Tiger Leaping Gorge Day 2 and The Trip back to Lijiang

Tiger Leaping Gorge Day 2

The only reason I was able to get any sleep on the piece of plywood with sheets was out of complete exhaustion. I felt like my parents going to bed as soon as it got dark and waking up with sore all over my body. Before we left the guest house we asked our hosts how long it would take to reach the end of the trail where we could catch a bus back to “civilization,” we were told about 1-1/2 to 2 hours and it was mostly flat and downhill. Thanks to the terrain it was a relatively easy hike compared with yesterday however my body feeling like I had been hit by a bus every step was still a struggle. Trough waterfalls and past goats the trail went on for about 6 KM before we started to see the signs for Tina’s Guest house where we hoped to get a van or bus out of the gorge. It was interesting along the way to find the make shift temples that were a reminder of how close we were to Tibet along with the traditional Tibetan Buddhist prayer flags and stone piles.
At the end of the trail we arrived at Tina’s Guest House and where I arranged for a pickup back to Lijiang. About an hour late our bus shows up with the explanation of “oh the roads were bad.” We all look at each other and laugh at this explanation considering there are maybe 15 cars in a 30 mile radius. After loading our bags into the van we set off to Lijiang.

The road turned from paved to loose gravel about 500 meters into our trip, then from loose gravel to sand and dirt another 500 meters up the road. We started to “S” turn our way farther down the mountain as we could feel ourselves fishtailing our way down the mountain. The road is narrows to a the point that we have less than a foot on either side of the van on one side rock face on the other side a death drop to the river. It becomes clear that the road being bad was part of the construction of a road on the side of the mountain. Unlike in the states where a road under construction is closed until it is safe in China if its “drivable” use it. As we make our way slowly down the road trying to avoid boulders the size of Volkswagens, rock slides and the occasional construction crew who were busily trying to build a retaining wall to keep the road from falling into the river 600 feet below. About ten minutes into our trip our and with nothing around us our driver a Chinese woman wearing faded blue jeans, a brown Dior coat and sunglasses stops the van, looks at me and says “I’ll be right back.” She jumps out of the van and takes off up the mountain leaving all of us sitting on the side of the mountain. When she gets back to us she doesn’t say anything but we start off the road again and there is a new odor I get when the wind blows through the windows, it only takes a minute for me to register the unmistakable smell of pooh. For the next 3 hours and 45 minutes I got to ride next to the woman who used the side of the mountain as her bathroom and didn’t wipe.
Back on the road we maneuvered a times inches away from the cliff to avoid the potholes and Volkswagens. I look up just in time to see another van coming at us right from around the corner both cars lock the breaks and we both start sliding towards each other and towards the cliff, it would suck to be part of a head on collision right now but probably not as bad as falling off the mountain or watching the other van plunge to its demise. About a foot from each other our vans stop and our drivers laughing I guess just another day on the mountain road for these two. We all had a good nervous laugh and its really being lean what it means that “the roads are bad.”

As we continue down the doomsday highway we come along a pile of rocks with a dump truck sitting off next to the pile. I quickly realize that this truck is being loaded with these rocks as our driver pulls up to a few feet behind the truck. We sit and wait and watch the truck slowly fill up with rocks, as the loader tries to cram every last rock he can into the back of the truck he places a boulder on top that begins to shift as it moves its gaining speed and coming in the direction of our van the operator noticing the danger moves quickly and blocks the rocks path to the hood of our van. About 15 minutes later we are back on the road to Lijiang pooh smell and all.

We got dropped off at the bus station in Lijiang and went to buy to tickets for Dali or somewhere beyond with the aim to leave later that night (it was about 5:30 PM when we got in). We were quickly informed that we would not be leaving Lijiang tonight as they were out of ticket so we were forced to spend another night in Lijiang and take the Sunday 8AM bus to Dali.

Day 1 Tiger Leaping Gorge

Day 1 Tiger Leaping Gorge

I hate hostels. After what turned into a terrible night of tossing and turning on a piece of wood next to an window that closed with ½ inch gaps all around it (just perfect to let in the freezing air from outside) it was time to leave for Qiatou. We got on our bus (which was hands down the best transportation we’d found since we got off the airplane) and headed off to what we thought was Qiatou, but about 15 minutes into our trip we stop at a random shack on the side of the road. After about 10 minutes I get off the bus to try to figure out why we are stopped and to try to answer the question where on earth is our driver? I walk around to the back of the bus and I see it what is basically become a make shift crane loading the top of the bus with eggs, fruit and other supplies to be taken to Qiatou and beyond.
Our trip to Qiatou is one of every changing scenery and terrain we twisted our way through mountain roads where one second of inattention by our driver would lead to certain death as there was no guardrails and the road instead of ending simply fell off the side of the mountain. You would think that drivers would be cautious, careful and patient on roads like this but no that’s not how Chinese people drive we’re passing everyone we can and everyone that can pass us is passing us there’s no such thing as a double solid line here it’s a free for all.

We arrived in Qiatou to find a quiet village with Sherpa’s flooding our bus the second the door open, they wanted us to hire them to carry our backpacks or to ride their mules UP the mountain. None of us really had any idea what we were in for along the way. We had read about the trek in guide books and that there is an upper trail and lower trail with the lower trail being relatively flat and the upper trial having an initial incline but leveled out (what they failed to mention is the incline is STEEP and is at a good pace a 4 hour hike straight up). We took off up the road towards the trail head where we were stopped by local officials who warned up and made us read a sign that served as a warning that the trail in places isn’t safe and we should turn back, we thanked them for the warning and walked up to Jane’s guest house for a “quick” meal before we started off. Jane a Chinese Hippie in her mid to late 40’s worked the guest house, kitchen and everything else by herself but as a result of what I’m guessing some good parties back in her heyday it took her over an hour to make essentially Chinese pancakes.
Tiger Leaping Gorge is the longest, tallest, and the highest elevation gorge in the world. With mountain peaks reaching over 5500 meters high and the jade colored Yangteze River (locally called the Golden Sands River). The Yangteze at this stretch isn’t polluted and is treacherous to travel on because of the deadly rapids found throughout this stretch of the river. The mountains here are equally as treacherous Jade Snow Mountain is ranked as one of the most difficult mountains in the world to climb and has been successfully summated once. If I had known this before I guess I wouldn’t have expected this to be a walk in the park by any means (and would have probably packed a little bit lighter instead of carrying a pack that weighed in at around 70lbs.). For Christmas about a year ago my parents gave me a heart rate monitor which measures heart rate high and low rates, average and calories burned while exercising (I’ll give you my numbers for the day at the end of this blog).
After our breakfast at Jane’s Guest House we start up the mountain at first it’s a paved road that winds up the side of the mountain past peoples farms and an occasional water stand. As the road turns to gravel (about 30 minutes in) we begin to have our first problem, Jon one of my classmates, isn’t handling the altitude the incline and whatever else exhaustion is setting in for him already and we tell him he should probably turn back, after he loses his breakfast from Jane’s he decides to push on. The gravel beneath us becomes looser and we’ve moved off the road and onto a trail. As we reach our first bend on the actual trail it’s our first chance to take a decent picture of the river below and the mountains above, there is a small overlook that has been built next to the last water stand. The shop keeper a 5 foot tall Chinese woman in her 80’s declares that she has built the overlook and demands we pay her 5RMB each to take pictures from this spot. Despite her obvious inability to move giant boulders to form the overlook we agree to pay her as she kept reaching up and putting her hand over our camera lenses. While we’re taking pictures we are greeted by a Sherpa and his mule as they work their way home.
We keep hiking up the mountain and it’s getting harder and harder as my pack and the incline prove that I’m not in the shape I used to be in. Along the mountain I begin to notice metal poles set in locations that people shouldn’t attempt to reach, the poles ran (what I’m guessing to be) electricity lines along the mountain. We can’t help but to discuss that this is some of the most difficult terrain any of us have ever seen and on the side of a mountain with angels that are between 30 and 45 degree slopes the Chinese people have run power lines for over 20 KM (I’m wondering how many people died while doing this because it was a certain suicide mission).
Jon’s struggles continued to get worse along the hike. The Sherpa could sense a money making opportunity in his future and stayed with us for about an hour and a half he continued to ask us if we wanted to put our bags on the donkey for a small fee, unwilling to admit defeat I’d say no and keep walking, until the weight of Jon’s bag and the weight of my bag became too much. I knew that I could push on further with my bag but my enjoyment would be greatly hindered by my 70 lb burden. Next thing I know I’m on the side of a mountain negotiating with a man wearing black jeans, black cowboy boots, a tan sport coat (think Miami Vice) covering his black tank top. We agree on a price of $7.50 per bag for him to carry our bags for the next 3 hours to the end of the rough patch.

About 45 minutes after we hired the Sherpa we hit the area called the 28 Turns. The 28 Turns might be the most miserable stretch of earth I’ve ever seen. After 3 hours of hiking straight up you reach a stretch with a vertical change of around 1000 feet that is done in about ¾ of a mile (it was STEEP). It’s so miserable that there are Sherpa’s that work this short stretch of the mountain all day charging people 100 RMB for a ride to the top of it. The view from the top of the 28 Turns was breath taking the mountain tops on the other side of the river were straight in front of us and were only occasionally broken by clouds. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much time to enjoy the view we had to make it to a guest house before sundown.
There is a harsh decent from the top of the 28 Turns before it levels off. My Sherpa and I “talked” back and forth and he tried to explain to me the mountains and the gorge unfortunately my Chinese limited me to smiles and nods with the occasional “hao da” (ok) and “piao liang”(beautiful) to make him think I knew what he was saying and to show my appreciation for the natural beauty of his home. The whole time I was talking to him I saw doing my best to ignore the cramps in my legs from the pounding they were taking from going down this part of the mountain.
Four hours into our trip and I meet a married couple in their late 50’s from Middlebury Vermont. They have been traveling for the past year started out in Ireland and have been working there way around the world with their 18 year old daughter and 13 year old son. The kids had decided they didn’t want to go on a two-three day hike and stayed behind in Lijiang. I spoke with them for them about their travels around the world (they had visited over 20 countries so far) until we found ourselves at the first guest house where we had planned to stay. The guys and I talked briefly about staying at this house or continuing onto the next guest house “The Halfway House” about 2 more hours up the trail. I agreed to continue on knowing that we’d be cutting it short on day light but figuring we could handle it.
We bid farewell to the Sherpa and took our bags and were off again on the trail. The first 30 minutes of the hike were a breeze some up some down but mainly flat. Then it happened, I ran out gas. I hadn’t eaten anything since we left Jane’s over 4 hours ago and at that altitude and burning that many calories that wasn’t a good idea. Every step I’d have to be careful not to lose my balance and in order to avoid parts of the trail that were no more than a foot wide with a fall that was thousands of feet in some places. The wind was pickup up and was taking my bag and blowing it from side to side and testing my ability not to fall. Each step was a struggle and reminded me of the feeling of complete exhaustion I felt at the end of my recognition day at The Citadel (although I was in MUCH better shape then). The sun continued to set and it was getting dark fast, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to make the Halfway House before sundown and with the path in the condition it was in I started to realize that continuing after dark wasn’t an option. I began looking for places that might make sense to sleep and then I saw painted on a rock 1600 Meters to the Halfway House, 1300 Meters, 1 KM, 700 Meters, 400 Meters, 340 Meters, 220 Meters, This Way to the Half Way House, I was finally there! Every part of my body thanked me for stopping. And every part of my body said DON'T DO THIS TO ME AGAIN TOMORROW!

The maps we had were all pretty bad in regards to distances and altitudes but the best guess we have at the first day was we hiked 14 KM and went from around 1800 Meters above sea level to over 2660 Meters above sea level.
My Stats for the day looked something like this:
Average Heart Rate: 156 BPM
Max Heart Rate: 194 BPM
Calories Burned: 6,577
Time to Complete 5 Hours 55 Minutes

Lijiang

Lijiang


Lijiang is a city that is torn between the old and new. The new town has a similar look and feel as Beijing just on a much smaller scale. The old village however is a maze of dead ends and streams, lined with brick houses sealed with mud. The narrow stone paved streets are closed to traffic in an effort to promote tourism and protect what remains of the old village. Most of the old village dates back to pre-1300’s however due to war and natural disasters much of it has been re-built over time. We had a day to explore Lijiang before heading off to Tiger Leaping Gorge so we set off through the old village to see what we could find.
Lijiang has worked to find itself post cultural-revolution with local artisans selling their crafts from hand woven scarves, to cooper pots and pans you can find it among the shops and stalls. The old village itself is a Chinese tourist trap, it hasn’t been touched nearly as much by foreigners and 5 whites guys walked around the streets quickly became local celebrities. As we garnered stares and had our pictures taken we made our way through the town and the picturesque mountain backdrops that represent the foothills of the Himalayas. At the center of the village we found Mu’s house and for 45 RMB (about $7 we decided we’d explore Lijiangs version of Asheville’s Biltmore Estate (for a fraction of the price).
Mu’s house stood as the cultural and political center for the Naxi people (the ethic group in this region of China). Mu’s house was the home to the political leadership their wives and concubines (one of my favorite plaques read “This is the room where leaders would come to play with their concubines.”). The open air house was filled with halls, pagoda’s and water gardens.
On our walk back to the hostel to get ready for dinner we stopped in a local tea shop where the shop keeper caught the eye of one of my classmates. He began to flirt with her and next thing I know we’re sitting around a table with the shop keeper for an hour drinking tea and meeting all of her friends. The conversation was minimal because of the language barrier except for Ted who was able to communicate with relative ease with his girls. After about an hour they brought us to a restaurant and told us that this was the best restaurant in all of Lijiang and we parted ways. After what turned out to be a great dinner, highlighted by a sweet and sour fish (head and all) most of us called it a night as our bus for the village of Qiaotou and the base of Tiger Leaping Gorge was set to leave at 7:50 AM.