You're kidding, right?

During our first day's hiking, we came across a Uighur cemetery at the side of the lake. The cemetery contained about twenty large tombs and a number of smaller grave markers. The tombs are constructed from the same mud brick-style architecture of Uighur homes in Xinjiang and often appeared to be house-shaped, with small windows allowing light and air to pass completely through the structure. No structure rose above eye level, though several topped out about there.While skirting the edge of the cemetery, Michael noticed a nearby ridgeline that appeared to have a small cluster of tombs, and managed to talk Cara and Will into joining him. The climb up the ridge was somewhat arduous - in part due to the fact that our lungs were not yet acclimated to the altitude and in part due to the steepness of the rock-strewn slope, which forced us to slowly scrabble up on all fours. Upon reaching the crest of the ridgeline, we were able to get some good views of the surrounding terrain, though storm clouds were severely hampering visibility out past a mile or so. As we reached the tombs themselves, it began to hail on us. Pea-sized pebbles of ice zipped and popped off our jackets, convincing us it was time to head back to the yurt. It should be pointed out that although these tombs were typically capped by a dome and therefore looked vaguely houselike, no Uighur home we saw looked anything like them. It was like a mud-brick imitation of a yurt. In the photo, you can see a local waterway snaking its way across a largely barren landscape to empty into Karakul Lake.

By the time we got back to the yurts, it was high time to use the camp's facilities. Unfortunately, the brand-new toilet facilities were locked up. A few feet away stood a corrugated steel make-shift blind, within which you could poop to your heart's content.
The downside was that you had to straddle a gaping mud pit, suspended above the filth by well-worn pine boards. Luckily, thanks to the thin air and ass-chapping breeze whistling down from the nearby mountain slopes, the stench of this open latrine wasn't terribly punishing. Even so, it was hardly a sanctuary. On the plus side, each latrine (one for the lads, one for the ladies) was clearly designed to simultaneously accommodate either four or eight squatters, depending on how friendly you all were.

That evening we hung out in the mess hall overlooking our yurts and met up with some interesting folks. In a "small world" moment, Yeenyee (one of our fellow adventurers) ran into someone she used to know in Singapore. Stay tuned, as tomorrow we will show you the interior of our (very humble) yurt dwellings, along with an image or two of the landscape surrounding Karakul Lake after sunrise.