Pakistan #4 the north

Guidebook for complete morons

— Go in a country you have never been before, where you can’t speak the local language. Search for the highest mountains around and go for some hiking there. Avoid asking locals they might give you wrong informations. Don’t buy any good maps — they are too expensive anyway. Make sure your backpack is weighting too much, it’s good for additional exercise. Take your way up, follow animal tracks and anywhere you find a footprint, must be the trail ’cause there has already walked someone. In foreign countries like Pakistan it’s good possible that you find small washed out path, at the edge of the abyss going down 100 meters, where you have to stick sideways to the wall with loose rocks to get through. But maybe you will notice in the middle of it, that this path is no way at all and you got to climb all the way back. Things like this or other wrong taken ways don’t disturb a good trekkers mood, you move on and search for another way, there is always
a way. And try walk parts of the trek at least three times, it is good for additional exercise as well. If you get on the glacier, just pass it because you forgot/don’t have additional security requirements like rope and harness anyway. Have fun and good luck!

(Dan and I playing around) It wasn’t really that bad, I just liked the idea of such a guidebook. And fun was what we had. The next day we were even able to find and follow a whole trek. We only once missed the way and had to go back again. And another time got on the trail we tried to avoid and descended in a rock field which was steep as hell. But hey, we are who we are. Avdegar Trek in Passu and if you ever get to Passu, stay in Passu Inn. The friendly Innkeeper looks like Anthony Hopkins and is a great cook. If you stay in Karimabad, avoid a hotel where the host calls you my dearest friend, he might talk you to death.