Shadowing Practice: Hiking Alone in Kyrgyzstan - Learn English Speaking with Video

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I hiked 50 miles alone across the Aksu Traverse in Kyrgyzstan.

It was my first time in Central Asia and seeing Russian signs and nomadic horse culture felt completely new, especially coming from New York City.

Four days of carrying everything I needed, eating alone, dodging daily storms, and sleeping in my tent.

I didn't expect the landscapes to be this beautiful.

Kyrgyzstan reminds me of the Swiss Alps but with fewer buildings and no ski resorts and barely any people.

I visited in late spring when the snow was melting and the valleys were full of wildflowers.

I crossed streams, passing seasonal yurt camps, hiking through wide grassy valleys, over big passes, under towering peaks.

Horses roamed free, herds of sheep moved across the land, dogs trailing behind horsemen.

I came here looking for adventure in a new part of the world, but traveling alone gives you a lot of time to think.

Lately I've been struggling with what it means to be a YouTuber who travels and a new dad.

Trying to be an artist but also make money.

Trying to make the best video possible but also enjoying my time while traveling.

This video is more of a journal entry about the hike

but if you're looking for practical advice on how to do it yourself consider becoming a channel member.

That's where I share all of my detailed hiking guide videos including one for this trail.

Thanks for your support and for helping me to make more videos like this.

Hiking 50 miles alone on the Aksu Traverse in Kyrgyzstan.

Saturday, June 7th.

10 -hour flight from New York City to Istanbul.

Spent over $12 buying a single cappuccino in the Istanbul airport, which is insane.

5 -hour flight to Bishkek.

Sunday, June 8th.

Arrived into Bishkek's airport at 5am tired and jet -lagged.

A local subscriber messaged me on Instagram offering me a ride from the airport.

He was a great guy and the first Russian I'd ever met so we talked about that over some breakfast.

And this might seem like strange behavior to meet up

and trust people from the internet while traveling like this

but some of my best experiences traveling have come from subscribers who offer to meet and hang out.

I was early for check -in at hotel 5 so I just dropped off my large roller duffel.

I spent the rest of the day battling jet lag, wandering around and over caffeinating.

Played a little Factorio to relax.

I'm trying to not feel guilty about taking a break while traveling from time to time.

I used the app AirLo for eSIM data on my iPhone while traveling in Kyrgyzstan.

This was my first time seeing Russian culture and the Soviet era architecture was fascinating.

Monday June 9th.

Met my driver and started the seven -hour drive from Bishkek to Karakul.

Stopped at a food place called Food Zone.

I love I love visiting roadside travel shops like this because everything is real and convenient.

Lunch was only $5 and it was interesting seeing prayers to Allah in the food court.

Reached Karakul and checked into Mangu Hotel, saw the rooftop terrace and then walked into town.

I went out looking for camping stove fuel canisters and got lucky on my first try and got one for $9.

I facetimed my wife and son and felt a little homesick.

I'm usually stressed out at the start of every trip.

The cost of being away from home and family is higher than ever before, so I worry about getting enough value out of these trips.

But my wife is always great at listening and helped reassure me about the trip.

Back in my room, I prepped hiking gear, making sure I had enough food, and charged batteries for filming and droning.

Tuesday, June 10th.

Quick breakfast on the rooftop terrace before leaving my duffel with the front desk

and meeting my taxi driver one hour drive out of the city and up into the mountains.

He dropped me off earlier than planned so I had an extra seven miles walking uphill on the dirt road.

This day one of hiking ended up being about 10 miles with 4 ,000 feet of elevation gain.

It was hot with the direct sun and not so fun to walk on the road.

The little amount of shade from pine trees quickly disappeared as I went higher in elevation.

After crossing this fence and bridge area the road section finally gave way to actual trail and an open grass field.

I was relieved to finally have some views, a breeze, and spotted herds of cows in the distance.

At 10 ,000 feet now, I started to feel a bit fatigued, so I took a rest for a moment.

The wind picked up, darker clouds appeared over the mountains, and thunder sounded in the distance.

A storm was coming, so I quickly set up my tent.

This was actually the first time setting up this brand new tent, but its simple, single middle pole design made things pretty easy.

It's a Hyperlite Mid 1 in spruce green color.

The rain really started as I wrapped up pitching and storing my bag.

It's always a nice feeling to escape the rain and I really wanted to take a nice break anyway.

Instead of going out in the storm to get water in the stream,

I collected the rain water rolling off my tent and boiled it to cook some ramen.

I was startled by some dogs sniffing near my tent and noticed some horsemen passing with their ponchos.

After about an hour the rain stopped and the sky sky opened up to sunshine, dried off my tent, packed up, and started hiking again.

Filtered some stream water for drinking.

I was glad the rain stopped so I could get in a few more miles for today.

Some easy streams to jump over.

Saw a group of yurts in the distance and a nice dog that followed me for a few minutes.

Fog was beginning to roll in and I crossed the pass with zero visibility.

With no views, I just immediately descended.

It was starting to rain again and getting late in the day so I stopped to set up my tent.

A downpour started as soon as I was safe inside

but it didn't last long before I could step outside as the sun was setting.

I set up my camera while cooking dinner but the low light caused the autofocus to bounce around too much.

Wednesday June 11th.

I put my drone into the air as soon as I woke up because the weather had improved so much.

I was finally able to see around where I set up camp.

First light on the snowy mountains above.

Remnants of melting snow on the grassy ridgelines.

The reflection of sunrise on the lake from where I was hiking yesterday.

It was nice getting a frame of reference for where I was and where I'd be hiking today.

My tent was soaked so I strapped it on the outside of my pack to dry.

It was still a little cold so I kept on my pants and gloves.

Herds of horses with their springtime babies.

Today I'd hike about 14 miles but with close to 5 ,000 feet elevation gain.

These first few miles were really pleasant with the cooler temps.

Crossed some more streams before starting the next climb.

Now in direct sunlight, I changed into shorts and sun hoodie.

More snow as I reached the pass.

Some really vibrant dirt up here and views of my first big mountain with glaciers.

This pass was 11 ,500 feet and that large peak in the distance was over 14 ,000 feet,

which is about the highest peaks you'll find in Colorado and California in the US.

I descended easily down into the valley and found another yurt camp.

I crossed my first big stream with shoes on since I was already soaked walking through wet grass.

I started a new ascent, passed a small lake, and took a snack break and filled water.

This pass was a lot rockier with a large patch of

snow to get around before reaching the stacks of rocks marking the best spot to take a cool drone video.

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I was shooting with a new drone for this trip, the DJI Mavic 3

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Air, and testing out its 70mm telephoto lens which works well for compressing foregrounds and backgrounds on shots like this at elevation.

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I was all alone up at the pass

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so it was nice to take a break and relax before starting the big descent into the next valley.

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The glaciers were really visible as I went down so I flew the drone to get another good shot.

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The wildflowers all along this route were amazing.

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There was a massive herd of sheep on the opposite side of the valley.

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I descended back down into pine trees again

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and had this amazing view of a winding stream leading to a huge mountain peak in the distance.

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The telephoto lens on my iPhone really did it justice here.

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More wildflowers, an unused yurt camp,

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and this shady wooden bridge over a big river that would have been super dangerous to try and cross on foot.

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It was pleasantly sunny and breezy, so I took a lunch break and dried my feet out.

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Tons of sheep and goat passing by as I hiked up.

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I started to get tired and slow.

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The switchbacks helped, but I still got super gassed, probably from the elevation, and decided to set up camp before reaching the pass.

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It was a nice spot with a view and a small stream so I wasn't mad.

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I set up my tent, stored my gear, and took off my trail runners.

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I didn't bring my crocs on this hike and I really regretted it.

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Crocs are lightweight, helpful for water crossings, and so nice to switch into at camp after hiking all day.

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I ate some miso soup which I bought at a Japanese 7 -11 while skiing last winter.

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I'm usually tired and just want to stay warm

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and cozy in my sleeping bag so most night shots like this only happen

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because I had to get out to go pee.

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Thursday June 12th.

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Completely alone on such a nice morning.

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Collected water and made granola with only the sound of water babbling behind my tent.

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Had some coffee, deflated my pillow, stuffed my sleeping bag, and rolled up my pad.

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In less than an hour of hiking past wildflowers I reached the pass with the familiar combination of melting snow patches,

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stacked rocks, and views down the other side.

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The dirty slope pulls me down into the valley which is treeless,

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grassy, and is divided by a squiggly stream dotted with horses.

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Baby cows stare at me hiking as I descended below the tree line once again.

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Crossing this gate brings me into the Arishan area.

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Red yurt frames and the first big signs of a more touristy busy area.

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I love how most horsemen here are usually accompanied by dogs.

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I stopped at a lodge to have tea

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while jumping on wifi to double check the time and location for my taxi pickup the next day.

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I could have slept here, but prefer more isolated wild camping if I have my tent.

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With pine trees, green grass, and a huge peak looming in the distance, this place is gorgeous and popular for a reason.

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This bridge crossed the biggest river I'd see on this hike.

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Lots of horse traffic made the trail outside Arishan very muddy, but after crossing streams and going higher, things dried out.

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Today I would hike another 13 miles with 4 ,600 feet of elevation gain.

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I ascended slowly and consistently until lunch where I washed my legs

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and tried some new plant based ramen that was sent to me which I didn't really end up liking.

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Dark clouds rolled in and I got caught in a hailstorm before I could set up my tent completely.

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I escaped most of the rain but things were still wet as I packed back up to continue the hike.

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This hail was straight up dipping dots.

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I eventually had views of the largest pass on the hike

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but decided to stop for the day at a yurt camp below.

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A big horse group was just leaving.

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The owner of the camp had me set up my tent inside a yurt shell.

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Temperature at night wasn't an issue.

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And I knew I'd be sleeping in yurts during my horse trek in a few days,

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so I didn't feel the need to book a bed inside one I cleaned mud off my runners

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and took a nap before wandering over to the main yurt for dinner Garlicky noodles with potatoes

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and carrots and endless tea I only saw one or two other hikers staying at the same camp that night

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Weather that evening looked pretty nasty, so I was glad I didn't push it up over the pass

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There was this one single bright light on all night, but I still got a solid 10 hours of sleep.

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Friday, June 13th.

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The weather didn't improve the next day, and it was still overcast, which is fine to hike in,

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but isn't as good when you're shooting photos and videos.

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I packed up before anyone woke up, had a quick breakfast of veggies and eggs, paid my bill, and started off.

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I'd only be hiking six miles today but had this big pass to do

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and had to meet up at a specific spot and time for my jeep pickup.

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The climb to the pass was extremely steep with loose rocks and patches of ice at the top.

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I used my tripod as trekking poles to help out.

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The pass was more of a large ridge with views of the massive alpine lake a la Cole.

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Low clouds and the surrounding mountains encircled the turquoise blue water.

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A large group of Dutch hikers came up the other side and crowded the viewpoint so I hurried down towards the lakeside.

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Following the lake to its end took longer than I expected and I passed a number of rock circles for tents.

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Even with poor sunlight conditions, the valley was dramatic as water rushed over waterfalls and down alongside the trail.

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A Campsite and emergency cabin that I would not want to spend any time being in.

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Yellow flowers before reaching Sirota Yurt Camp.

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The trail got wider for horse traffic and more lush with high plants and pine trees.

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I finally arrived at Karakul River with its bridge marking the end of my hike.

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Waiting for me was a mini shop in an old Russian truck so I bought a coke.

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I had some time to kill before my Jeep would pick me up, so I wandered around to another yurt camp across the stream.

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These guys were building some slick looking cabins and asked where they could see the video that I was shooting.

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It started to rain, so I got some tea inside a farmer's hut, some last minute spicy ramen before my Jeep arrived.

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I said goodbye to some other hikers hanging out that I was talking to.

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The Jeep was old and Soviet era

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and it was completely necessary for the crazy wild muddy road down out of the mountains.

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At the bottom I paid an entry fee

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and in town I said goodbye to my driver and walked over to my next hotel.

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I don't need much at all when I'm traveling alone.

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It's just so nice to finally take a shower after four days of hiking and get to dry everything out.

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I spent the evening relaxing at a hip little bar in town.

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Saturday, June 14th.

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The owner of the hotel was a really nice old Russian woman who spoke no English, so it was funny interacting with her at breakfast.

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She was constantly talking to her cat and insisted on putting this hat on me.

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Karakul is a ski town so it would be interesting to come back in the winter.

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I ended up staying in town for two nights actually and exchanged some cash,

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ate at this nice restaurant a few more times to also do laptop work.

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My last evening I met up with Ibrahim who had helped me plan my trip and book local drivers.

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He's got a cool Instagram account so you should check him out if you want to visit Kyrgyzstan.

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I highly recommend anyone interested in visiting and hiking the traverse to do so.

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And I have a hiking guide video with lots of information, including the exact trail map, weather info, and specific tips,

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photography advice, gear information, and an editing timeline breakdown.

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It should be helpful to not only people who want to hike the trail, but filmmakers and photographers trying to make videos and photos as well.

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When I can, I try to help people learn to not only go on these trips, but make money with content instead of spend money.

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All links are in the description down below.

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I uploaded an ambient version of this trip that's almost 3 hours long, so you can watch that on YouTube,

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probably in the background or if you're falling asleep.

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I also uploaded the complete raw footage unchanged which is over 7 hours,

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but that might only be interesting to someone wondering how I shot and edited these videos.

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The second part of my trip to Kyrgyzstan was a horse trek with a small group.

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I had never ridden on a horse before, so it was wonderful learning all about that while touring a beautiful landscape of lakes, passes, and mountains.

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We tent camped, slept in yurts, and had amazing food.

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Make sure you subscribe on YouTube to check that video out once it's published.

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You can also join channel membership to support this channel and help me make more videos.

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You instantly gain access to all hiking guide videos, gear reviews, and over a hundred other vlogs and updates.

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You can also see photos and short videos from this trip on my Instagram and TikTok, both linked below.

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I had a wonderful time hiking in Kyrgyzstan

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and plan on going back next year to visit a different side of the country.

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Thank you for watching!

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217 sentences

Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This speaking lesson is built on the video “Hiking Alone in Kyrgyzstan”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: hiking, tent, yurt, pass. This video has 215 sentences and 3064 words to shadow. The speech runs for 17:26. The speaker talks at a natural 176 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. Only 76% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
hike noun	/haɪk/	A long walk, usually for pleasure or exercise.
tent noun	/tɛnt/	A pavilion or portable lodge consisting of skins, canvas, or some strong cloth, stretched and sustained by poles, used for sheltering people from the weather.
trail noun	/tɹeɪl/	The track or indication marking the route followed by something that has passed, such as the footprints of animal on land or the contrail of an airplane in the…
elevation noun	/ˌɛlɪˈveɪʃn̩/	The act of raising from a lower place, condition, or quality to a higher; said of material things, persons, the mind, the voice, etc.
gear noun	/ɡɪɚ/	Equipment or paraphernalia, especially that used for an athletic endeavor.
pine noun	/paɪn/	Any coniferous tree of the genus Pinus.
drone noun	/dɹoʊn/	A male hymenopteran (ant, bee, hornet, or wasp), whose sole primary function is to mate with the queen.
descend verb	/dəˈsɛnd/	To pass from a higher to a lower part of (something, such as a flight of stairs or a slope); to go down along or upon.
cloud noun	/ˈklaʊ̯d/	A visible mass of water droplets suspended in the air.
grass noun	/ɡɹɑːs/	Any plant of the family Poaceae, characterized by leaves that arise from nodes in the stem and leaf bases that wrap around the stem, especially those grown as…
relax verb	/ɹɪˈlæks/	To make something loose.
patch noun	/pæt͡ʃ/	A piece of cloth, or other suitable material, sewed or otherwise fixed upon a garment to repair or strengthen it, especially upon an old garment to cover a…
sheep noun	/ˈʃiːp/	A woolly ruminant of the genus Ovis.
melt verb	/mɛlt/	To change (or to be changed) from a solid state to a liquid state, usually by a gradual heat.
helpful adjective	/ˈhɛlp.fl̩/	Furnishing help; giving aid; useful.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
set up verb	/ˌsɛt ˈʌp/	To make ready for use.
end up verb		To bring to a conclusion.
wake up verb	/ˌweɪk ˈʌp/	To stop sleeping; to awake.
bounce around verb		To discuss or brainstorm (ideas) on a topic.
come up verb		To emerge or become known, especially unexpectedly.
drop off verb		To fall asleep.
dry off verb		To make dry.
dry out verb		To cause moisture to be completely removed from; to make dry.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	was relieved · was startled · was soaked
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	airport, which is · valley which is · overcast, which is

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 26 contractions and reduced forms, such as didn't, I'd, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: elevation /ˌɛlɪˈveɪʃn̩/, sheep /ˈʃiːp/, glacier /ˈɡleɪ.ʃɚ/, rush /ɹʌʃ/, wash /wɑʃ/
Long words — get the stress right: photography /fəˈtɑ.ɡɹə.fi/, architecture /ˈɑː.kɪˌtɛk.t͡ʃə/, photographer /fəˈtɑ.ɡɹə.fɚ/, consistently /kənˈsɪstəntli/, accompany /əˈkʌm.pə.ni/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like hike, tent, trail.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: Hiking Alone in Kyrgyzstan - Learn English Speaking with Video

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