The weather in Hunza Valley was cold, probably colder than Darjeeling and definitely colder than Gangtok in Sikkim. The terrain looked significantly harsher than Sikkim's, judging from the ominous sights we took in while enduring the bus ride up to Karimabad via Aliabad. Against our better senses, we decided to sign up for a trek to Miar Glacier at the Old Hunza Inn, after haggling and deliberating over the relatively steep price of 55 USD per day, which was 20 USD more than that amount we paid per day for our trek to Goecha La.

Was it worth it? Hindsight is always 20/20, and I at least had my apprehensions, considering the fact that we have already climbed 5127m and spent 9 days on a trek, and this trek to Miar Glacier was only 2 days long. But the pictures say it all. It was 110 bucks well spent, even though trekking and spending one night on the mountains itself were hellish. This trek took us to a wildly different landscape and challenged us with different terrain. What we saw in Sikkim was very different from what we encountered in Hunza Valley.

First, an introduction of the personnel...

This is Leo, our guide and host at the Old Hunza Inn. He led us through the entire trek, and it was a pleasure knowing him. He is an easy-going guy with a surprisingly good grasp of English. He is 26, with a degree in Geography from the University of Punjab. He took good care of us during the trek.


And there is his friend from university, Mumtaz, who decided that trekking was fun and since he had time on his hands in between jobs in Islamabad, he might as well just join his good friend and a bunch of Singaporean unknowns on a trek to Miar Glacier. He was good fun, and very comical in his actions. He has trouble ascending steep slopes, and attributes it to his "stomach problems".



The support crew is a single porter from Nagar Village, the age old rival village of Hunza Village. He lugged a single blue plastic container which held all our food.




What good luck we had was probably used up during our Sikkim trek, which was blessed with good weather. Right from the start of our trek to Miar Glacier, it was cloudy and hence the temperature dipped. Windchill was our worst enemy.






Despite the weather, spirits were high. The novel terrain provided something new for us.




Rocky. Most parts of trek was through tremendously rocky terrain. Rocks were everywhere, and the small rocks made our footholds shaky and unsteady.





And after a while, we saw ice together with the rocks. It was something new that we did not see while we trekked Sikkim.




Black rocks were seen after a while, which were rather incredible because they looked as if they came out of a Lord of the Rings movie. Reminded me of Mordor.






In the background of the dreariness of rock, mountains loom with their icy peaks.







Sheperds live in stone huts in the mountains. We saw quite a few huts along the way. Life there must be tough.





It wasn't all inclined terrain; there were spots of flatland in between but they were not as common as steep slopes. Vegetation was sparse.





And suddenly, out of nowhere, we find our paths blocked by a gate. The shepherds probably built it to keep the animals within specified boundaries. Donkeys and sheeps are frequently seen roaming around. Women can be seen around the slopes. They don't like to be photographed so I took this secretly.





The last part of the journey for the first day was up a steep slope to our rest point. The view was great, but the incline made the trek tiring. At least the weather was pretty clear and the path was firm.











The first break stop along the steep climb. We had grape juice and took in the sights. It was cold. The scent of peppermint (?) followed us along the path. Leo had to carry the stove for a while. I bet it was tiring.













The dirt path slowly made way to clear meadows. This is the next stop at the shepherd's huts. Crops are planted on the pristine grass and sheeps graze under the watch of snowy peaks.







We rested just outside the village mosque, which was a basic makeshift rock hut with a carpet lining the floor. These shepherds spend their lives in the mountains, tending to their goats without the company of family and women. Not long after we arrived, little children shooed their herd of goats in our direction.

Our guide Leo gave some medication to the shepherds. The shepherds gave us buttermilk to enjoy. The buttermilk was made from goat's milk, and it was thick, pungent and unpasteurised. Drinking it was to play dice with our stomachs. Tim did not want to drink it because he had a bad stomach. I couldn't finish my cup and passed the remaining milk to Leo, who lapped it up quickly.












Finally, after a long upward ascent around the mountain, we reached our rest point for the night. The terrain was flat, and the winds were strong. Goats and sheep graze on the meadows around us. We could see our target for tomorrow from the height of the meadow. The combination of white glacier, green pastures and peaks in the horizon was very pretty. The strong winds and cold reminded us of Lam Muney in Sikkim, which was not a good thing because we had an absolutely freezing stay there.







While waiting for dinner and resting after the day's exertions, we had fun with the goats. This particular brown one was a bit too friendly and followed us all the way from the previous rest point at the shepherd's huts to our camping site for the night. Shortly after the photos were taken the errant goat was dragged off by a shepherd boy and stones were thrown at it.







Our late lunch (we had it at 4pm) was simple fare: boiled eggs and maggi noodles.







After lunch we set up our tent. Tim retired early because he was absolutely shattered and rubbished and oh, it was cold.









We shivered in the cold before dinner and tried to find spots where the wind does not reach us to hide. Nagar bread (i.e. bread made by Nagar, the rival village of Hunza) was served. Our chicken for dinner was kept in a plastic bag and did not rot because of the cold weather.






Dinner was served and we ate and shared the food together. It was nice to dine in the company of the snowy peaks and glaciers. Mumtaz cooked the chicken because Leo told him to and he used to cook chicken during their university days together in Islamabad.





The sun soon descended and the moon was rising. It was a full moon and hence the night was especially illuminated. Here are some shots of what we saw.







We hit the glaciers the next day. It was a different experience traversing ice, which were slippery at times. We had several vertical limit moments where we had to jump across deep crevasses.






Snow fell while we navigated the glaciers. It was the first time we trekked through snow, and the first time Roger and Tim saw snow. Leo told us that snow was better than rain, because the latter would make it much colder for us.








The snow cleared with time, and our morale was boosted.







And we walked and walked. Here are some photos of our travails, some jumping and climbing and when we had no choice, sliding on our butts. Leo pointed the way.







We finally reached the viewpoint on Miar Glacier. Here are some photos of what we saw...





We rested at the viewpoint and took in the sights. Our water bottles were filled with fresh and sweet glacial water, which was the best water we drank all trip. The mandatory celebratory photos were taken.





We continued our trek through the glaciers. There are 2 kinds of ice: white and dirty. The former provided better traction and safer terrain while the later was less friendly. We tried to avoid the latter.

Leo gave us the option of a shorter path through the glacier and a more adventurous option which will give us better views. We chose the latter, and sought to remain on the glaciers for as long as possible because it was better for our morale and we felt better treading on ice than on black rock. We had to pause a few times to figure out the best path through the glaciers.





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There were curious ice formations along the way. Here's an ice cave.




The glaciers were fun and I was rather disappointed that they had to end. We exited the glaciers after traversing some seriously dodgy and slippery terrain to move across a river, and were greeted with landscape that is reminiscent of a desert. We took a rest and our lunch (lots of cake) on the plains.







The final portion of the trek was an upwards climb up the path we used when going to the glaciers. We were just going up and up and up till we finally saw some civilisation. The children we met were very amused with us, and offered help whenever they saw some hint of weakness in us, which was almost always.









We finally arrived at the village where we started our hike. Bringing things to a full circle, we walked through the same door that we exited when we left the village for the glaciers. Coke and french fries were shared, and we were in celebratory mood. Even though we have left the glaciers and mountains, it was freezing still! We left soon after, with memories of the white glaciers forever stuck in our minds.