Ground zero is Kotkai, which sits amid barren saffron and chocolate colored hillsides above a snaking river cutting through South Waziristan.

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One overlooks the gleaming river snaking through willow trees.

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The ride is generally about 500 miles over seven days, snaking from the west side of the state, mostly bordered by the Missouri River, to the east side of the state, bordered by the Mississippi River.

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