56 Gilgit – Talechi – 67 km We left the Madina Hotel late. Sometimes, I wished Ernest could get
an earlier start, but getting him going was near impossible and highly
annoying. I’d no problem waiting for someone but claiming it took
four hours to load a bicycle was excessive by anyone's standards.
No significant hills were encountered, only the general ups and downs
of the Karakoram. A whitewashed monument signalled the familiar
junction of the Karakoram, Hindukush and Himalaya mountains,
where I wasn’t too long ago. Unfortunately, a Dutch traveller pulled
too far off the road and overturned his Land Cruiser. A tad further,
was the Nanga Parbat Hotel, a half-built structure that made for
excellent camping. The views across to Nanga Parbat (8,125m and
the second highest in Pakistan) were fantastic. Known as Killer
Mountain due to the many deaths among mountaineers, I was happily
watching from afar.
Talechi – Chilas – 71 km
A hot and dry day’s pedalling proceeded to historic Chilas. Delayed by
Ernest, who had three punctures, our arrival was considerably later
than anticipated. A headwind picked up between two and four o’clock,
and best to do the majority of the riding in the morning, if Ernest
could get going at a reasonable time.
People warned about stone-throwing in the region, which we
experienced that day. Mercifully, the notorious landslide area close to
Raikot Bridge came without delays and didn’t require any running
from boulders like a few days earlier. Regrettably, the Karakoram Inn
at Chilas was a typical Pakistani budget hotel with dirty bedding and
filthy bathrooms.