Crumbling roads (Askole 10k)
Woke up at 3am today. I guess all that napping didn’t help me much. It did give me enough time to wash my hair though as it won’t see shampoo for the next 2 weeks. A quick breakfast and we were off by 7 in an 80’s phat as hell Toyota “jeep” to trek through Baltistan. We are in the Kashmir area on the Pakistani side. Pakistan administers this area but it’s not officially part of Pakistan. The people here want to be part of Pakistan, but since this is disputed territory with India, Pakistan isn’t able too formalize. This means Baltistan (and then rest of Kashmir) is effectively a land without a country. Andy also pointed out that we are very close to the heart of Kashmir, which is called the Line of Control (LOC). All the historic conflict between India and Pakistan goes down there.
Our driver was another speed racer. The back seat was lifted up and there was a big visor blocking a lot of the view so the people in the back couldn’t really see out. This was going to be a problem for Andy and the girls. They took turns riding in the front and I tried to hold on in the back. The first 1/3 of the trip was paved road. We passed towns with kids walking to school- mostly boys in their ties, and a few girls in their hijab uniform. Honking and swerving, honking and swerving. One wall had “death to America”, mental note to not stop at that village. Again, the people are incredible and do not give off any ill will. The drive consisted of desert, rushing river crossings on wooden bridges that you probably wouldn’t walk across, the towns had a lot of trees as they diverted the mountain water through the towns, and then of course the crumbling mountains around us. We had to pass several security checkpoints manned by AK-47 wielding gentlemen along the way. Passports please…. Yes sirs.
The first town we drove through (and really the only one) was Shingar. Sometimes kids would wave, not the parents. The little ones would stare as this was likely their daily entertainment these foreigners. We started to see the fruit trees we heard about. Lots of apricots laid out to dry on walls and roofs. I really wish I could try one but if it ain’t cooked I’m not eating it. The women and sometimes a man would be out in the fields cutting the wheat.
Then we got to the unpaved section and that was fucking special. Still driving as fast as possible, honking and swerving, and now breaking and bumps. We were a couple hours in and needed to use the toilet while we waiting to pass the authorities. There’s no toilet here, not proper toilet that is. No going in the field for us women. He found a spot for us up the road at a store. I much prefer outside. We tried to minimize the cursing which we women broke at some point, Leslie when she hit her head on the car crossbar and Me when who knows what happened. One of the peculiar things we saw was the extraction of crystals from massive veins of quartz along the hillsides. No idea how they got up to the heights and zero safety lines anyw
Then we got to the fun part of the drive, where the hillside and road were falling apart. There was a lineup of jeeps letting people off so they could transfer past where the road was giving way. Our porters took our bigs bags, we grabbed our smaller sacks, and we left. While we were waiting we saw where the rockfall was STILL occurring. We kept our heads up and ran quickly as we timed the rockfall and watched as the rocks fell behind us. Nothing on this 40 km section was the slightest bit stable. Andy noticed a massive crack down in the middle of the road where it will give way at any minute, right where we were walking. Below us was the rushing river which would mean certain death. But that was only the first part of the fun.
We walked on the road for a bit not knowing when someone would pick us up to take us to the next car. We found a cool spot along the road and waited. A guy eventually picked us up and drove us maybe 5 or more miles. This is where the road got even more sketchy. Whoever said this road was “harrowing” has never been on a chicken bus in Central or South America. But there were several hair-pin turns, on the edge of the sketchiest and steepest part. The driver did his best but couldn’t make the one in the worst place he ended up making a two-point turn. You know it’s bad when you get through the crazy and the driver is visibly shakes and laughing nervously and rapidly talking with our guide in rapid Balti. We then continued on a section that had makeshift wooden bridges that Andy didn’t approve of the construction integrity and several very intense river crossings on the side of the mountain with impossibly steep and treacherous exits. Those really got me worried. The last part of the drive was through these beautiful villages, they were small green oasis of birch, apricot trees, wheat fields and Swiss-like waterways surrounded by dry mountain. Then we arrived in Askole at 2:30, 10k altitude, not bad timing considering the road condition. This was the motivation we needed to get over the pass, the road might not be there if we turn back, so there’s only one way and that’s forward
Later our porters arrived and set up our tents, the sun set. We were all emotionally drained and exhausted from the adrenaline overtime. Time to get ready for a big day tomorrow.