I thought the hike to Ala Archa would be a good idea. The
April weather has been beautiful, the park is only an hour away from Bishkek,
and I was keen to escape the city. Plus, I always meet interesting and
like-minded people on my outings with the Trekking Union of Kyrgyzstan. It
should have been a win all around!
I felt a little unlike myself during the first thirty minutes of our hike. It was difficult to breath and I felt winded much more quickly than I usually do. I determined that the two weeks in Batken with limited exercise plus no practice on inclines (I run around the boring track at the National Stadium) were to blame. Thus, I trekked on.
After about three hours, my head started to hurt, my legs felt drained of strength, and I kept losing my balance. I decided that it was time to take an extended break and found a comfortable rock to park myself on. I listened to the birds and the wind and enjoyed the sun. I promptly fell asleep. I woke after indeterminate amount of time to find myself alone and decided to push myself a little further. My head still hurt and I had to pause ever ten minutes to catch my breath and rest my legs. After completing an ascent and seeing yet another – snowy – ascent before me, I threw in the towel and found another rock. I fell asleep again.
What happened to me on that hike? I can’t decide if it was the altitude, the sun, dehydration or – perhaps most likely – a combination of all three. I’ve never felt so ill on a hike before. Still, I’m prepared to try again – next time on a more moderate hike. That flat river valley hike did look very nice.
When you arrive at Ala Archa National Park, you pay 70 soms
(about $1.15) for day pass and park in the village at the entrance. After walking
through a wooded pathway, you are greeted by a stunning river valley spreading
out before you, with another canyon winding away to the left. The river valley is
green, shady and cool-looking, not to mention flat. The canyon to the left is
exposed, windswept – also stunning, of course – and promises an ascent from
1500 meters to 2500+ meters. Our group went to the left.
I felt a little unlike myself during the first thirty minutes of our hike. It was difficult to breath and I felt winded much more quickly than I usually do. I determined that the two weeks in Batken with limited exercise plus no practice on inclines (I run around the boring track at the National Stadium) were to blame. Thus, I trekked on.
After about three hours, my head started to hurt, my legs felt drained of strength, and I kept losing my balance. I decided that it was time to take an extended break and found a comfortable rock to park myself on. I listened to the birds and the wind and enjoyed the sun. I promptly fell asleep. I woke after indeterminate amount of time to find myself alone and decided to push myself a little further. My head still hurt and I had to pause ever ten minutes to catch my breath and rest my legs. After completing an ascent and seeing yet another – snowy – ascent before me, I threw in the towel and found another rock. I fell asleep again.
After what I can only guess was an hour, my group began to
descend. They had reach the base camp for the Komsomol Summit, which is located
in a snowy mountain valley with views of a beautiful glacier and mountains
stretching into the distance in all directions. In my dumb state, I didn’t feel
that I’d missed anything and pointed out that, from my rock, I also had a good
view. We descended together.
My headache began to increase during our hike down and, when
we reached the village at the entrance to the park, it was a full-blown,
pounding, nausea-inducing headache. I considered the wisdom of vomiting in
front of all these people I had just met and wondered, briefly, if I might die
there on the pavement in front of them all. I tried not to moan out loud.
Someone gave me a jacket. A blessed Russian girl handed me a pain tablet, which
I drank with apple juice. More desire to vomit.
On the road back to Bishkek, the road descends quickly. I
felt better the closer we got to the city, either from the reduced altitude,
the pain tablet, or both. By the time I got home, I felt myself again, though
with immobile legs and the weird bruised and befuddled feeling that follows a
massive headache. One day later, after eleven hours of sleep and lots of water I
feel good, if very, very tired. What happened to me on that hike? I can’t decide if it was the altitude, the sun, dehydration or – perhaps most likely – a combination of all three. I’ve never felt so ill on a hike before. Still, I’m prepared to try again – next time on a more moderate hike. That flat river valley hike did look very nice.
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