The Long Drive Toward the "Stans: "Fri., Sept. 13

Fri., Sept. 13

The Long Drive Toward the “Stans”:
A long day of driving, but the most incredible scenery yet. We piled into the bus in Kashgar and drove southwest toward the Pakistan border. (Unfortunately, we are not able to enter Pakistan on this trip.) As this region is well supplied by rivers coming down from the mountains there are fields of cotton, wheat, corn, and other vegetables, as well as grazing cows, sheep, goats and camels. The green of this wide valley contrasts sharply with the stark rock mountains surrounding it. Absolutely nothing grows on these hills and mountains, except an occasional vertical green ribbon of grasses and trees which line the streams that wind their way down the mountainsides.

One section of the highway passed through mountains that were all hues of reds and browns

Irrigation ditches and ponds

Watch Out!
Along with huge tractor trailer trucks, cars, small trucks overloaded with cattle or sheep, tractors, three wheeled motorcycle-like vehicles hauling goods and people, motorcycles, bicycles, cars and the occasional tour bus of mainly Chinese tourists, we rolled though the countryside. Every few minutes the bus driver would lean on the horn as he precariously passed a slower vehicle, or it looked like someone might pull out in front of him. All this traffic ran through the busy little main streets of several small towns, whose main streets served as

Fertile valleys contrast with barren rock mountains

local markets with food vendors, clothing, housewares and other shops. The smaller roads off the highway in these villages. are often no more than dusty alleyways leading to family compounds. Sometimes a dust covered motorcycle or wheelbarrow would mark the entrance into an adobe brick courtyard through ornate double doors.

Signs of Autumn:
The fields were golden with ripe wheat and corn, edged with poplar trees beginning to turn yellow. Farm families, including the wife and kids could be seen cutting the grains, often using a sickle and bundling the sheaves by hand. Several times we watched as tractors pulling rakes in circles through the piles of wheat to separate the seeds from the

Corn drying in a field

stalks. Other times we saw men and women thrashing the grain by hand. The hay is then piled on top of the roofs to dry, or made into haystacks in or near the courtyards. Some roofs were completely covered with drying ears of corn, while patches of yellow corn ears or red peppers could be seen laid out in the sun to dry in the fields, as well.

Grassy meadows with streams and rivers running through

 
  

Small stone homes lie in the wide valleys beneath glacier covered mountains

Glacial river flows alongside the highway. A mine can be seen behind the river.

Was that a Mushroom?
As we began to climb in elevation we left the farm fields and the adobe buildings behind. We entered the foothills and the weathered rock mountains began to take on diagonal striations of reds, oranges, and browns. The wide grassy valleys between the mountains were now dotted with grazing animals. The adobe homes were replaced by white yurts that dotted the landscape looking like mushrooms. First, the yurts were the traditional kind made of felt

Traditional Yurt

Cement yurts became more common in windswept areas

and canvas. But as we got into the higher, windier elevations, the yurts were more permanent, made of cement. These pasture lands were ribboned with streams running down from the mountains making this otherwise desert land hospitable. In the distance we could begin to see tall jagged peaks covered with dazzling white glaciers which contrasted with the blue sky behind it.  Experiencing sunny, clear weather made the vistas absolutely  breathtaking.

Small herds of camels roam the marginal grasslands

 

  

Remains of an ancient caravansera, used by travelers along the Silk Road

Tiny stores line the highway at the final checkpoint on the Karakoram Highway on the way to Pakistan. This was as far as we were allowed to go.

Stone huts take the place of yurts

Snap Away:

Tiny stores at the highest part of the highway with a glacial lake

Meanwhile, in the back of the bus a small group of us kept an almost constant vigil with our cameras. We took pictures of anything of the slightest interest, large or small, scenery, vehicles, people, animals, you name it. In my case, at least half of my photos are either out of focus from the movement of the bus and/or there are so many reflections from the bus window they were useless. Trying to balance the camera as the bus bounced along did not help the photos' quality either! But we persevered.

Rugged Countryside:
Still climbing upward, the grasslands gave way to boulders and sheer rock faces. Marbled with erosion patterns these mountains were devoid of any green anywhere. Alongside the highway was milky looking Gez River that began as small streams from the melting of the glaciers. This road, the Karakorum Highway, runs through the Kunjerab Pass into The Hunza Valley in Pakistan, was one of our original destinations until the vicious Taliban attack on a group of mountain climbers near that location in July. The river valley sometimes widens, then splits into smaller streams that weave a braided pattern into the landscape. In these places a few grazing herds can be found where patches of grass and even a few trees grow. Small stone huts have been built by the local farmers who have used these for shelter for hundreds of years during the summer months. In the fall they bring the herds down to the warmer valleys, where the people and their animals will stay.

Glaciers Galore!
As we reached the mountains the rock closed in on us. The river, smaller now as we reached nearer its source, snaked down below us, while sheer rock faces towered above us. Even higher were the glaciers gleaming white in the sunlight. The road, never wide, was even narrower now, barely allowing two trucks to pass each other. To make it even more

treacherous were the numerous hairpin turns and blind corners. Our driver was almost constantly on the horn. A couple of times we had to stop as a huge truck lumbered slowly, and carefully, by us. To really add a little white knuckle excitement, there were numerous

landslides where we would detour off the road and bump along a newly made gravel pathway. We passed two trucks tipped over on the side of the road and one nasty head on accident involving a smashed up car and a huge truck.  Quite a ride! But the scenery made up for it. The base of the mountains were these beautiful rock formations of rusts, tans, yellows and grays. Erosion has created wonderful formations, gullies and ridges, while the taller peaks are jagged and snow covered. As we climbed higher we were almost level with the tongue of some glaciers as they pushed their masses of ice downward into the gullies and crevices. At their bottom edge were huge piles of grey rock - the moraines.

Small stone huts provide shelter in this harsh climate

The Plateau:
We emerged from the mountain pass and entered a plateau region. Still climbing, and surrounded by the even higher peaks of the Pamir Mountains, we came out into a wide barren valley, eventually passing several glacier fed lakes and an area of huge sand dunes

that bordered one of the lakes. The water had a beautiful milky, turquoise color which complemented the blue of the sky and the white of the nearby glaciers. We could see Langur Mountain, the highest peak in the region off in the  distance. Some of the mountains in the Pamirs are second only to the Himalayas in their altitude.

Where rivers meandered through the land, were grassy meadows with many grazing animals. The yurts had disappeared now, but in their place were more stone and some adobe homes. We reached the highest point on the Chinese side of the highway here at about 13,000 feet. After taking a short hike I could really feel the effects of the altitude, shortness of breath, mainly.

Lunch in the Yurt:
We were fortunate that our guide, Abdul, had made arrangements for us to picnic with a local family in their yurt. Located on the shore of a lake overlooking Mount Mur, we enjoyed the scenery and the family's hospitality.

Our hostess and her son

Final Destination, Tashgurkan:
As we descended we spent what seemed like hours passing Miztaghata Mountain, a huge, actually gently sloping mountain crowned with many glaciers. This enormous peak is popular with climbers during the summer, and we saw several billboards advertising base camps and expedition groups.

Finally, down to about 10,000 feet we reached the town of Tashkurgan, where we stayed for the night. With a small town feel, the wide Main Street seemed almost deserted compared to most of the towns and cities we had been in.  Tashgurkan lies in a large valley flanked by the snow covered Pamirs. 

The mighty Muztaghata Mountain presides over the valley, visible from anywhere in Town. This Autonomous Region is populated mainly by Tajiks, who are somewhat similar to the Kazaks, and even the Uyghurs. Of Turkic origin, these people are Muslims, and are often involved with farming and animal husbandry. Many people live in adobe compounds, farming and/or raising livestock. If they have animals they often graze them high on the mountain slopes in the summer, then bring them back to the farm for the winter.

The highest point on the highway

The Tajiks:
Most of the population in Tashgurkan is the Tajik people who are somewhat similar to the Kazaks that we saw in the mountains around Altai and Heavenly Lake. These Turkic people have their roots in Persia, and speak their own language, which has no written counterpart.

Traditionally they have been nomads, who follow their grazing animals, though many incorporate agriculture as well. Their  heavily embroidered, very elaborate floral and soft geometric patterns in deep reds and golds are seen on the women's clothing and the carpeting and wall coverings inside their homes. Many women of all ages, including even young girls wear very ornate, colorful clothing; stylish skirts fitted snugly around the waist and flaring around the knees, blouses and tunic style vests, and thick stockings, often patterned, with high heeled shoes.

 



The most remarkable part is their "Audrey Hepburn" style hats that are heavily embroidered with sequins and gold trim, that are then covered with beautiful sheer scarves. They are quite stunning. The men, especially the older ones, wear very conservative, rather formal dark pants and almost military style jackets, and similar caps as the women's, only toned down in color and spangles.