We have a rushed breakfast and finish some last minute packing before loading up the van to drive to Chasma where we’ll begin our hike. We’ve had to separate our belongings into three bags. One bag to carry while hiking, one 10kg bag for while we’re camping that the donkeys will carry and our main backpacks that will stay in the van until Artur meets up with us again in a couple of days. One of the boys at the hotel tries to lift my camera bag and I quickly tell him it’s too heavy and I’ll carry it. Poor kid probably broke his back trying to hoist it up.
We make our way into the Nurata mountain range, which translates to Grandfather’s Light. We’re in Ghengis Khan and Alexander the Great country now. As we drive between small valleys, yellow plains open out in front of us, spanning for miles. The landscape is made up of low brush and dried grass. A few small towns dot the landscape. I can see the mountain range far off in the distance and Ismat says that’s where we’ll be hiking. I can see that he’s excited to be here as he describes the valley we’ll go through and the beautiful photos I’ll be able to capture. His phone rings and after a brief conversation he confirms that our “donkeymans” and donkeys are waiting for us.
We’re introduced to Safar, his son Usnedeen and his nephew Asamat, who’ll be in charge of the donkey train carrying our bags, water and camping equipment. By the time we set off on our 16km hike it’s noon and the sun is beating down. We’re following a car track and the dust soon coats my boots and legs. It hasn’t rained here since April so it’s bone dry.
We pass a shed constructed of mud and straw with a large fenced paddock and a young man and his father stand at the gate watching us. I give a wave and the father waves back while the son runs off giggling. The rest of the group stops at a grove of trees with cows taking respite in the shade, so I walk over to the father and son and introduce myself. I ask if I can take a photo of his herd of goats by motioning towards my camera and pointing towards them and he holds his hand up for me to wait. He walks to the centre of the herd and suddenly grabs the biggest one of the bunch dragging it by the horns towards me. He pulls down the kerchief covering his face, gives a big smile and kneels with his prize goat beside him. I laugh and say, “Amazing! Thank you!” As I’m about to put my camera down he motions for me to wait and is now standing with the goat between his legs, holding it by the horns. His son comes back outside and is laughing at his father’s antics and shaking his head. I tell him thank you and say my goodbyes as we continue our hike up a steep incline to a panoramic view at the top.
The yellow plains butt up against the base of the soaring, craggy mountains. Deep valleys cut through the mountainside and stone cairns dot the landscape.
I ask Ismat if it’s ok for me to walk ahead and he nods. I’m waiting at the base of a hill for the rest of the group and no one is coming. Have I been left behind again?? I see the donkeymans (of note, I’m referring to them this way because this is what Ismat calls them in his broken English) so I must be in the correct general direction. I start walking back and all of a sudden hear yelling. That sounds like Melissa. I crest a small hill and see Melissa and Rosa waving their arms and the rest of the group has gone off in the opposite direction. Luckily for me, Melissa and Rosa noticed I’d gone ahead.
We have a panoramic view of the mountains and we sit to take it all in. Continuing on, I hear Pradeep mentioning that he has stomach cramps. About 10 mins later, he goes down. His legs are cramping so badly that he can no longer walk and he’s vomiting water. It’s clear he can no longer go on, so we yell to Rosa who’s ahead of us to tell Ismat that we have a man down. It’s decided that Melissa and I will stay with Pradeep while the rest of the group continues on to catch up with the donkeymans to ask them to unload one of the donkeys and come back for Pradeep. About an hour later, Asamat and Usnedeen arrive and we carefully load up Pradeep on the back of the donkey and slowly head towards camp. It takes us a couple of hours to reach Sheldrack Village where we’ll camp for the night on Safar’s farm. The group arrived earlier and are erecting tents, a small table and camp stools.
Melissa and I are sharing a two man tent and manage to get it erected in a short amount of time despite feeling exhausted. Ismat serves tea while we await dinner that Safar’s wife is preparing for us. Safar owns his farm and has many livestock (goats and cows) and a large garden. His family is completely self-sufficient and he sells the wool from his angora goats, walnuts and produce to supplement his income.
Dinner is served on a raised platform containing a large table and cushions to sit on. The table is laden with food including fresh tomato and cucumber salad, plov, nuts, grapes and bread. I’m starved but the portions are so massive that I can’t finish.
We’re another man down, as Padraig has really bad blisters on both heels of his feet and has gotten a bad cold. Him and Pradeep will spend the day and night at Safar’s and then meet us in a couple of days when Artur picks us up in the van to head to Kyzyl Kum Desert.
After dinner everyone is exhausted and we all head back to our tents. I manage to stay awake for five minutes writing my blog but I’m nodding off and that’s the last thing I remember until I wake in the middle of the night with Melissa’s face about 5 inches from mine.
