Day 2 - Skardu to Thungol

We wake up at 5am and shower for the last time before heading out to Askoli at 7am in 4 jeeps. If all goes well, the drive should be 6-7 hours. This is the first and most stable suspension bridge we encounter, taking us over the Indus River.
It replaced this slightly less robust looking bridge to its left, made mostly of old wood and steel cable. The flooded Indus courses below.
Another look back at the really nice bridge, as our other two jeeps cross.
We cross a sandy plain on the way to the Shigar Valley.
There were a number of signs made with rocks that were constructed on the surrounding hill and mountainsides. But this was the one that was most relevant to us.
Once we're through the first pass, we are overlooking the Shigar Valley. My dad stops the convoy for our very first scenic photo opportunity. Ignacio, Adil's friend from his days at Warwick, enjoys the view.
Looking downstream along the Braldu/Shigar River along the Shigar Valley.
Erin, Rich and Tanya point out how far it is down to the bottom of the valley.
Rich and Tanya at our rest stop.
Around 9:30am, we hit a little snag in our plans. The road is washed out due to the recent floods. The surrounding terrain is relatively flat, but the stream has carved a deep channel through the mud.
Porters, mountain guides and locals are all enlisted to construct a couple of ramps into and out of the small ravine, as well as a rocky ford for the jeeps to cross the river on. Here, Khalil, our Head Porter in the blue jacket, exhorts a couple of guys with bars on how best to move a large rock.
The river flows past as a number of people are engaged in building a solution, and looking on hopefully.
Ibrahim in the red hat, a cook for our group, also helps out with road building activities.
Raging rapids upstream of our hopeful crossing point.
Matthew, Tanya, and Rich look on as the road and ramps take form with amazing rapidity.
A number of locals watch with the mountains in backdrop.
One of the porters carries across a boy on his way to school whose way is blocked by the break in the road.
Murad, our Assistant Mountain Guide, wields a pickax to level out the road.
The ground around the river is mostly muddy, so any jeep that tries to driver over will just sink in. Stone are passed into the gap via human chain to help give some stability to the mud.
Mom, Erin, and Tanya watch the proceedings.
Matthew, in mountain regalia, against a mountain backdrop.
Ayub, our Mountain Guide, in his button-down and khaki's, supervising the staff's road-building tactics.
We weren't the only ones waiting for the road to be fixed. Two other trekking groups were there also, who we later refered to as the Greeks, and the British (or Brits), even though both groups were multinational.
The first jeep across the unproven road.
All seems to be going well so far.
Halfway is a good start.
And out the other side.
But there was some trouble getting up the ramp on the other side as the wheels were just sinking into the mud and getting no traction.
Jeeps are going across without passengers, just in case. Dad is the first to walk across.
The line of jeeps, still waiting to cross.
Jeeps continue across, but problems continue. This one isn't quite getting traction in the back and needs a bit of a boost. But for the most part, all the jeeps make it across safe and sound sooner or later.
We all load up again and we are on our way. We pass through a small rock tunnel.
And get ready for our first wood/steel-cable suspension bridge. The whole span undulates as the jeeps rolls across, the wood creaking underneath, and the river roaring away beneath that. Not the most settling experience.
A look back as the rest of our jeeps cross.
There is a lot of small-scale mining going on in these mountains. You can see the holes in the cliff-face near the bottom, where the hand-mining of gems and stones occurs.
Water streams down the cliff face from above.
A look up the valley along the Braldu, towards our destination.
We stop for lunch at this little town. As we have progressed down the road, the trail has gotten trougher, going from pavement, to dirt, then to rocks. The towns have similarly gotten more rural. Lunches were brought along from the PTDC Motel in Skardu, as food here is not really to be trusted.
The second major break in the road. There is no rebuilding effort here. Bags and people are unloaded from jeeps on one side, and reloaded into different jeeps on the other side for the remainder of the journey. The problem: landslides have wiped out this section of road. To the left, sheer cliff, to the right, out of frame, the river, not 20 feet away. Porters and trekkers alike scurry across the scree as smaller landslides bring rocks down around us in small numbers. This picture is looking back towards the people waiting to come across.
The second jeep ride ends in a town called Thungol. We set up camp here for the night, and will continue through to Askoli in the morning. This is the first time setting up our tents, and it takes a little practice to get everything sorted.
Our camp site, with the Brits off to the right.
Our first indication of how pampered we were going to be. Ibrahim brings us tea with milk and sugar as we get into camp.
Anisa goes exploring and finds a baby praying mantis.
Anisa enjoying camp.
The mountains overlooking Thungol.
People settling down in camp, reading, and writing in their journals about the day's events.
At night, we gather in our Mess Tent to enjoy the food Zahoor, Ibrahim and Asif have prepared for us. Here is our first and only dinner lit by kerosene lamp before the lamp befalls its own mini-disaster.
That night was a new moon, and since there is no electric light around, the stars were out in spectacular fashion. You could easily see the Milky Way and millions of stars. One small, out of focus attempt to capture it.