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Kyrgyzstan
Day Five; Travel to the Naryn
We wake to nice balmy weather at Issyk Kul.
Taking pictures at the pass (roughly 13,000'), this archaic Soviet era vehicle motored up to the top. It's probably some form of GAZ-69
Looks like it could only hold a few people, but a family of eight piled out as they took a break at the top, we couldn't communicate but shook hands and said hello.
Down into the Naryn, the road keeps going and goin.
An old soviet truck carrying another, smaller truck.
Iconic Kyrgyzstan, horses and the Tian Shan.
A local herder takes a rest outside his summer home. It must be a rough life out here, though it's easy to idealize the free range lifestyle.
I could have taken many more photo stops on our journey, but dayight was fading fast and we seemed to have endless dirt road ahead of us.
More horses, more mountains.
An abandoned Soviet military base near the Naryn.
Evening light.
Looking west the sun isn't too far from dipping below the horizon.
We're quite close to our put in, but this Sprinter van is having issues. In rural Kyrgyzstan you always stop to help a fellow motorist, and we push them up the steep hill. They invite us to their place to share some Vodka, but we're focused on making progress to the put in.
The last light fades as our trusty steed crosses the steppe. Soon it's dark and we're blundering about on trails, trying to find the right one, which we eventually do after some cross country driving. Exhausted by ~10 hours of driving we pitch tents in the wind and dark, manage to celebrate Michal's birthday with some Vodka and turn in to bed as the wind whips at our tents all night. Google Maps for our campsite.
On to Day Six, The Naryn.
Day Five; Travel to the Naryn
We wake to nice balmy weather at Issyk Kul.
We
take our time making breakfast and packing up. Today will be a travel day;
it's a long haul to the put in for the Naryn. The section we're headed
to gets called the Naryn, the Great Naryn, or the Upper Naryn. The
Naryn itself is a large drainage in Kyrgyzstan and has many sections
and forks. In my mind I'd call this section the Upper Naryn, has it has
the uppermost whitewater that is commonly paddled. Higher up it braids
out and doesn't seem to have much to offer. Anyhow, we pack up and
start driving. Soon we're on dirt roads and about four hours later we
stop for a lunch break with some nice scenic views in Barskoon Valley.
A traditional style yurt in the Barskoon Valley.
Barskoon Waterfall
I'm still surprised to see horses grazing at over 10,000' of elevation.
The Delica takes a breather whilwe we take glacier views.
A statue at the pass as we cross over into the Naryn watershed.
A traditional style yurt in the Barskoon Valley.
Barskoon Waterfall
I'm still surprised to see horses grazing at over 10,000' of elevation.
Behind us you can see the road far below.
The Delica takes a breather whilwe we take glacier views.
One
last set of switchbacks before we make it to the pass. This road exists
because of a gold mine in the uppermost Naryn watershed, or maybe it's
at the headwaters of the Sary-Jaz. The two are quite close together and
no one is broadcasting gold mine locations on Google Earth.
A statue at the pass as we cross over into the Naryn watershed.
Taking pictures at the pass (roughly 13,000'), this archaic Soviet era vehicle motored up to the top. It's probably some form of GAZ-69
Looks like it could only hold a few people, but a family of eight piled out as they took a break at the top, we couldn't communicate but shook hands and said hello.
Down into the Naryn, the road keeps going and goin.
An old soviet truck carrying another, smaller truck.
Iconic Kyrgyzstan, horses and the Tian Shan.
Late evening sunlight, a herding camp, a hawk overhead and the Tian Shan.
A local herder takes a rest outside his summer home. It must be a rough life out here, though it's easy to idealize the free range lifestyle.
I could have taken many more photo stops on our journey, but dayight was fading fast and we seemed to have endless dirt road ahead of us.
More horses, more mountains.
An abandoned Soviet military base near the Naryn.
Evening light.
Looking west the sun isn't too far from dipping below the horizon.
We're quite close to our put in, but this Sprinter van is having issues. In rural Kyrgyzstan you always stop to help a fellow motorist, and we push them up the steep hill. They invite us to their place to share some Vodka, but we're focused on making progress to the put in.
The last light fades as our trusty steed crosses the steppe. Soon it's dark and we're blundering about on trails, trying to find the right one, which we eventually do after some cross country driving. Exhausted by ~10 hours of driving we pitch tents in the wind and dark, manage to celebrate Michal's birthday with some Vodka and turn in to bed as the wind whips at our tents all night. Google Maps for our campsite.
On to Day Six, The Naryn.