testmeat photoblog

the day after i arrived in kyrgyzstan i embarked on my first trek, in ala archa national park. i heard it wasn’t too demanding, so would be a good starter trail to prepare for the rest of the country. i soon discovered how physically unprepared i was for the mountains and i was completely drained by the end of the day. the health app on my phone told me that i walked 22km and, crucially for my aching legs, climbed 297 flights. this was all under a burning hot, almost cloudless sky. the terrain was generally pretty good, but there were still quite a few areas with very loose stones. ascending these sections was tricky, but descending was an even greater challenge. i had a few slips, but felt as though i’d made it down in one piece and unscathed. that was until i went to change my camera lens and saw shards of broken glass. on closer inspection it was only the lens filter which was broken, presumably when i slipped and the bag swung onto the rocks, while the lens itself was undamaged. as i was staying in the capital that night i didn’t have too much trouble finding a new filter, and i left these mountains with a whole new appreciation of their efficacy.

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