We were in full relaxation mode today. Dan did manage to pull everyone away from their books and sunning long enough for some Frisbee throwing, dock jumping, and the always amusing game of hot box. Did you know that we can entertain a whole beach full of people with a family game of hot box? 
We re-claimed Jackie today (as the youth will be leaving this evening) and began our full family adventures. A triathlon was on the docket today, with team paddle-boats substituting for the bike leg. James and Daniel chose the longer half-ironman paddle-boat distance, going across the bay and back. Otherwise, we spent plenty of time sunning, reading, listening to music, and other high-power activities. Dan delivered James back to the youth bus this evening for the night ride back to Kazakhstan. It was fun to have both James and Masha join us on this big adventure! When Dan returned, Jackie, Daniel, Dan and I had an intense hearts game with much laughter at the results of some misunderstood table talk.
Abby found some of the special mud that locals gather from the bottom of Lake Issyk-kuhl. It is not uncommon to see people covered from head to toe in black mud, absorbing all of the healing properties contained within.
After so many miles of hiking, lying on the beach was definitely what the doctor ordered for us today! To celebrate Dan'w birthday, we went to a public beach with the whole hiking group and enjoyed a day of relaxation in the sun. Some guys played volleyball, some rented jet skis, and Dan led the troops in an amusing paddle-boat war. Otherwise, our day was quite uneventful, only accented by the constant parade of locals selling dried fish, beer, and boiled corn. In the evening, we left Jackie and Masha with the youth for one remaining night and took James with us to the hotel where our family is going to spend the remainder of the week. We enjoyed settling in and walking on the more private hotel beach.
We woke up to more ice on the tents but clear skies above the mountains. We shivered as we boiled water for breakfast and watched the sunlight creep down the mountainside, wishing it to hurry to warm us and dry our tents. By the time the campers crawled out of the tents, the sunlight had made it to camp-site and started to dry things for the third time in 24 hours.
We packed up and started hiking before the sun had fully done its work, however, and crossed our final river in the morning hours, soaking our pants once again. With the clear skies and bright sun, however, we weren’t too discouraged. The hike down this long valley was gorgeous. The valley was wide and flat, resembling a setting for a cowboy movie – like the high plains of Colorado. The grade was gentle and the scenery was breath-taking. Although the valley was long, it was not as brutally steep as the hike out last year.
We met several Kyrgyz shepherds on the way out and found out where we might get a lift down the remainder of this eternal valley (only 40 km long. . .)!
The end came quickly, as we suddenly found ourselves outside a wood farmhouse, negotiating for a ride out in the back of an antique truck.
As we piled in, Abby and I were offered the privilege of riding in the cab. We were obliged to accept, much to Abby’s dismay. The cab smelled very strongly of gasoline and a person who spends a lot of time caring for sheep and not much time bathing. Abby spent most of the ride with her head hanging out the window. After a number of kilometers, we were intercepted by the director of Young Life Kyrgyzstan who was arranging transportation for us once we exited the valley. Several of us were invited to join him in his car, so we gladly evacuated the sheep pen and joined him in his Ipsum. Things were definitely looking up. At the end of the valley, we were transferred to vans and escorted the thirty more kilometers around the lake to a guest house. Unfortunately, we had missed our lunch window and it took a very long time to negotiate and find space for everyone. It was dinner time before we were able to finally buy shampoo and a razor and take showers (a big priority after that many days in the mountains!). At our guest house, there was only one shower for the whole building. I couldn’t get any hot water to come out of the faucet, so I braced myself for another mountain lake experience. I did go back outside to see if there was a trick I didn’t know about turning on the hot water and found the caretaker stoking the water heater with plastic cups and candy wrappers. He said that it might take “10 minutes or so” for the water to get warm. Unfortunately, we didn’t have much time, so I had a “refreshing” shower. Still, it was good to be cleaner! We were all ravenous by the time we went to a café for dinner, but very appreciative of the many Central Asian courses set down in front of us! It was a lovely time of celebration and a nice return back to civilization. While the youth stayed up half the night playing Mafia, five members of the Burns family stayed on “mountain time” (going to bed and getting up with the sun) and said our good-nights early. 
Cold and cloudy as we emerged from our tents this morning. No sunshine to warm our faces and spirits.
But, the cold weather was actually to our advantage as we climbed up three huge sections of glacier this morning. If the sun had been shining, the glacier would have been much more slippery to walk on. The glacier was quite dirty with much sand and rock embedded in it. While the ice was not beautiful, the dirt certainly gave us far more traction!
Abby needed a little help on the slippery surface, so she hung on to our backpacks on the way up.
We saw several large crevasses on the way up and heard a major river flowing underneath the ice as well. Really a strange sensation!
As we approached the pass, Dan and I noticed the dark clouds moving over the mountain range. We knew exactly what awaited us. . . As we climbed higher, the hail began. The pellets were not huge and simply bounced off of us and our packs. Thus, the hailstorm was far superior to rain. We climbed the last hour to the pass in such weather. Every wrinkle in our packs was full of ice pellets.
When we finally reached the pass (over 13,000 ft), the hail subsided for a moment, giving us an opportunity to take a group picture. Then, the thunder and storm started again in earnest, sending us scurrying down the mountain. Not much time for celebration of reaching our goal!
The descent was certainly one of the most miserable periods of our entire five day adventure. The hail continued for several hours, then turned to freezing rain as we descended lower. We were all soaked to the skin and freezing in the whipping wind. Abby started having altitude issues and trouble walking with her pack. Dan took her pack and we tried to get her to eat some energy food, but everything made her feel sick. We knew we needed to get lower quickly and set up a tent for warmth. We couldn’t stop for lunch since the weather was so bad, so we kept on walking and walking.
After hiking for six hours, the skies finally cleared enough for us to stop for a lunch break. Because the weather showed no sign of improving, we decided to make camp at a spot that our guide was excited to show us. The area that Gennadi chose was its own micro-community – a rock and cactus garden hidden between and protected by four hills. It was really a very beautiful spot, reminiscent of a rock garden in Arizona, and amazing to find above tree-line in the Kyrgyz mountains!
After we set up the tents, the skies cleared for an hour or so. As the sun came out, we stretched out our soaked clothing on every available surface. Spirits lifted again as everyone got dry and warm. 
The guys chopped down dead prickly cactus pieces for a bonfire, others relaxed and played, and we started preparing supper.
As this valley was also a grazing area for a large herd of horses, we got a close look at the herd as they came through a nearby stream at dinner time. 
Unfortunately, our wonderful weather didn’t last. As we prepared dinner, the skies opened up again, soaking us once more.
We were happy that this was our last night in the mountains, eliminating the concern of having our warm clothes dampened. Despite the fact that the rain was coming down again, spirits were still high as a rousing game of “I Doubt It” went on in the youth tent after dinner. Their laughter could be heard throughout the valley. We were so pleased to have a tent over our heads and warm sleeping bags to curl up into. Back-packing certainly reduces life issues to a bare minimum. 
We awoke to beautiful sunshine over one of the bluest mountain lakes we have ever seen in Kazakhstan. An absolutely gorgeous view. Lovely horses, as long as they are munching far from our tents. . .
We took a relaxed morning, allowing masochists to jump in the lake (five seconds was the maximum swim time -- an ice covering had just melted in the sun) or wash their hair (BRAIN FREEZE like I have never had!). It felt good to unwind after our long day yesterday.
These girls have been hiking two days longer than the rest of us and they were VERY happy to bathe. . .
The Burns crew!!
Issyk-kuhl 2008 Team
We turned up a new valley, filled with plenty of rock fields that covered the entire mountainside. Jackie and I, who both have knee issues, find the medium/large boulder stepping/balancing to be one of the most difficult types of hiking. Unfortunately, we had several hours of rock fields to walk through today. 
Interesting things you can find along the trail. . .
Rocks, rocks, and more rocks. . .
"Camp-site” is a generous description. It was a huge gravel bed with several rings flattened out on the hillside where the tents could be set up.
It was icy cold as the sun went down, but the group was in high spirits after our restful morning and spent several hours huddled together, enjoying tea and laughter around the non-existent campfire (we were above tree-line for four days).
We were awakened in the middle of the night by shouting. A single hiker had become separated from his group on the glacier and was trying to descend in the dark (?? We questioned his faculties. . .). He stumbled into our camp-site and was met by Stepa who was having trouble sleeping and had come out of the tent for air. The hiker had been without water for some hours (afraid to descend to the river in the dark) so welcomed some hot tea and food. Some additional excitement to our already full adventure! 
