First Hike In Tajikistan

I made it through the work day and am finally starting to feel better. I may actually try to eat something tonight.

But what I think you'll enjoy more than my stories of digestive disturbances is seeing pictures of Sunday's hike. The ones here are just a sample, click the link at the bottom of the post to see more with better quality.

We arrived at the meeting place at about 8:15 am and learned that one of my colleagues was driving his jeep so we hopped in with him. In short order we were off on our first foray outside of Dushanbe itself. We headed north on a well-paved highway - it was well-paved at first anyway - and enjoyed seeing the little settlements scattered on the narrow bank of the river that runs into the city. The bank is narrow because of the steep, rocky hills that rise up on either side.

As mentioned, it wasn't too long before the road wasn't so nice. The Chinese are building tunnels along the way to protect the road from avalanches and landslides. This will be great when finished, but in the meantime, it forces drivers to go around along single-lane, rock-strewn paths. On the way out it was early enough that we didn't have too much trouble, but on the way back we found ourselves playing chicken more than once.

After awhile we turned off and took a break before beginning our tricky ascent into the mountains. I had been aching to take some pictures and this was my first chance. The surrounding hills were becoming mountains and we saw two boys with a donkey.

Before I continue, funny story with no picture. When we got out, it seems that my yellow t-shirt attracted some bees because suddenly I was covered with them. I remained calm and walked around slowly until they went away. Then I quickly put on my fleece to discourage any future association with flowers. Then we got a little held up because some guy didn't fill up his gas tank before he left Dushanbe and had to go back down the road to find some. Gas stations aren't exactly widespread outside of the cities.

But getting back to the trip, we finally were on our way again and from this point the roads varied from roughly paved to cratered dirt and they wound up the mountainside edging along steep cliffs. In some places the roads narrowed so much that I wasn't sure all four of our wheels could fit. But the views were spectacular. Here are a few shots from our second stretch point.

We also drove past pretty primitive-looking villages with stone buildings where they stack their hay on the roof for insulation, as well as to save it for the animals. Unfortunately I couldn't get any pictures from the bumpy moving jeep. It took us 3 hours (30 minutes of that attributed to the idiot with no gas) to reach the end of the road and the beginning of the hike. And it really was the end of the road, there was no more.

Some quick background info -Dushanbe sits at about 3000 feet and the drive took us up to just shy of 10,000 feet. The hike took us all the way up to 12,500 feet. Even from the beginning of the hike, the scenery was great. It was much greener here than in Dushanbe thanks to continuing snow melt and everywhere you looked, there were these amazing snowy mountain peaks. At this altitude, the temperature was much cooler. Where we still have highs in the 80s in Dushanbe, I think it was only about 50 where we started the hike. The summit was definitely below freezing. Fortunately there were few bees around, because the exertion of the hike had me in my t-shirt up until the very end.

The pace was pretty brisk and with the altitude it was a lot of work, but it was so rewarding. A shutterbug's paradise. As a group we hiked across streams, up hills, along little goat trails, and across plains to reach a pair of beautiful lakes.






We only ascended about 600 feet to the lakes and a few people stayed behind to rest while the rest of us continued up the remaining 1900 feet to the pass. The mountains rose up around us and the snow got closer and closer until we were actually crossing it from time to time. I even saw a snow marmot, which was very cool.

Just before the summit, we stopped for lunch, I finished off the dried fruit and bread I had been snacking on, and our guide provided us with hot tea and cookies, which really helped. This is where I finally had to put on the fleece due to the cold. Then, finally it was time to make the last surge up the mountain. The last bit was definitely the hardest. We walked up a steep snowfield that was very slippery and even more difficult thanks to the high altitude.

But I think you'll agree from the pictures that the view was totally worth it. Just amazing.

The hike down was, of course, much easier than the way up. And it was neat to see the view from a different angle.


The only downside was that my heals had developed rather painful blisters since I chose this hike to break in my hiking boots.

Down at the bottom, I snapped a picture of Steph with an old Tajik man she met and had bread with before we piled into the jeep to head home.

The drive home was uneventful except for the encounters with large trucks on the mountainside roads I told you about, and of course the games of chicken on the tunnel 'bypasses' that threatened to land us in the river.

By 7:30 we were back at home and ready for bed! Again, I only put a few pictures in here and they aren't the best quality, so definitely check out this link to see the good stuff.

Hike 090609 JPGS

Hope you enjoy!

Nick