By now (9 a.m. Monday, June 18th here in Colorado) the racers have actually already finished Stage 2 (remember, they’re 14 hours ahead in China). However, no results have been posted yet, so I’m not sure how Team Stray Dogs GoLite did in the second stage. I have received “Breaking News” e-mails that, as of 7:39 p.m. in China, the last competitor had arrived in Camp Langerville, which is not really a camp, as tonight the racers will not be staying in tents but will be staying in local Tajik village houses. Cool, huh? These races provide a very unique insight into the countryside, the cultures, and the people of the host countries. Makes me wish I could have volunteered again this year, as I did for the Sahara Race in Egypt in 2005. I would encourage everyone to think about doing a Racing the Planet event (or similar races), either as a competitor or volunteer. Truly, it is a unique and amazing experience!
I’ll provide more information on Stage 2 when it’s available but, for now, here’s some more information about Kashgar, the drive to the first camp, and Stage 1.
Before leaving Kashgar for the fist campsite, racers experienced a bit of the city, where the population is largely Muslim Uyghurs. The city is dotted with mosques; men wear colorful, square Muslim caps and sport pointy beards; and exotic spices fill the air where food is being cooked. Currently Kashgar is a Chinese city, but with a charming twist. The Uygur influence not only colors the sights and sounds, but the hospitable Muslim culture also gives the place a different feel to the rest of powerhouse China.
After a 9 hour drive west from Kashgar through the sheer mountains, complete with hail and pouring rain, the buses arrived at Koguxluk School where race organizers directed them into dormitory rooms at the boarding school. Due to the weather, the race staff made a safety decision to stay at alternative accommodation, rather than the tented camp a few hundred meters down the road. The staff and competitors moved desks, scooted chairs, and found a warm place to lay down their sleeping pads under the stern gaze of Marx and Chairman Mao posters on the walls. Doctor Grant reported that “It was a dark and stormy night…no really, it was dark and storming. Hard.”
After the “dark and stormy night,” racers moved to starting area in the Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous Region in China, where the first two stages are being held. Geographically, the Tajik region borders with not just one, but several of the Central Asian ‘stans’, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. The population of the county seat, Tashkurgan, is almost 30,000, more than 80 percent of which are ethnically Tajiks, from neighboring Tajikistan. In fact, the road leading to Tashkurgan comes within 6 miles of the Tajikistan border, and is almost 2,500 miles west of Beijing. The people here share the exquisite features of all the people in this area: near black hair, together with fair skin and hazel, green or even blue eyes.
Tashkurgan itself is a Wild West junction of grocery stores and other basic convenience services. It is a market town for sheep and wool products – such as carpets. The town has fallen under both Chinese and Persian influence during its 2,000-year history. In Uygur, ‘Tashkurgan’ means ‘stone fortress’ or ‘stone tower’, believed to be named after a centuries old fortress that once dominated the town. Outside the town, the mud home villages are more picturesque, strategically located in favorable spots along rivers for growing corn or wheat and keeping goats and surrounded by tall, slender poplar trees as a defense against the wind.
The average altitude of the county is over 13,000 feet, and the most breathtaking thing about the area is the mountains. The most beautiful is Mt Muztagh 24,751 feet – said to be one of the five most beautiful mountains in the world. The local name of the mountain is Muztagh Ata, or ‘Ice Mountain’s Father.’ It has a huge snowy dome, and is popular climbing peak for mountaineers. Hmmm… think Marsh will want to go back and do some climbing?
The morning of the 17th was cool and bright, and racers took in an almost 360 degree view of mountains. Before starting the Stage 1, they were treated to a colorful display of traditional Tajik dancing. At 10.30 a.m., Mary Gadams started the field and they took off over a bridge and into the river valley.
The course followed the road and shepherd trails downstream along the left bank of the river, crossing over to the other side and back twice on the course. These crossings were over bridges, however, so racers kept their feet dry. Some of the crossings were over traditional bridges built out of wood, and would only support a few racers at a time.
The course then followed the river and cut through a steep-sided gorge with fissured mountains rising sharply on both sides dwarfing the tiny villages at their feet that eek out a living from small wheat fields chiseled out of small stretches of flat land. The mountain scenery kept everyone craning their necks to take it all in. Grey and pink sheer rock slopes at some points were so high that racers could only just see the sky from the floor of the valley. The steely colors were interrupted by unexpected patches of lush, green, sunlit vegetation where families have built homes on south-facing river banks.
Reportedly many of locals in the villages that the race passed through had not seen foreigners before, thus curious villagers of all ages lined the route and sat with volunteers at checkpoints. By 1 p.m., 14 racers had passed Checkpoint 2, including Team Stray Dogs GoLite and Team China in the middle of the pack. The weather was kind during Stage 1, but the rough terrain started testing racers. The first blisters started to appear (although not for the Stray Dogs, I’m sure, as they have ENGO Blister Prevention Patches http://www.goengo.com/ and are wearing Injinji socks http://www.injinji.com). There were also some minor injuries, mainly grazes, from racers slipping on the rough terrain. With the help of their LEKI trekking poles http://www.leki.com/, the Stray Dogs should have been able to stay upright!
At the end of Stage 1, competitors arrived at Camp Yarkand River, where they huddled in their tents trying to stay dry as rain suddenly hit what was a clear and sunny day. With warm clothes and sleeping bags from GoLite http://www.golite.com/main/home.aspx and sleeping pads from Pacific Outdoor Equipment http://www.golite.com/main/home.aspx, I bet the Stray Dogs were plenty warm! Camp Yarkand River was located at Dara village no. 4 and the villagers there were every bit as curious about their visitors as the ones racers met on the course, crowding tent entrances and peeping through the windows of the tents.
Stage 2 headed further into this valley and brought more challenges to the field. More on Stage 2 when information is available.
Once again… if you can, please send a donation for the women and kids to:
Religious Teachers Filippini
Mission Fund/Marshall Ulrich
455 Western Avenue
Morristown, NJ 07960
Thanks for checking in!
