Mike and Don: Broad Peak 2005 : Finally Moving!

Dispatch #2: Finally Moving!

As we got on the bus in Rawalpindi I had to fight my way through the oversized biceps, lats, and quads of my muscular companions to take my seat. This is not just my impression. A pretty young trekker nearly swooned at the sight of one of our crew, saying, "Diego, you have such big muscles!" Anyway, here's Don's impressions of the Karakoram Highway

The Karakoram Highway lived up to all the rumors and stories- but I am told that this year the road conditions were tamer than most. Nonetheless, I resolved very early on in the trip (like, 5 minutes out of Pindi) that because of the speed at which our bus was hurtling down the all-too-narrow highway, the chances of meeting my demise on this stretch of road were very high. Somehow this resolution gave me comfort, and I even began to enjoy the near misses with oncoming traffic, even attempting to capture on film the closest calls. This last endeavor nearly cost me my new digital camera, not to mention my right arm.

The crux of the trip so far has been...er...keeping things inside- and I don't mean emotionally. The bus ride to Chilas was more an exercise in strategically utilizing restroom stops than anything else. Most of the team has come down with some kind of GI ailment at one time or another- and a few have been suffering quite severely. Unfortunately, I fear that I may have swung the other direction with a possible Imodium overdose. I'll keep you updated... Le

Updates

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