I had organised privately for my next adventure across to China, without the group.  There was some difficulty finding the place as roads are not fully depicted on maps in the village area.

Conclusions on the Pamir/Wakhan adventure

For me, the Pamir/Wakhan adventure was an insight into life in one of the most remote and highest inhabited parts of the world.

While the scenery was good, it is hard to beat the Karakoram Highway in Pakistan, especially in Karimabad/Baltit where one can enjoy stunning green valleys and snow-capped mountains without the effects of altitude.

Despite, getting up to 4800m on this trip, the scenery was largely brown until we crossed from Tajikistan to Kyrgyzstan.  On this basis, I also reckon I did the trip in the right direction as the reverse may mean a declining level of beauty, depending on one perception.

In any case, absolutely no regrets doing the trip and I enjoyed it tremendously!

A note of caution though.  Even though I had no altitude or tummy troubles, two people in my car had stomach upsets of more than a day.  Likewise with one person in another car that I spoke to.  It’s best to take precautions and bring some medication just in case.

Meeting amazing people

At the Sary Soul homestay, Malaysians Andrew and Dinah walked in literally seconds ahead of me!  These were the people I had met at the Panjakent border over a week ago.  I had recommended the homestay to them.  They’re very well-travelled and have done many things in my backyard of Borneo which I haven’t.

And then there’s Scott who works in Beijing whom I had seen on the Pamir/Wakhan adventure, travelling in a different car.  I had also recommended this homestay to him.  In his four years in Beijing, he’s learnt to speak and read more Mandarin than in my 58 years.

So, with me bringing 3 guests to the homestay today, Shamurat upgraded me (and my room-mate Scott) to the Lenin room, with the best view.  Like the view en route earlier, the mountain range is far too long to fit into a wide angle shot.

Around Sary Moghul and Sary Tash, the mountain ranges extend beyond the wide angle capability of the camera.

All the above guests, and the other ones were amazing in their experiences and talents.  Eg. the Austrian man who had visited 166 countries, Ben who had driven his Land Rover from Switzerland in a month.

It seems that people that I meet in more unusual and difficult countries have richer experiences to share and we have a lot more interests in common.

I had forgotten how much I enjoy hostelling, talking to other travellers and drawing inspiration from them.  I guess it’s not all hostels that are like this and some party hostels in a regular city would be hell for me.

Despite that, I had to retire for an early start tomorrow, bound for Kashgar.  It will be my last night sleeping at altitude.  Sary Tash is at 3170m and I had been having problems sleeping from around 2900m.