Yes, I have scaled the Mushkpuri Peak Page 1

Yes, I have scaled the Mushkpuri Peak

(Shaikh Muhammad Ali)

http://www.abbottabadvalley.com/mushkpuri/slides/DSC03790.html

“We need sometimes to escape into open solitudes, into

aimlessness, into the moral holiday of running some pure

hazard, in order to sharpen the edge of life, to taste hardship,

and to be compelled to work desperately for a moment at no

matter what”.……….George Santayana

Yes, I have scaled the Mushkpuri Peak Page 2

Overview:

The day that I sat next to Hassan Nasir Zaidi during a top management program

conducted between 5th – 7th June 2009 at Khanaspur, an HEC retreat; I knew that we

will not just click but will be accompanying each other during our mountain expeditions.

Probably both of us were birds of the same feather and indeed we have been flocking

together since then.

Off and on both of us have the urge to climb mountains to revisit the devils in our soul

and try to quench that thirst to climb to the nearest mountains and seek God.

Both of us did get a chance to jump the boat while we were again caught sitting next

to each other during a similar top management program at Khanaspur between 23rd to

25th July 2010. This was almost exactly one year after we have met for the first time. I

have learnt with age and experience that such short expeditions cannot be planned in

advance and thus during the leadership development training we finalized our little

escapade then and there and decided to trek the Mushkpuri peak in the wee hours of

27th July, 2010.

http://karakoram.seeandreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/mushkpuri-trek.jpg

This particular track goes from Nathiagali up on the Mushkpuri top at a height of 2,800

meters above sea level. It takes about 90 minutes from Dunga Gali at a brisk pace and

if the weather is clear, you can get to see the Nanga Parbat peak (The 9th highest

peak in the world) which is about 300 - 400 kms away from here.

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(The adventurous me at the start of the trek)

We started early around 5:00 a.m. after saying our Fajr prayers while the rest of our

colleagues and families were asleep in the guest houses. It was a beautiful yet chilly

morning and we drove to Nathiagali from our rest house at Ayubia in Hassan’s Jeep

Cherokee and parked the car right next to the ex-Chief Minister’s summer retreat of KPK

province.

(Hassan all set for the trek)

Slowly and gradually we walked towards our destination while enjoying the beautiful

chirping sounds of birds who were singing their morning hymns and the insects starting

their daily chores and routines.

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We continued walking while appreciating the beauty of the valley and nature till we

reached the intersection which either takes you to Dungagali or leads you to the

mountain top. After spending a little time here and feasting on some chips and water,

we moved further up on the mountain. The smell of pine trees was simply exhilarating

and we slowly and gradually ascended.

(Where do we go from here?)

Once we reached the mountain top, the feeling was un-explainable and we tried to

catch these memories through pictures and a video clip. Due to a clear sunny day, we

were extremely lucky to catch a glimpse of the world’s 9th highest peak i.e. the Nanga

Parbat to the north-east which was comfortably at a distance of 300 - 400 kms from this

particular mountain top.

(Posing beside a huge fallen tree on the trek)

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Since we had to get back to the proceedings of the last day of the training, thus we

had to cut our trip short (much against our wishes) and called it a day and filled with a

sense of achievement, descended down the mountain.

http://beautifulpakistan.com/bpk/command/preview/?id=3d96843bd3e893a93541551ec8592809

It took us about two hours to descend and finally reach a make shift restaurant (dhaba)

where we had ‘Anday-Parathey’ (omelets with bread) cooked in mobil oil and rushed

back to our training program.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/48/186306026_40c61fc6cf_m.jpg

Yes, I have scaled the Mushkpuri Peak Page 6

We both intend to do the Miranjani trek the next time around when we visit Khanaspur

again.

Shaikh Muhammed Ali „The Wandering Dervish‟

E-mail: dushkashaikh@gmail.com

Cell: +00-92-321-5072996

Wednesday, 22nd

June 2011, 09:52 p.m. (PST)