3 Oct 2008, border~Lake Kara-Kol, Tajikistan, 8460km(77km/day)c

alt.2760m~3850m(4280m on map)~3630m

"You'll have to register within three days after you enter Tajikistan. The closest office is in Murgub. Otherwise you may be fined."
A German cyclist whom I met in Sari-Tash reminded me the rule. The distance from Sari-Tash to Murgub was 233km, with two passes over 4000m on the way. It could be windy. The road in Tajikistan was supposed to be bad.
I still left Sari-Tash late, thinking I would camp near the border in order to make the distance minimum. However, the distance from Sari-Tash to Kyrgyz passport control office was much shorter than I thought. I just went on.
The borderline was on Kyzyl-Art pass, in height of 4280m according to my map. Tajik office was on the other side (near the top) of the pass. It was quite a distance in between. And again I suffered from height with thin air. I didn't have headache, but gasped for breath, stopped frequently, took so much effort to gain every short distance.
Finally I got a monument on top in sight. I run(?) up there at once with all the strength I had left. Just when I was about to get there, in a few meters with my last gasp, a shepherd dog slowly appeared from behind, looked at me doubtfully, and peed to the monument! The bastard snatched the honor of reaching the summit from me.

When I entered Tajikistan, the sunlight was changing to orange already. I hurried to Lake Kara-Kol on the bumpy road in the desert, where I wanted to camp that night. I was chilled to the bone till I got there in the darkness.