Hunza Valley and Hoper Glacier - September 4, 2007

Hunza Valley – September 4th

No wake call this morning, thank goodness. We hiked uphill through the town of Karimabad to visit the Baltit Fort completely restored with the funding from several organizations, finishing in 1996. Doorways within the fort were quite low, requiring some ducking as we took the tour. We viewed the prison where men were held in complete darkness for 3 or 4 days and then released. If they still did not conform, their fate - exiled off to China, never to return. Halfway through the tour, the guide presented a slideshow showing particular images of the rulers and people in the area. There were several who lived to be well over 100 years. One man was 118 years old and had grown a new set of teeth. Everyone in the group was amazed; we’d like to have the same ability, but maybe it only happens in Shangrila. Proceeding to other rooms and listening intently or maybe not too intently, the tour led us to the roof where vistas of mountains greeted us. Even though, some clouds obscured the peaks, the view was stunning.

As we left, we paid for the use of our cameras inside the fort, with the money going toward maintaining the site. We meandered through town buying trinkets and T-shirts at various stores, but we have to be careful not overuse our luggage space so we continue to have room for the Hermes products from the Burj Al Arab. Just thinking of the difference between the two economies is staggering. In a way it’s difficult to imagine we were in Dubai only 1 ½ weeks ago. These people in the northern area of Pakistan are so poor and financial opportunities seem so completely out of the realm of possibility. Now, with the bombings in Rawalpindi, the city next to Islamabad, their tourism industry and the dollars it generates will suffer even more.

After a quick lunch, the three of us hopped in a jeep for what seemed to be a LONG 1 ½ hour ride over incredibly bumpy and death-defying winding roads. Eventually, after a stop, we arrived at the overlook point for the Hoper Glacier. An offer of tea, soda and water with kulchas (a pastry), and sliced melon refreshed us and washed the dust down our throats.

The three of us decided to trek to the Hoper Glacier and what a surprise. I’ll let Rich explain this portion since he’s more knowledgeable than Garry or I. The downward portion, need I say more, was easy, but eventually we had to return to the top. Rich went sailing up the trail as Garry and I puffed along. We’re sorry we can’t send photos due to Internet speed, but we’d love to show the glacier’s grandeur. Look for possible edits to the previous blog entries to include photos.

Without going into too much detail, we descended about 750 feet down a steep mountainside. As we approached the glacier we ascended a 30 foot ridge that was a mixture of rocks and gravel seemingly held together by wet cement. The latter is actually pulverized rock, rock flour, mixed with water from the melting ice. From our position on the edge of the glacier we had a spectacular view up the valley to see most of its 18 km length as it snaked up the mountain valley to its apparent origin in a mountain bowl. Nearer to us the white glacier was darkened with gravel, but in several large areas it had a series of long parallel fractures that gleamed bright white. It was as if giant fingers had raked the surface. This vantage point also gave us a real sense for the mechanics of glacier flow.

Catching our breath and one last washroom stop, the group crawled back into jeeps for our return to Karimabad. At one village, young boys jumped on the back of our vehicle and clung on so as not to be thrown off while crossing the rocky terrain. At another village they yelled goodbye and off they went. Other young boys were riding atop a massive pile of grass on a wagon pulled by a tractor. How these boys never fell off as the wagon swayed back and forth, I’ll never know.

As we neared Karimabad, the white clouds had dispersed and all of the mountains peaks were visible at once. The snow-capped peaks glistened in the setting sun. – Diram, Rakaposhi, Lady’s Finger, Ultar 1 and Ultar 2. It’s hard to appreciate the fact that every mountain we look at is higher than our Mt. McKinley. Everywhere we go in the Hunza Valley there is a 360 degree panorama of high mountains. After some photo ops and more oohs and aahs, we finally returned to the Baltit Inn for a much deserved shower, clean clothes, and a toothbrush to scrape off the dust glued to our teeth.

Assalam-o-alaikum, (means May God Bless You)

Garry, Rich and Tamara

Photo: 1) The Baltit Fort 2) The trio after hiking down to the glacier 3) Kids just having some good ole fun 4)Views of surrounding mountains 5) Road conditions, again! 6) Hoper Glacier