How much water for trekking in Tajikistan?

[dude]

I'm planning several multi-day hikes in various places of Tajikistan in August and I have two remaining questions:

- Can you expect streams along the way that allow to take a 1L water bottle and refill on the way (of course with purification pills or a filter) or is it extremely dry?

- What's the level of "cragginess" of trails? Is it rocky but generally flat and you can go with a pair of good sneakers or can you expect some technical passages where hiking footwear is a must?
I hiked everywhere in Alaska, the Rockies and Sierra Nevada with Vans and never had problems, so I'm really wondering if Tajikistan requires more than that.

Thanks

[Christian77]

For water, it depends on the mountain range. In the Fann Mountains you will be fine with a 1 litre bottle, but at lower elevations you will occasionally be filling up from a stream/river with a slightly boggy/swampy taste (if you don't know the best spots ahead of time). At higher elevations (above alpine bogs, algae ponds and sheep grazing) there is plentiful clean and good-tasting glacier or snow-melt water in the Fann Mountains. Note that this may not apply to the Pamirs.

For the shoes, I found the Fann Mountains to be less craggy than northern Kyrgyzstan. Less craggy than the Pacific Northwest, but craggier than the northern Rockies. Pamirs are less craggy than the Fann Mountains (in the locations I visited, but it's a huge and diverse region). I think you could survive with some lightweight footwear in the short term. But Vans? Have things changed? Or are these still just flat bottom skateboard shoes? If so, you may be very uncomfortable by day three.

[mazeno]

in august eastern pamir is very dry.