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Blood, Sweat & Scree Dust

Tom Amaral

Banff, Alberta-based mountain trail runner

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Got out and did things 🙌🏽🏔 #chrisdontgram #sulphurfest #trailrunning #mountainrunning #banff #alberta #canada #mountains#fitness #adventure

Back in Canada now, so I'll stop spamming pictures from Pakistan eventually... inshallah! 🙄 In the meantime, here's a bunch of places I saw on my bike last month. #pakistan #gilgitbaltistan #karakoram #ghanche #skardu #deosai #ig_pakistan #bikepacking #biketouring #diy #travel #mountains #fitness #adventure

Sure, Pakistan is amazing because of its landscapes, but I never expected it would be even more amazing because of its people. Here are just a few of the friendly faces I met along the way. Video by @fahadkhalido.0 #pakistan #beautifulpakistan #ig_pakistan #travel #culture #chai #bikepacking #biketouring #cycletouring #mountains #people #diy

Lahore Hardcore⚡🤘🏼 #lahore #pakistan #walledcity #punjab #travel #igpakistan #culture #diy

"Blending in" required a lot more than simply wearing shalwar kameez. For sure, my genetics helped; time and time again I was mistaken for Balti or Pashtun, even in my normal clothes. But there are many small mannerisms that I found interesting to study and difficult to master. The hardest was simply walking, which is far more relaxed and rhythmic than my usual style. Once dialed, I found I could go out in regular clothes and wouldn't catch anyone's eye. After I put on Pakistani dress, no one thought twice. Well acquainted with the practices of Islam, I entered mosques, participated in prayer or sat in the corner and did "zikr" (meditation). Being mistaken for a local was useful and enlightening but had its drawbacks: the Lahori police thought I was "Pathan", i.e. Pashtun or Afghan (I was wearing my normal clothes for the record). Then came questioning and glares from security at my upscale hotel when I came back from the bazaar. The moment I spoke English, their faces changed and every barrier to entry was removed. I went upstairs, put on a t-shirt and came back down. "Okay, I understand now," said the security guard who was raking my ass over the coals in Urdu just a few minutes prior 😂 #pakistan #lahore #travel #culture #diy #immersion #socialcues #shalwarkameez #sufi #workedtoowell

"So you're riding your bike around Pakistan by yourself, huh?" said Jake. "That's pretty cool, but the kind of access you get with these guys is un-real!" Jake was a Texan cosplaying as Pashtun and dabbling in the tribal areas with a couple of local guides. I'd first met him at Islamabad airport and then ran into him in a cook tent in Deosai, where he somehow managed to compare dick sizes in the middle of nowhere. "Well you certainly look the part," I said, somewhat tongue in cheek, just to stroke his ego, but in truth he looked like a portly American dressed in Pakistani garb. I won't lie, as a fan of Richard Francis Burton and other old-school adventurers the idea totally appealed to me; in fact, it was part of my itinerary. But when it came time to "look the part" it was less for the sake of adventure and more out of necessity: God bless Pakistani kindness, but I was tired of being treated specially and smothered with attention. I wanted to move around freely, undetected, know how Pakistanis treated each other, and see Pakistan through Pakistani eyes. As long as nobody spoke to me, I figured it would work... #pakistan #gilgitbaltistan #baltistan #deosai #karakoram #bikepacking #biketouring #cycletouring #adventurebybike #selfpowered #diy #mountains #fitness #adventure

February 14, 2014February 15, 2014 Tom AmaralAlberta, alpine, Banff, Banff NP, Canada, Canadian Rockies, mountain, Mountain running, mountaineering, mountains, Rockies, running, scrambling, trail running, ultrarunning, winter

New signage on Sulphur Mountain.

Happy Valentines Day Banff! My first true mountain-town love…

♥

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