Osh Sesh

Took our turbo 24 hour trip to Osh via a pair of $30 air tickets. Got there in a British Aerospace 146-200, which I hadn't seen before. Wide and stubby, and small:

Made our way to the same hotel as a pair of Danes we traveled with from our hostel in Bishkek. Dropped off our bags, then took a mashrutka to the largest bazaar in Central Asia. It's not much to look at, nor very apparent how large the space is. Streets are covered in narrow walkways flanked by stalls tucked into shipping containers. 

The fruit here—as in Bishkek—is to die for. Apricots on par with those from the tree at home. 

From the market, we cross the river into a tree-covered amusement park. Similar to carnivals in the states, except everything costs $0.75 and the entire area smells like shashlyk/kabobs

On to Suleiman Too--Solomon's Mountain/Throne. It's an auspicious, cave-studded rock formation in the middle of town, famous for being a prayer place for both Muhammad and Babur (Moghul Dynasty--see India). Also a UNESCO world heritage site. I didn't bring my camera, but you can get plenty of pictures on Google. 

The next morning before our flight: a visit to one of the largest Lenin statues in Central Asia, and a detour to the storefront for Kyrgyz Cognac, which they are famous for. 

The night before Osh

At 4AM the next morning, we were to catch a 40 minute/$30 flight to Osh in the southwest near Uzbekistan. Naturally, we stayed up until 2AM at a terrific nightclub done up like an old Soviet apartment.

We had our first encounter with the police (5 of them) who seemed friendly and accepting of our story/hotel/dates/passport (photocopies). I had heard about corruption but haven't encountered any yet. They must have thought we were weird asking for the location of the bar, whose name is simply Kvartira 148, or Apartment 148. It all worked out. Dinner was horse pizza and a half bottle of vodka. A photographer made her rounds and ensured every moment was well-documented. 

Ala Archa National Park

As soon as my backpack arrived and I handed over my luggage ticket--good thing I was there!--we hired a car to Ala Archa National Park just 45 minutes drive south of Bishkek. In the 3 hours we had before our driver took off, we poked around old summer camp ruins and got up some unbelievably sketchy and steep riverside trails looking for a climber's cemetery. Also this bridge, sans boards:

This place was a hotspot of alpinism  back on the Soviet days, and continues to be a destination for climbers around the world. I'll come back next time with a guide and my gear. 

Up another trail, we met a friendly Kyrgyz trio followed by a large, aging Japanese group valiantly sweating up the steep trail. Both were delighted to exchange a few words in Russian/Kyrgyz and Japanese, respectively. 

On the way back we had our first taste of kymys--fermented mare's milk--in a yurt. Smokey and sour, but definitely palatable. Adam liked it a lot more. 

Met up with our driver, who stopped so we could get super touristy with a hunting eagle photo opportunity.

Despite not meeting any of our hiking goals, our trip to Ala Archa had a couple good cultural/touristy moments. 

Trek day 2: Alakjol Lake to Altyn-Arashan

Our early start in the morning pays off: by 5AM we have slipped out of camp, along the North side of the lake. We pick a spot in the middle for an unparalleled sunrise breakfast hike. Those who know me know that's one of my favorite things in the world. Getting to do it on the opposite side of the world is even better. 

From breakfast we climb up and make the pass at 8AM, so the snow decent is still firm enough to provide steps. 

Adam gets a crash course in plunge stepping--my favorite--and we make it down the 1000' slope without incident. 

From here we are faced with a yawning glacial valley filled with wildflowers, cows, and large marmot-like critters. 

Further along, a group of shepherds point for us to cross to the right side of the river. Though we are able to leap over parts of it, eventually we are forced to ford the painfully icy waters. An English day hiker on the other side confirms the trail continues on the right, and that we will have to cross again. We are thrilled. 

We reach the main river at the bottom of the valley and continue to Altyn-Arashan by noon, where we are easily the first to arrive. Our reward is a spot in the yurt and a lunch of potato puffs and fried rice with horsemeat. Finished with lots of tea, of course. We wait out a rainstorm in the covered dining area, thinking of our Polish comrades who are probably still suffering through snow and mud to get here. 

We nap until dinner--noodles with horsemeat. Then a Dutchman, who had arrived earlier on horseback with his  friend, approaches us distressed. His buddy was overdue from a day hike up a nearby peak, and the sun was setting. 

We packed up and set off in a search party, and found him stumbling through the blackness halfway up the peak. Relieved, we all headed back to the yurt. Bedtime. 

Trek day 1: Karakol to Alakjol lake

A taxi picked us up for an early morning trip to the convenience store for food on the trek. We were able to pick up everything we needed, including Russian instant oats and coffee. 

We drove up to the gated entrance to the park, where a soldier asked us where we were from. He responded with a hearty, "Amerikanskis! Good luck!" 

The taxi dropped us off under brooding skies and we walked on, with an enormous group of Poles right behind us. As we entered the high, flat valley, the clouds opened up. 

We are lunch under dripping pine trees before heading east across a log bridge with wire handrail, up a smaller tributary valley. Following the warren of trails through the trees, we soon came upon a field of horses. 

We rested at a small wooden cabin, filtered water, and dried our clothes from the rain storm before heading on. Turns out that 15 year old Gore-Tex is about as good as a sponge. 

Further up, we enter a gorge and the trail steepens significantly on our final push for the lake in mid-afternoon. 

Finally we reach Alakjol lake and pick the best unoccupied tent spot from the meager selection at the west end of the lake. The scenery is stunning. 

We make dinner and head to bed early. The plan the next day is to wake before sunrise and get a good lead on the trail and camp spots for the next day. 

The wind whips at our two person tent. 

Karakol, Trek Prep

We started the next day with a quick stop at Red Fox (Russian outdoor gear store). Their branded clothes would be a great souvenir, in addition to providing needed warmth for our trek. 

An hour later we felt like DHL packages, rocketing along the national highway towards Karakol in a bright yellow Mercedes Sprinter. This is the model of choice for Kyrgyzstan's mashrutka bus, the workhorse of public transport. We pushed 70 and 80 miles per hour on potholed, 2 lane roads, fearing for our lives between winks of sleep on the bouncy ride. Perhaps most terrifyingly, we arrived on-time in Karakol--maybe this is how fast they all drove, all the time? The driver and other passengers did let on that anything was cause for concern. 

At a highway rest stop, we tried the cheese balls that our local friend had recommended to us. More salty and sour than feta, they were quite good, and would also probably be excellent in salad. 

As we arrived in Karakol, we found a hostel, then set off for a rental company to pick up tent, sleeping bag, and stove   As luck would have it, the owner had stayed two hours beyond the posted closing time. He remained open to walk us through the gear and explain the route to us. As we were talking, his friend arrived from completing the very same 3 day trek, so we had updated information on trail conditions. Again, we were pleasantly surprised by their hospitality. 

Our late dinner was sheshlyk-kabob, laghman-noodle soup, manty-dumplings, and spiced rice from a tented eatery near the park. Baltika 7 holds the current award for best beer here.