Altyn Arashan

The Monday morning (October 21, 2019) greets us with cloudy and windy weather. Even in our last night, on the shore of Issyk Kul near Michailovka, no pike has been lured by our bait fish. So I retrieve our fishing rods before breakfast and after porridge with jam and tea, we store the rest of our stuff in our Moskvich. Then we drive back to Karakol and look for a workshop. Although my wire fix for our broken shock absorber mount held up quite well and we were able to reach the city almost without any rattling noise, it still needs to be properly repaired. After some inquiries, we finally end up at Sergej, who takes care of our problem. After the car is welded, we have Schrotti's engine checked right there. Lately, we have had performance problems (the engine was only running on 3 cylinders) and increased fuel consumption. 16 liters per 100 km is way too much even for the Moskvich. A young mechanic cleans the spark plugs, the carburetor nozzles, and adjusts the float a bit. After that, our Russian car is purring again. By now, it is late afternoon when we check in at the Hostel Dom. While Marcus takes care of some shopping, I reassemble the interior trim in the back of our vehicle. Then we treat ourselves to a warm shower and spend the evening cooking, eating, drinking, and philosophizing in the hostel kitchen. Late at night, we head off to bed.

Not much happens on Tuesday. It is rainy and windy outside, in short, typical autumn weather. So we hardly leave the hostel, laze around, do laundry, and even take a long nap in the afternoon. Only Rango and the search for food occasionally lead us out of the house.

After breakfast on Wednesday (October 23, 2019), we leave the hostel in the center of Karakol and replenish our food supplies for the next few days. We want to drive to Altyn Arashan High Valley. There are supposed to be hot springs there, and we want to do some hiking. So we drive to Ak-Suu and from there, following a small road, into the valley of the Arashan River. After just a few kilometers of leaving the village, it becomes clear that we need to continue without Schrotti. The 'road' is simply too bad. So we park our Moskvich near a spring around half past two in the afternoon, pack our hiking gear, and continue on foot up the river valley. It takes us about 3 hours for the 12 km distance. Despite the snow and the ascent to over 2000 m, we make good progress. Arriving in the high valley, we are greeted by a magnificent winter landscape. We check with the first guesthouse and are allowed to set up our tents right next to the establishment. We warm ourselves up a bit at the wood stove in the Ala Kul Guesthouse, have a cup of tea, and wait until we can go to the hot springs. When four other travelers return from the hot water to the guesthouse, it is our turn in the early evening. With the winter temperatures all around, bathing in one of the thermal springs is simply wonderful. We enjoy the hot water for a solid 2 hours and cool off a bit in the night mountain air in between. That would only have been half as much fun in the summer. Then we go back to Ala Kul, have a small dinner, and chat a bit with the other guests. We retire to our tents around ten. The guest family has a young son, so we are kindly asked to keep the noise down at night in the guesthouse. Rango cuddles up under the sleeping bag again for the night. Outside, it is simply freezing.

On Thursday, I get up just before nine due to the cold and warm myself up with a cup of tea in the guesthouse. After breakfast, we start our hike towards Lake Ala Kul around ten. We walk up a bit in the Arashan Valley and then turn south into a side valley. It is a beautifully sunny day, and the wintry mountains are showing their most beautiful side. Unfortunately, my hiking boots are not made for such conditions, and my feet are already cold and wet after barely an hour. After another hour of walking in the snow, I have to abort our tour, and we turn back. So we are back at Ala Kul in the early afternoon, enjoy a cup of coffee, and then settle back into the hot water. Even Rango agrees to join us and comes into the steaming broth. Back at the guesthouse, we order dinner, and it turns out that camping is free, and we have a few soms left. Some new travelers arrive at Ala Kul, and so we are easily persuaded to go to the hot springs again after dinner. The evening is quite entertaining and therefore passes quickly. Back at the guesthouse, we immediately retire to our tents. I am grateful for Rango's permanent presence under my sleeping bag at chilly -10 °C.

Nevertheless, the cold lures me out of bed on Friday morning (October 25, 2019) before eight and I warm myself up in the cozy Ala Kul guesthouse with some breakfast. After breakfast, we pack our stuff and start our descent into the valley. Again, we hike for about 3 hours through snow-covered mountain landscapes and only shortly before Schrotti, we reach the snow-free zone. Unfortunately, I forgot to turn off the ignition after parking, so we have to change the battery before starting. After we also fend off a demand from a resident for a parking fee (the man wanted to guard our vehicle day and night), we pick up our 3 fellow hikers on the way to Karakol. Some backpacks need to be placed on the roof, and Rango sits between my legs, then we can continue the drive. Together with Eva and Haikki, we check into the Nice Hostel. Then we go back to the bazaar. We are looking for fishing lures and need some meat for our dinner. The latter is no problem, but we are too late for the lures. The container is already closed. Back at the Nice Hostel, we cook a cabbage stew, enjoy a warm shower on the side, and spend the rest of the evening with our new acquaintances.