Hiking Guide: Ak Suu Traverse: Days 1 + 2

Day 1: Jyrgalan to Eki-Chat Yurt Camp

Distance: 12km

Ascent: approx. 350m

Time to walk: 5.5 hours inc. breaks (and cough breaks as my sickness was still lingering!)

Day 1 was a relatively easy walk as it was mostly flat, walking from our guesthouse in Jyrgalan through a picturesque valley. What did make it more challenging though was the mud we had to dodge - in some parts it was so swampy that we had to be really careful to find a route that didn’t have us ending up in knee-high mud puddles!

We set up camp where the Jyrgalan Yurt Camp normally is, 12km from the start of the trail. They still had the frame up for one of the buildings, however in the morning we awoke to workers who had come out to take the frame down!

It was easy enough to find somewhere to pitch our tent, as there was a lot of flat ground. We were also just a hundred metres or so from a flowing river for fresh water. On the downside, due to being in a valley it made for a very early sunset and the temperature dropped down at about 4pm.

Day 2 - Eki-Chat Yurt Camp to Freecamping Spot (3km from the river crossing)

Distance: 13.5km

Ascent: approx. 650m

Time to walk: 7.5 hours inc. breaks

Day 2 is where the challenge started. The morning started off at 9:30am with a steep climb up 400m to the Terim Tor Bulak Pass. I probably made it harder for myself by climbing up the wrong part - the trail was hard to follow but I could easily see where I needed to get to, but the way Tim went seemed to involve a lot less rock scrambling!

That part alone took us two hours, as I needed lots of breaks to catch my breath (and to admire the views, of course). The top of the pass was a beautiful sight to behold - looking out over the mountain ranges.

What goes up of course must come down, so for the next two hours we had a relatively easy walk back down - it wasn’t as steep or rocky as the other side. We spent the journey down looking out over the river and dreading the next mountain pass that lay before us that we had to climb that afternoon.

We stopped at the river for lunch, which was right next to a highway - so you could explore this area as a day trip if you were short on time!

We had read on AllTrails that the bridge had washed away and you either had to cross the river on foot or walk an extra 3km to cross on the other bridge. For about an hour we were determined to save our energy (by this time it was 3:30pm) and find a way to cross the river on foot, but it was just too rapid and freezing and we couldn’t find a spot safe to cross.

So down to the rackety bridge we went, I am surprised it managed to hold us! We passed a hurd of horses, and tried to take a shortcut back onto the main trail by going up through a small track in the trees instead of along the other side of the river, but I think it ended up taking us longer.

Given how late it was in the afternoon, we decided not to head all the way to the next campspot listed on AllTrails, instead finding a flat spot about half way up the mountain pass in amongst the cows and next to another river. By the time we set up camp it was 5pm, and we were exhausted. This is when the blisters started creeping through all over my feet, so between that and my lingering cough, I was definitely done with the day!