Bolshoe Almatinskoe Lake

Last weekend, we took a morning--> turned afternoon jaunt to nearby “Big Almaty Lake.” The morning started out rough, with an overpriced taxi ride, which I decided to abort for Joey’s taxi (my New Balances). And the walk up towards the lake area was pretty unscenic (it felt like I was walking up Blue Mountain). The temperature also began to fall like my spirits and I was beginning to think “Big Almaty Lake” was going to be “Big Almaty FLOP.” We finally reached a hydroelectric station with a large, black pipe (which signaled only 2 – 3 more hours of hiking). This was no walk through Rockford Park – the hike was straight up an icy, steep, mountain (all along this black pipe).

After lots of rest stops and a couple graceful slips, we eventually made it up to the lake. Big Almaty Lake (2500m elevation) was very nice and worth the adversity of the AM. As you will see below, it was very picturesque and we caught it during a nice turquoise color, thanks to the melt from a few warmer fall days. It rests in a bowl at the foot of the Zailysky Alatau Mountains and it felt like we were the only ones there. On the other side of the mountain range is the Kyrgyzstan border. During our stay up at the lake, we scrambled around a bit and eventually found a sunny spot to eat some lunch in the cold. Apparently, further up the mountain (2800m) there is an astronomical observatory from the Soviet-era and more sights at great heights!

What goes up must come down and thanks to gravity, the trek down was a bit easier. We saw a lot more people on our way down and I of course smiled and told them it was only a “bit further” (suckers!) We gradually made it to the bottom of the pipe and started walking along the road back towards civilization. There were several groups of people hanging out along creeks and rock formations. They were grillin’ and chillin’. We made up for the pricy morning taxi by walking and taking a bus back to Almaty. It was a very long day and my muscles ached from the vertical venture.

On the way home we stopped at Mega – a huge shopping mall. There was a large grocery store, bowling alley, rock climbing wall, and lots of stores. Not quite as big as Christiana, but a good spot for people watching. Yes, there was even a Sbarro!

Plenty of pics below (hey I hiked that much, I'm gonna take pictures!!!)