Day 69 to Zaalay mountain camp, Kyrgyzstan, 23km, 5992 to date.  359m up, 3328m end

A short day just to take us close to the Tajikistan border crossing tomorrow morning and to give us another day to acclimatize to the altitude.

In Sary Tash, there is the normal call to prayer, in particular about 10:30 last night and about 04:30 this morning.  The call is done in a singing/chanting type voice - well, all the local dogs seem to like the voice because they all join in, or should I say “howl in”.  It was quite hilarious.

We are now starting the Pamir Highway, “the roof of the world”, tomorrow is our first major pass, Kyzyl-Art Pass at 4,280m (14,042 feet).

The Pamir elev profile, note y-axis does not start at zero:

We are very popular with the local kids:

I believe this is Mt. Lenin, 7,134m (23,407ft.), the highest point in the former Soviet Union:

 We camped in the yard of a “guest house”, really a bed and breakfast, but without the breakfast, without a washroom (outhouse outside) and with bare beds.   They did have a yurt/gur that was most comfortable for simply lazing around.  The owner came in and started the stove (it was quite cold), he used a very small bit of wood shavings to start, then the main fuel was cow dung - only the faintest slight hint of oder whilst burning.

Yes, this kid is working on reading english, reading the Lonely Planet guide: