I went through it so quickly that it even seemed like I wasn't tired, but that impression was deceptive. By evening, and especially by morning, I felt all the consequences of the descent and ascent. But, such consequences are easily dealt with, either by a sauna or yoga. The very first series of Ashtanga yoga, that is, yoga chikitsa, is designed, among other things, to cleanse the body of waste, toxins, and other effects of physical exertion. The full series really clears you out and gets things moving. By the way, I rarely do the full series; it takes a long time, and I simply don't have time for that kind of daily masochism, so I usually do short sequences. Hindus must live in some other universe where they have loads of time. But, in certain cases like this, the full series really helps and comes in handy.
Another feature of this hike was the mushrooms. Spring in Tajikistan is the best time for mushrooms; while it's still damp and the grass hasn't dried out, there are plenty of mushrooms. Like here, for example. Although, these are just knight mushrooms (Tricholoma), I didn't even bother with them, let them keep growing.
But a bit later, I came across some decent mushrooms. Well, "came across" isn't quite right; I just knew a spot, and managed to pick about two kilos. For some reason, I took a photo of the bag closed; I only just noticed that now, but it's okay, you can still see them, even if it's a bit blurry.
Photos from the ascent. Nothing special to comment on, just the ascent, fresh air, neither hot nor cold, in a word – wonderful.
Here I reached the watershed. On the left is the Chayka Gorge, and on the right is the Odjuk Gorge.
But, the end point of my route is further ahead, on the next rise.
Photos from this intermediate point.
On the saddle between these two rises, there's a wonderful clearing. If the hike had involved an overnight stay, I would definitely have stopped here. No matter which way you look, there's no sign of civilization, but the signal strength is excellent, so it's convenient and all. Here is that clearing and the views from it.
I met a beautiful butterfly in the clearing.
Next, I reached the highest point. The altitude here is about 1900 meters, maybe not that high, but I think it's quite sufficient for a first-day workout. From here, it's all downhill. The descent leads straight to the village of Varzob, which is in the Odjuk Gorge, and you move only along the top. And here are the views from this peak in different directions.
Next, I began the descent into the Odjuk Gorge that opened up below. This is its small branch; the next couloir is the gorge of waterfalls – here is a link to the photo review of visiting it.
A little lower down on the descent, I found a convenient clearing with a tree where I settled down for a rest and lunch. I also took some photos. These are photos from the clearing.
These are photos with me.
Now all that's left is to descend. Photos from the descent.
You could say I've reached the home stretch; you can see the trail and the village of Varzob.
This is a photo in the Odjuk Gorge; you can see the dachas below.
This is where I'm coming from.
This makes it clearer. The farthest hill on the right is where I climbed up from Chayka. Next is the highest point, and you can see the trail I followed to get here.
The Odjuk Gorge, you can see almost to the end. And other photos all around.
Well, after that, there was really nothing more to photograph, so I put my camera away and started descending to the village of Varzob along the trail you can see in the photo.
And for the full picture, here's a view of these hills from the minibus stop near the department store. The far-right hill, between the signs, is the one I climbed up from the Chayka Gorge, and the next one is the highest point of my route today.
All the best to you and interesting hikes.
