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[U]Day - 02
[/U]Dassu - Kaiser Ground
Next morning we woke up early but Nastha and all took a little time. We were in jeep riding towards Askole by 8 AM. Road after Dassu is even worst and somewhere practically there is no road. Enjoyed the sights of Braldu river that was flowing along in its full vigor.
We reached Houtoo Village by 10.30 AM where due to landslide we couldnt go any further. From there we arranged some local porters to help us cross the blocked area... crossing this was rather steeper way made of rocks and sand.
There was no jeep on the other side so we had to wait. My guide started walking towards Askole to get a jeep. Fortunately after 45 minutes he was back with good news. We loaded our stuff and headed for Askole. On the way we took some porters from a village and saw Sulphur (hot water) ponds. There was another blocking due to a Nalla (stream) just before Askole so we had to walk 15 minutes to be in the town.
With lush greenery, pink flowers and wheat farms Askole have a romantic touch to it... as long as you don't meet locals
As soon as we touched the locality, kids and people of all ages surrounded us and looked at us in awe, not sure why ?!
Please note anyone going forward must register his/her name and National ID with Alpine club in Askole. I was in a rush to properly start our trek but still there were arrangements being made at Askole. Our Balti porters had problem with their baggage and weight; they did not look happy and my guide was sorting things out. i got an oppertunity to capture Askole's beauty. Interestingly the kids in Askole did say 'Hallo' instead of 'Salam' and 'One Dolaar' instead of 'x Rupay'
At 2.00 PM we were finally leaving Askole and saying official 'Goodbye' to civilization. We were excited and happy to start somehow on time. Plan was to reach Namla... and our speed was amazing. My cook said if we walk with the same speed we might reach Mango today! (Sure, he was kidding :). We kept walking without brakes for 1.5 hour and did not see our porters, this annoyed me a little and i sensed there might be a problem if we all are not aligned. So at 3.30 we stopped at Kaiser (Polo) Ground and waited for them to join us. We waited till 4.00 and no one came... then we waited another 30 minutes... no one came... then we lost hope of going any farther . then by 5.pm we saw them coming one by one. It was a little annoying but this happens on treks, my camp was set up so i took some rest then went to kitchen tent. It was our first camping night and i was now getting familiar with all the team members, they were really nice people.
Guide: Abdul Waheed
Cook: Abdullah Hyder
Assistant: Saleem (Chacha)
A series of porters
Leaving Askole (with Waheed and Saleem Chacha)
(At kaiser Polo ground)
(Our kitchen/mess tent)
We had a few laughs at dinner before i returned to my camp and read poetry by Parveen shakir. Thinking of next day was already exciting me... and i was loving the feel of being in such a remote area.