We were soaking the sights , smells and views of Rama and chilling. The days are warm but not uncomfortable. If it is bright and sunny, care must be taken to avoid sunburns as the UV index is very high at these altitudes. The kitchen crew continued to feed us hot meals and we explored the area either solo or in small groups. We did drive down to the town of Astore where our cell phones worked. It was kind of amusing to find group members occupying high ground trying to get the strongest signal while making a call. Our club President Romano who did not accompany us on the trip was our focal point and we passed on all updates to him who posted them on our facebook page.
Another picture of our campsite
picture taken from the hill behind our car parking
our cell phone / camera batteries / laptops charging station .
yours truly caught napping
a flower we spotted among the rocks..name unknown
off we go….
stopping for a breather
a game of cricket being played by the local lads.
After a short break we begin our trek
more of the same purple flowers
Another short stop on the glacier to catch our breath and a picture.
glacial pool along the way
crossing another glacier
- Lake Rama
The ‘experts’ discuss the strategy
casting the line
We were carrying fishing gear and most of us were keen to catch the famous trout found in the northern areas of Pakistan. We trekked to lake Rama and arrived in about 2 hours. It is a steep climb and I didn’t have much energy left to cast anything so finding a flat rock, large enuff to accomodate at 6 ft 1 of me I decided to take a nap. The others wasted time by trying to lure the fish with all kinds of fancy tackle and even some scented bait. ..At least I got to take a nap and when I woke up some nice pictures.
waiting…..
Some group members had their own plans to visit the town of Astore. They drove the macho syncro but on the way back the van was making horrible sounds. All indications were that something bad had happened. The van limped back to Rama somehow and the tech team got to work taking the transmission apart only to find the crown wheel badly damaged. An urgent run to the point where our cell phones worked was made and message relayed to Islamabad to send a replacement.
the axles of the Syncro removed to reach the transmission
the insides of oil bath aircleaners. This should give you a fair idea of the kind of roads and conditions we drove our VW’s in
Finding parts for air cooled VW’s is difficult. Finding parts for a Syncro…next to impossible. However our contact promised to send something by the next commercial coach and it was to arrive the next morning. The part arrived the next day but as expected was wrong. It was the pinion wheel for a vanagon while we were looking for one from a 4X4. Khalid – our ace mechanic decided that it was not going to be sane to wait for another part and worked his magic assembling the transmission back and disconnecting power to the rear wheels. our Syncro was going to be front wheel drive vehicle for the rest of the trip!
Like this:
Like Loading...
Related
bUGcATiOn.cOm – The summer blog contest 
Great! some pictures remind me a bit of places in the swiss mountains. But the area seem to be much wider – cool!