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Today is our last day on 4 wheels. We wanted to start at 5.00 a.m., however it took until 5.40 a.m. until the Jeeps were departing. In the beginning, the roads were quiet good until Shigar, the last great village on our way. Behind Shigar, the piste became more and more adventurous. High above the wild river Braldu, there is a narrow way with small bridges over tributaries of the Braldu.
On the left and right handsides of the Braldu valley, we saw the first snowy mountains. At noon, we arrived at the small village Dassu, where Sirdar Salman Ali comes from. He took the opportunity to visit his family and to invite us to his home. The boss is still his mother who cares for the 16 children.
After some hours, we had to stop at a small hanging bridge. It bursted under the heavy weight of our first Jeep and a large hole remained. Because there was no material for repair, our team fixed the damage with large stones and remains of wood. And about 30 min later, the next jeep could cross the bridge.
At another river, we had to stop again. In the morning, the rivers have low water, but in the afternoon when the sun smelts snow, there is high water that makes a passage by jeeps impossible. Therefore, we needed to unload the jeeps and carry all the equipment over a smallfoot-bridge. On the other side, we had to load all jeeps again.
Finally, we arrived at Askole. Here, we do the final preparations for the disribution of our equipment to our carrymen. Tomorrow morning, we have the first real trekking part. We will need about 6 hours by feet from Askole to Jola.
Markus Walter
Askole (3050m), 29.06.01 - 6 p.m.
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