I’d taken the decision to get assistance up Kyzylart Pass. This did two things. It meant I could have an extra rest / acclimatisation day in Sary Tash because this was the last day on my visa. It also meant that I could avoid a big climb over 4250m while still feeling tired and a bit fatigued.
It turned out to be a great decision. The next week didn’t present many altitude problems, I think, due to my patient ascent, even though Karakul was a little too much of a jump. Also, at my age, I don’t see the point of labouring up a huge climb if I’m already feeling tired.
At the hostel, I met Charles, a young french guy hitchhiking through Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan as part of a larger trip. He’s a great guy with a great attitude but he wasn’t aware that there were no money changers or facilities at the border – just guards and customs. (He eventually went back to Osh to sort this out).
The owner of the hostel, Shamurat had arranged for his brother to drive me with This Moment in the back of his Ute up to the border. It was a cold day and I was glad I took this option.
Exit from Kyrgyzstan was simple as you’d expect, and we drove through no man’s land and saw plenty of marmots and yaks along the way. There was one Belgian cyclist along the way, and as we neared the top I noticed a lady pushing her bike the last bit. It was Marion whom I’d met in Kochkor, Kyrgyzstan a few weeks earlier. Her partner Ralf is a strong cyclist and he’d ridden the whole way by the looks. We stopped at the top and agreed to have some tea with Ralf and Marion at first chance out of the wind.
That turned out to be a few hundred metres over the border where I found Ralf wrestling with his stove to keep it alright. He’d got some fuel in Sary Tash and it wasn’t burning well. So, we used my stove, had a cuppa and headed off into Stan number three for me.
We had a lunch of noodles near a stream. We combined three packets and cooked in their large pot. I was starting to get a little hungry, so the timing was perfect
There was still one pass of 4250m to get over, but it was easier as we were already quite high and didn’t have to climb too much. Still, everything is harder at this altitude.
Over the climb, we got our first glimpse of Lake Karakul, a beautiful azure blue lake. Although, we were at the lake, it was still 28kms around it to get to the village.
I’d really had enough by the end and so pleased I did the main pass in the 4wd.
We chose the first homestay that we saw. It was basic, but they provided dinner, breakfast and had bathroom with hot water. That doesn’t sound like much, but it was more like a sauna. The fire was stoked from outside and heated a large pot of water as well as heating the room. There was a bucket of cold water and an empty bucket, so I scooped some hot water, added some cold and had a fantastic bucket shower while warming up. Outside, it was very cold.
They certainly provided dinner, but it was a meal of noodles and potatoes – hardly exciting fare but full of stodge for three hungry cyclists.
I’ve only mentioned the facilities. The people who ran it were just wonderful – quiet, shy and attentive, they sorted everything out professionally.
There was no phone reception so one guy, a friend of the owner, hotspotted his phone to give us wifi. He runs a homestay in Murghab. So generous and thoughtful.