Large hike

Ala-Kul Lake, high in the Tian Shans, requires some time and effort.  

Day 1: You begin by walking up the Karakol Gorge, maybe 10 miles to the bridge over the river.

After the bridge it is a 3-mile grind up to Sirota Camp, a very small yurt camp in the valley below the pass to the lake.  

It's possible to get to the lake in one day, but why would you, when this camp offers dinner and breakfast to fuel up, a bed in a yurt, and the company of other trekkers?  Of course, it's also chilly this time of year.  I can't speak for the other yurts, but each of the 5 folks in my yurt slept fully clothed, in all our winter layers.

Day 2: early start.  2 hours to the lake, and again, the grind.  The trail to Ala-Kul offers 3 challenges:  it's steep AF; the trail is covered in sand, loose gravel, and scree, such that every step up involves a half-slide back down; the pass is over 3900 meters (nearly 13000 ft).  Any of these factors would present the hiker with some difficulty.  The combination is killer.

But look what's at the top!  Ala-Kul, "the pearl of the Ala-Too," which is the Kyrgyz name for the Tian Shans (meaning black and white, because of the way that the white snow sits on top of black peaks).  Fed by the glaciers that ring the lake, the lake is about 2 miles long and lies above 3500 meters (nearly 11500 feet).

And the mountains just keep going and going and going and going....

After skirting the lake and traversing the high pass on its east side, it's a long snowy drop down to Altyn-Arashan village.  Total miles for day 2: 14?, I think...

Day 3:  After having slept in the most comfortable bed since I left home (in a yurt!) and having a fabulous breakfast of mushroom-potato hash, I retread my 10-mile trail from a few days ago, from Altyn-Arashan down the canyon to Ak-Suu.  This time, no bucketing rain.