Near Mt Muztag Ata

We slept late for a riding day and made breakfast - more instant noodles, tea and bananas. By 9.00 Beijing time we were on the road again and climbing steadily up the gorge.

Ahead of us lay a 70 km climb from 1500 metres to 3300 and as we had no real intention of grinding our way up this we looked for opportunities for a lift. Seven kms up the road our chance came when a 5 seat ute came by while I was stopped taking photos. Neil waved it down and pretty soon we were flying up the gorge with all our gear safely tucked in the back. Our ride came courtesy of a road engineering crew headed for the top.

We had not been able to see the mountain peaks the day before or even that morning because of the desert dust and sand blowing up the valley but finally as we neared the top we could make out some of the bigger ice capped slopes. We were among giants here - Kongur Shan (7719 m) and Muztag Ata (7546 m).

Our ride ended at the top of the gorge and right in front of a row of street stalls run by local Tajiks. The stalls were all selling polished or interestingly shaped rocks and stones but all being too heavy for us and our bikes we politely declined to buy and prepared for the ride ahead.

It was cold - perhaps not really cold but compared to the desert below maybe 25 to 30 degrees cooler. We threw on our thermals and rode quickly off the pass and out of the wind.

The scenery at this point is other-worldly. There is a river valley on the plateau that is so flat and wide that it appears to be a lake. It's true nature is only given away when its slow current becomes discernible up close. The mountains around are heavily dusted with sand from the Taklamakan desert below. The dust hangs on the slopes as though some giant hands have gently poured it there hourglass style and the effect it creates is both haunting and beautiful.

About 5 kms up the road we came to a small but very neat Tajik building that was a rest stop for passers by. The place was run by an elderly man and his daughter. We sat at a table outside and ordered whatever the going dish was (usually these places only do 1 dish) and waited with anticipation (and a little trepidation) to see what we would get. To our delight we were brought a bowl each of clear soup with a bit of vegetable and goat meat in it. We were also given some stale bread rolls that when soaked in the soup became mildly edible and we were given tea. It could have been so much worse.....

We ate hungrily then pushed on. 25 kms further up the road we came to the famous Karakul Lake. This is a favourite tourist spot partly because of the stunning scenery and partly because for 50 yuan you can enter its now fenced precinct and for a further 30 yuan you can sleep the night in a Tajik Yurt. Nearly every tourist up this way does it. We pushed on stopping only to photograph the scenery and the few hairy wild camels that live up this way.

Towards the end of the day we approached a 4000 metre pass that I remembered clearly from the trip 20 years ago. At that time I had taken some nice photos near the top looking back down on the grassland below but in my haste to see the photos printed I had developed them in Pakistan and sadly the quality was very poor. I was keen to take some similar photos this time in nice safe digital clarity but to do that we would fist need to ride to the top of the pass.

There was an increasing tightness in my head as the effects of altitude started to take hold. The rapid climb in the ute in the morning had not helped. Breathing, which had been difficult earlier in the day was getting easier fortunately. Neil was feeling the altitude too. We took panadol, drank lots of water and pushed on.

The road over the pass was steep but perhaps only 6 or 7 kms long. We tackled it in 1 km bites reaching the top as the sun was getting low and the temperature was falling. At this point we were close to the base of Muztag Ata, its huge glaciers clearly visible around its massive base. It was too cold to stay on top long so we snapped a few quick photos then headed down the other side keeping an eye out for a sheltered spot to camp.

The landscape was rocky and barren once more but about 5 kms down we came to a small grassy river valley and pitched the tent in front of a military administration building (the only major building anywhere in sight for miles). Exhausted we skipped dinner in favour of an early sleep.