Altynsay half marathon, Tashkent region, Uzbekistan
Hello! In my previous post I talked about the speleotour to the Peshagor cave, which took place at the end of January. If you remember, I sat and waited for the earth to dry up. The ground was dry and it seemed that spring had already come. "Mysterious Uzbekistan" began to invite people to the already green mountains. Alas, I had other things to do and I had to spend three weeks in February in the city. But as soon as I got ready, the weather turned bad and snow fell. But when did it stop us?!
In the last week of February, "Mysterious Uzbekistan" announced another half marathon along the Altynsay stream (which means "Golden Stream" in Uzbek). Well, if I hear the word "half marathon", I immediately sign up.
So it was this time too - I signed up in anticipation of a winter hike. I already imagined what gorgeous photos would turn out - a bright blue sky and white-white snow sparkling under the rays of the sun. And the participants of the hike against the background of this beauty in bright multi-colored jackets ... Well…
In the morning it was cloudy and the clouds were dirty gray, which did not bode well. As usual, we gathered early in the morning at the agreed place and hit the road. My mood dropped a little - it looks like I can forget about photos with a bright blue sky, white-white snow and participants in bright, multi-colored jackets ...
An hour and a half later, we arrived at the starting point of our route and went up. We walked through some kishlak (settlement) and woke up all the surrounding dogs, who barked after us most of the way. Then we left the village and walked along the path that ran between the fields and separated by a chain link. A fenced path, dogs barking, a dirty gray sky and soggy earth ... As if we were being at GULAG and not participating in a half marathon :).
But after some time we went out into an open field and stomped on it for almost an hour. We walked and joked that they expected picturesque mountains, but instead organizers drove us to some potato field.
Gradually, we began to gain altitude and the landscapes improved a little ...
For example, mountains began to appear in a misty haze. Despite disappointed expectations (well, you remember, right? A bright blue sky, white-white snow, and so on ...) I liked these landscapes - from the snow-capped mountains smelled harshness.
The sun had already risen high enough, but the light was dim because of the clouds. It reminded me of the landscapes from the recent ascent on the Kokbet Mount. Which is quite understandable actually - we were relatively close to Kokbet.
We went to the foot of the mountain and gradually began to climb up.
Gradually we gained altitude and the weather finally decided to take pity on us. The blue sky began to peep through the clouds.
And finally, I was able to take photos with a bright blue sky, white-white snow and participants in bright multi-colored jackets ...
We went further, walked around the side of the already known to you Surenata and went to Gidzhal.
Frankly speaking, I hardly recognized these places, although I've been here twice already. Hmmm, I would like to add link on my trips to Gidzhal, but found out that I didn’t publish topics about them, Well, I’ll fix it soon and write about two trips in the Gidzhal.
Just a couple of weeks before our trip, "Mysterious Uzbekistan" took a group here, and judging by their photos, it was already spring here. But looking at my photos it's hard to believe :). Only the sprouts of either irises or tulips making their way through the snow can confirm that spring is beginning to come into its own.
Already at the bottom there was much less snow, but there was much more clay, and after going down to Gidzhal to the car, we put ourselves in order for a long time. A small cute local resident watched our manipulations with interest.
Well, finally everyone gathered, cleaned up and we set off on the way back. And what could be better than the road home? Only a hot shower in this house after a tiring hike ...
This week I have two more trips planned, I hope the stars will converge, the group will be gathered and there will be no bad surprises.