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Published: August 3rd 2008
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Rakaposhi
7786 m, A beautiful mountain This trip was right after my 1st year medical prof exam and was one that I had been looking forward to do for a LONG time. Left Karachi on the 17th of July 08 and came back on the 29th
Day 1 17th July 2008 Woke up at around 4 30 am, had a very eventful night. Got a call from the police station at 1 00 am the night before informing us that our stolen car had been found near Gaboul. So well at around 6 30 am the bus(Awan Coach) and left khi at around 7 30 am. 2 00 pm I had lunch at ranipur(the very same place we had when we were out on our family road trip). On the way passed Punjnad too. One hell of a sight looking at the Indus River more than a km wide and all five tributaries coming together. Got stuck at punjnad for a while because the bridge crossing the Indus had one big crevice smack in the middle. God knows how it got there.
For company I had this stupid Islamic radical who apparently taught at the madressah right opposite my place back in Karachi. He was going
Canal
Somewhere in punjab during a stop on the bus ride
DAY 1 back to his hometown (Mansehra). First he had to comment about my goatee and that fellow smelt from all places humanly possible, so I did not have very pleasant company. But well anything goes for Rakaposhi
Day 2 18th July 2008 Reached abbotabad at 9 am, stayed at the musafir khana (Rs 100/night damn!). In the evening, went out to have food at Usmania, ordered a hefty meal knowing that it was gonna be my last proper meal for a while. So yeah enjoyed my steaks and took a walk back to the place where I was spending the night. Funnily enough it took me only two hours on foot to traverse the whole city!
Day 3 19th July 2008 An idle day, left for the daewoo bus station at 4 30 pm, I was supposed to meet my group there but as is usual in Pakistan, everybody arrived fashionably late. We had our complete group there at around 9 00 pm. Had dinner at some green valley restaurant that night on the way to Mangal. At Mangal heard that there had been earthquakes measuring 6.6 on the Richter scale in Islamabad. Slept late that night.
Day 4 20th July 2008
Woke up at 5 00 am, it was raining very hard, loaded luggage onto our coasters and left Mangal at 8 00 am, Had lunch at Dassu. The terrain got very barren from there onwards. Saw pteroglyphs on the way near Chilas. Reached Chilas at 9 00 pm. Played cards till late in the night slept late, AGAIN.
Day 5 21st July 2008 Woke up at 5 30am, Left hotel at 6 45 am. I went in the hiace to get the front seat to check out the views on the KKH and they sure as hell were worth it. THe weather was cloudy and it was drizzling as well. As was expected we did come across a landslide. Got stuck there for around 6 hrs. This was near the tatta springs. Since the weather was pleasant and location convenient, the wait wasn't all that bad. In all these years I've always wanted to get close to the Indus this far north and I finally did it here 😊. Parents would never let me risk it because waters here are treacherous but well what's life without a bit of risk 😉.
It was cloudy all
the way to Hunza and we got to our camping site at Aliabad at around 8 00pm. Set up camp there. This was my first experience of doing this and it sure was a learning curve. Would learn soon since we'd have to do this everyday for like a week.
At around 9 pm we visited the Hunza market in Karimabad, and man! these people are like a fresh breath of air in the Northern areas. Welcoming, hospitable liberal and beautiful! Alcohol was openly available, smiling and greeting locals, impressive shops, exquisite hotels and welcoming cosy coffee shops! Awesome!
Day 6 22nd July 2008 Woke up early for sunrise, disappointed to see the clouds, AGAIN. Left for karimabad after breakfast. Visited the Baltit fort. We were shown around by a rude guide there, seemed like a rarity among the Hunza folk. In the afternoon, left for Duiker Meadows(Eagles Nest) on a day trip by jeep. Got some exquisite views of the lady finger peak, the rest were cloud covered. A few of us decided to take another jeep ride to the living historic city of Ganesh, dating back to 600 AD. In the evening when we got back to
Aliabad, I bought shoes from the nearby marked got them for a cheap price tag (Rs 350) and they sure as hell were a life saver!
Packed up and left for Minapin Village at 6 00 pm
Reached Minapin at 7 pm, played catch, set up camp, sat out that night alone watching stars. Slept at 1 am.
Day 7 23rd July 2008 Woke up at 6 am, packed up. Start of trek from Minapin to Hapakun at 9 00. On the way had goats' milk lassi, sour but refreshing. I can proudly say that I was the second one to get to Hapakun. Got there at around 1 30 pm. The people here are called people of the Nagar valley. In olden times there was rivalry between the nagar and hunzakuts. As I compare them today I think locals from Hunza were prettier and more hospitable but this doesnt reflect badly on people from nagar because the Hunzakuts were on just some other level totally. That day we made a short climb to check out the minapin glacier. Two days later, we'd be crossing that same glacier and it'd take us a mammoth 6hrs!
The sky finally cleared
up that night. Sat star gazing. This time with Fahad alifya and maryam, Had a bonfire that night too. Danced with the locals.. FUN FUN!
Day 8 24th July 2008 Woke up 6am. Started trek to tagafari at 9 00 am, for some reason I found this trek tougher. Reached a great and high view point at 11 am. Spent an hr there, took lots of pictures. Tagafari is the Rakaposhi base camp. A meadow itself with a glacial stream flowing through it. I took a bath in this water, REFRESHING!
The sky was clear and the sun really bright and gosh it did hurt!
Day 9 25th July 2008 Woke up 6 am, Left for Kacheli (Diran base camp) at around 9 am. A day trip, long difficult on glaciers. But fun nonetheless. We had to skip across glacial streams, jump crevices and navigate the best routes. Which made it all all the more fun!
On the way we met rain, sleet and high winds and it got biting cold near the base camp. Reached an altitude of 3450 metres at the Kacheli base camp.. Got
there at around 1 pm. Made our way back after snacks. Got back to tagafari at around 6 00pm. It almost looked like home now after that tough day!
That night was very cold at the base camp. Even the cows were acting weird. Poking their noses into everybody's tents.
Day 10 26th July 2008 From here onwards, we start our journey back. It was rainy that morning, the descent to minapin was quick. got to hapakun in an hr and a half and minapin in 2 and a half. Shouldve technically been the first to be back but let some 'people' get the spot. Took to the coasters in a little while and got to Gilgit at 6 pm. Visited the market place there, bought gifts. Had dinner at a friend's(Faheem) place.
Day 11 27th July 2008 Left gilgit at 5 00 am . On the way had trouble finding fuel because of the price hike and the resulting strike. Saw the view of the nanga parbat at sunrise near jaglot. Exquisite! The KKH looks exceptionally beautiful around dusk and dawn. Reached Mangal at 9 pm. Shot funny videos on the way.
Day 12 28th July 2008
After the overnight at mangal, left early next morning to catch the ticket to karachi. Met a couple of mishaps but everything worked out in the end. Caught the bus from havelian
The bus ride was uneventful after that.
Day 13 29th July
11 pm HOME!
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fahd
non-member comment
nice
"Shouldve technically been the first to be back but let some 'people' get the spot" haha. nice work