Further up from the Hunza Valley is a region called Gojal. The elevation here means that it has had no permanent residents until the past few centuries. The Karakoram Highway continues to wind its way through the mountains here. From Karimabad, my base for exploring Hunza, I took a minibus to a town called Gumit, intending to complete this leg of the journey on foot, a trek of 15 miles (24 km).
First I climbed a large hill to a village called Kamaris, then followed the ridge to Ghulkin.
I paid a local to guide me across the Gulkin glacier. In retrospect, the way was not particularly difficult and clearly marked by cairns (a fancy Gaelic word for a pile of rocks), but I’m glad I had a guide for my first glacier crossing. I paid him generously nevertheless.
Because at this elevation the glacier is covered by gravel and rocks that it has crushed and spit out, it doesn’t seem like you’re walking on a glacier until you see the drops of water falling from the ice. The sound of distant rocks falling into deep crevasses is an eerie reminder of how large the glacier really is.
From the other side of the glacier it was a short walk to Borit Lake.
Moving downhill, the town of Hussaini marked the halfway point. Then I crossed a wooden suspension bridge across the river.
The high winds caused the bridge to seat quite a bit, made even worse by my own movement. I broke my single-minded focus on placing my feet in front of each other to snap a single photo mid-span.
After a long walk on the other side of the river using a poorly marked trail, I reached the second bridge just before sunset. At this point, I was nearing exhaustion, and this bridge was longer and in much worse condition. Many of the “planks” were little more than sticks, cracked and broken in many places. Some were over two feet apart, and the bridge tilted far to the left in the center. Though it was only 50% longer than the first one, it felt three times as long.
After successfully crossing the second bridge, a few more kilometers brought me to my hotel for the night and some much needed rest.
The next day, I hired a private car to take me to Sost. This is the location of the Pakistani customs and immigration post, even though the actual border is two hours’ drive away. I bought my bus ticket, spent the night, changed some money, and the next morning I was on my way to China.
The gorges grew narrower, the peaks higher, and the snow closer as we ascended to the pass.
Finally we reached the top and the Chinese monument that marks the border. Snow was falling lightly at the summit.
After a miserable five-hour wait at the Chinese security post (not even Immigration yet), complete with excruciatingly thorough luggage searches and body scans, we proceeded in a police convoy to the customs facility two more hours away. Procedures here were fairly quick, and I walked out the front door into the city of Tashkurgan, China.
Impressive! I truly admire your spirit for adventure and your ability to accomplish goals!