Travel by Lightfoot

“The strong winds would
engulf us in a cloud of
razor-sharp, golden particles”
So they didn’t burn themselves out too early on the
expedition, the team maintained a steady pace and took
a 10-minute break every hour. When the sun was at its
highest, the team would stop for lunch, then charge ahead
again throughout the afternoon, lured by the serpentine
curves of the Lut’s hypnotic landscape. However, the
desert threw up constant surprises. “The sheer force of
the howling sandstorms, which rendered walking along
the narrow ridges almost impossible, caught us off guard,”
says Amour-Levar. “When we trekked along the top of the
600-metre high dunes, the strong winds would engulf us
in a cloud of razor-sharp, golden sand particles and made
it almost impossible for us to maintain our balance. It was
quite a daunting experience.”
During their seven-day trek the women and their
guides didn’t see anyone else. The only signs of life along
the trails were a few wolf, fox, snake and camel tracks. But
this was a plus point as they were told that over the past
few years, drug smugglers from the nearby Afghan and
Pakistani borders had used the southern part of the Lut
as a travel route.
One of the longest and most challenging days of the
journey was the day they crossed the Eye of the Lut. The
Eye is a huge crater believed to have been formed when a
large meteorite struck the earth. It was this landscape that
really pushed them to their limits. They covered close to
35 kilometres and arrived into camp in total darkness. “I
was so exhausted I didn’t even have the strength to unzip
my bag and set up my tent that day,” says Amour-Levar.
“However, the Eye of the Lut was truly spectacular to
behold. At the end of the day, as the last rays of sunlight
glimmered and the sky turned a rich shade of amber,
it literally took our breath away.”
After finding the strength to put up the tents, the team
would then follow a strict routine of trying their best to
“de-sand” without water, treat blisters and other sores.
Then their guides would serve them a hearty dinner,
which usually consisted of a bean and vegetable stew
served with white rice. Some of the team would chat
around the campfire and stare up at the stars, but by
8:30pm most were sound asleep or tossing and turning in
their sleeping bags, trying to ignore the aches and pains
in their muscles.
While their support team would take their tents, each