Thoughts on leaving Khorog. And a few pics of my final valley

If all goes right, I'll be leaving Khorog tomorrow for an hour flight over the mountains to Dushanbe. Yeah, I have my bike and I could be riding a gnarly mountain pass and spending 7 days in the heat. Or I could be hiking, relaxing in Khorog City Park, and having tea with Pamiris. I'm doing the latter, and have enjoyed my extra time in Khorog before some coffee chats and weight room sessions in Dushanbe. After three days of music and dance at the 6th Roof of the World Festival in the city park, I thought festivities were over. But then music started again, and I learned a local folk group was putting on a performance to raise funds for the disabled, complete with cake banquet and handicrafts fundraiser. I stayed, watched a bit, and headed to PECTA to hand over the newest Lonely Planet guide, some climbing slings, and the one valuable Kovea gas canister I cannot take on the plane (if you are looking for compressed gas in Khorog, PECTA normally has a supply and has at least one canister as of July 8th 2013).

The picture below is of today's festival. Take a close look and you'll see community members up dancing. Spontaneous dance is incredibly common among Pamiris, and I was sad during the festival to see the floor opened up only once or twice. But comment cards and emails do actually mean something here in Khorog so it may change. 

 

Yesterday I went for a long hike in Shokdara Valley, the last valley I had to visit in the Pamir of Tajikistan. Together with some friends, I hopped into a rented Lada Niva, stopped a few times to find food since almost all stores are closed on Sunday, and drove to an undisclosed location about 30km into Shokdara. There, we started our hike to the white mountain and an ancient fortress. The pictures below should tell you a lot, including how many kilos were in my pack and the date of my most recent watermelon hike (haven't done one since last year).

Clear streams

 Nice nests

 fast descents from 11,000 feet

final sun rays

Tomorrow I'll post pictures of my flight, which promises to be the one of the cheapest and scariest I've been on. I have already packaged some bic lighters (a favorite among all men or smokers here) and a few dollars to sneak into the cockpit of the Yak 40 twin prop plane or Mi 8 chopper I'll be in (along with my bike and 30kg of gear).