First Day-Hike in Turkmenistan

After waiting for the simmering 110º F summer and early fall temperatures to subside, and finding time between a busy work schedule and travel, I finally had my first opportunity to go hiking in Turkmenistan.

I quickly learned that with rare exception, if one wants to go hiking in Turkmenistan, they simply make their own trails. A small group of fellow expats and myself drove out of the city of Ashgabat, and toward the Kopet Dag Mountains, searching for a suitable spot to park the cars and begin hiking. After driving for about one hour, we pulled off the side of the road, found a small path made years of grazing sheep, and began our hike. Before long, we ventured off the sheep trails and began exploring whatever areas look interesting, making our own routes as we progressed.

Our "route" that we made up as we went along including some rock-scrambling down into a valley below. Our hike also including a fare amount of climbing as well.

A beautiful view of the Kopet Dag Mountain range. There was complete peace and quite in this area.

We stumbled upon this make-shift sheep pen off a dirt road. The pen is constructed of old cars turned on their sides, and other random junk. It is also complete with a scarecrow in the back-center.

We found an old metal bowl in the valley and decided to use it for target practice. One would throw the bowl in the air, and the rest of us threw rocks at it in an attempt to hit before it landed the ground. None of us hit our target.