Today, I woke up at 5:30am and repacked all of my equipment into 25kg loads in preparation for the jeep ride to Askole. Afterwards, I spoke with Fida who said that we would not be leaving as early as planned since our military clearance had not yet been completed. I ate breakfast and returned to my room to wait for news. Finally, around 11am, Fida returned and informed me that the military officer in charge of approving our clearance was still not in the office and asked me if I’d like to leave for Askole today if the clearance is received in the afternoon. Since driving on the jeep track late in the afternoon is hazardous (many rivers fed by snowmelt cross the track and swell in the late afternoon making passage more dangerous), I elected to depart tomorrow. It turned out that we didn’t have a choice. I asked for an update around dinner time, and the clearance was still not received. I can only hope that the officer is present tomorrow and that the clearance is received in the morning.