This week has been full of security advisories about blocked paths to and from the U.S. embassy. Mainly, the advisories have been because of protests over recent actions against former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf -- who returned from self-exile to run for president again, only to be denied a place as a candidate then be arrested on terrorism charges. One demonstration began at the office of Musharraf's party, the All Pakistan Muslim League, in a market near our house.
The marches to the Supreme Court, also conveniently located between the embassy and our house, aren't so much dangerous as large enough to make roads impassable. (And lest you are tempted to fear for my life, I point out that one of the most recent advisories was about a road closure near the British high commission, because of the Queen's birthday celebration.) The road closures, which only compound the craziness of Islamabad traffic, are enough to make you head for the hills.
The Margalla Hills, that is; these foothills of the Himalayas stretch along the northern edge of the city. A national park within the hills features miles of interconnected trails. Sadly, it's getting pretty hot to hike them, but we managed to squeeze in two trails before the summer heat hits full-force. We took on Trails 3 and 5, two of the most popular trails, on back-to-back weekends.
For our first foray, we picked Trail 5, mainly because the trailhead is closest to our house. I found out only later that this is the more difficult of the two trails, especially when you take the path along the steep and scraggly fire break (left). To be honest, most of the trail is precipitious, and little of it is easy on the feet, with all the rocks to navigate (right). My hiking boots have not yet arrived in our shipment, so I hiked in tennis shoes, and my arches definitely felt it the next day.
Having fallen out of shape during home leave, this was not perhaps the best introduction back into physical activity. But I managed to make it, albeit slowly, to the lookout where could see the expanse of Islamabad (top), including Faisal Mosque, the largest mosque in Pakistan (bottom left), and Rawal Lake, a man-made reservoir that collects water from Margalla Hills streams (bottom right).
At the lookout, it was clear that we hadn't made it to the top, as we saw a higher ridge loom ahead of us. Knowing that TJ was hoping for a glimpse of distant snowcaps, I agreed to push on. Unfortunately, when we reached the top of the next rise, we realized such a vista was blocked by yet another -- and higher -- ridge of hills. However, we had made it to Pir Sohawa, a viewpoint where many hikers stop to lunch at Monal or La Montana restaurants. We felt a little too gritty to enter a dining room, so we grabbed some masala Lay's (almost as good as the new sriracha-flavored potato chips) and sodas from a snack stand before heading back down.
The next weekend, we tackled nearby Trail 3 with a small group. The trail, although just as steep toward the end, was a much more pleasurable walk, mostly because of the colorful flowers, abundant trees, and bubbling springs that the path winds among. Presumably, these are some of the streams that eventually make their way to Rawal Lake.
Despite my better judgment, once we reached the end of the main trail, I joined a couple others in clamoring up a slippery wall of scree to an even higher viewpoint of Islamabad (that's Rawal Lake at the left). A little higher from here, we could've connected with Trail 5 and made a big loop back down, but considering we had hit that trail the week before, we were happy to retrace our steps through the shade of Trail 3.
Save a few village children selling creations woven from grass, there was little hassle or congestion on the paths. And the only risk to my safety was how overworking my quads made going down steps particularly difficult the next day. And yet, strangely, among the many advisories about tensions in the city, not one has made mention of potential tightness in my muscles.
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