Jack and Jill went up the hill...

So, J and I came ambling out of the woods yesterday after four days and nearly 40 km's of cold nights, barking cow dogs, heaps and HEAPS of manuer, three thunder and lightning storms, two boxes of matches, and two rolls of toilet paper. Today, we are two sorry heaps of pain--20 k's down-hill in one day isn't a good idea.

The original plan was to go up the Karakol Valley (20 k's day 1), then up to Ala Kol lake (10 k's day 2), over the 3,800 m pass to Altyn Ashran (20 k's day 3), and then back to Karakol (14 k's day 4). What really happened: late start day 1 and only halfway up the valley, late start day 2 and up the second half to the Ala Kol trailhead which was little more than a serious of conspicuous rocks that would their way through bushes, marooned in the valley day 3 due to bad weather, and after a lot of consideration of many different things, we decided to head back to our nice hostel in Karakol instead of traverse the pass.

It was a good decision.

Things that factored in to our retreat: first, we were squeezing our two bodies plus sleeping bags plus backpacks into a one man tent each night which made things really sticky and really cramped. Second, Jeremy has a liquid fuel stove which he bought thinking that it would be hard to come across gas out here--um, no. We had to use petrol instead of clean white gas or kerosene and it really wasn't too high in quality; lots of sputtering lead to a lot of wasted matches and with only a box and a half left, we weren't sure going so high or so far without ample supply would be very smart. Third, the weather was getting a little if-y. We went through several thunderstorms which consquently dropped a bit of snow on our intended path (enough that we could see it a good 10 k's and 1,000 m lower) and that made me nervous. I really didn't want to lose the path in the snow and since we were following a rather vague map, it was probably best we only try to cross sans snow. Fourth, the animals. Night two a herd of cows moved in to our camp and we were constantly waking up in fear that something was lurking outside. Night three, the cows and the herders moved on but their howling cow dog was sadly left behind and consquently kept us up all night thinking about bears, snow leapords and wild packs of wolves. (I'm a little ashamed to admit that last one.)

But, we did have lots of fun and lots of adventures. We saw the most beautiful valleys and peaks I've ever seen with amazing glacial rivers that looked like blue slushies. We saw truly majestic horse herds move down roads, along the river, through lush green pastures, and among some yurts. We witnessed some truly amazing clear night skies which made the whole milky way visible. We entertained ourselves inside our little tent with a cramped game of Uno, goofy sleeping bag photos, watching Juno (the movie) on my iPod, and creating our own Kyrgyz myths of the Heti (Kyrgyz yeti) and the Karakol Valley Witch (sister of the Blair Witch)--I'll post the stories later. Oh, and night one, in the middle of a deep sleep, Jeremy says, "I gotta get out. Move." I was a little confused and slow moving so Jeremy just kinda pushed me out of the way, ripped open the zipper and puked right outside our door. Needless to say, we weren't too worried about wild animals after that. Just concerned about him puking inside the tent.

So, we're back in Karakol and trying hard to make the internet work around here. Tomorrow we hope to go to Altyn Ashran (sulphuric hot springs) by mini-bus for the day and then it's back to Bishkek to work on our Uzbekistan visas.

Apart from the trip, lots of great things have happened. First, ptl, ALL of my packages from Korea made it to J's parent's in Australia (I was hesistant). Second, my deferrance request for my Stafford loans was granted and I'm payment and interest free for at least the next year! Woo hoo!! And--the best part--my birthday is in just a few days: October 5th. I'll be 24. :) Third, I found the best Creme Brulee icecream last night and I plan to eat another pint of it tonight! Hee hee!

More photos and stories to come.