Today, greater police presence has increased security along the KKH, but it still retains a raw, edge of the world feel. Signs along the side of the road welcomed us to northern Kashmir. During a rest break at a tea shop, I was directed towards the ladies rest room. All four of us have pony tails, which seem to throw most of the locals off. The gender cues used by rural Pakistani men don't always apply to foreigners.
Muslim law requires all women to wear baggy clothes and keep their hair covered.
Men often wear beards and never have long hair. After 14 hours of driving, we stopped at a hotel in Chilas. Voytek Kurtyka, the famous Polish climber, was there with his Japanese partner. Together they hope to do a new route on K2, alpine style. Needless to say, we were all pretty impressed and honored to meet him.