So team Sanlitun Hostel, 14 ambitious hikers hailing from Canada, US, Sweden, Finland, and China, marched off the the metro. We could not have asked for a more perfect day. Clear skies, crispy fall air, warm afternoon heat, golden sun, and an ever so slight breeze. And the Wall! We went to a more rural area (I'm sorry, I really can't remember the name at all at the moment!) where we took a public bus in and then hired some cabs to take us to a wee farming village where the path started. We hiked up to where the wall started (a 30 minute march that I would compare to the likes of Mt. Erskine) and then there we were: The Great Wall of China.
For me it was another one of those I-can't-believe-I-am-in-China moments. And this was before we even started our hike/scramble/climb/cling-on-for-dear-life of a day trip. This part of the Wall is not maintained like the main access points (which I have not yet been to) and therefore, I think pretty stunning: hundreds and hundreds of years old, built by humans, and still more or less intact. I can't even imagine what it must have been like to build. The sheer quantity of material to extract, refine, move, and secure into place is an engineering feat for any era. Suffice to say, Ancient Chinese blood, sweat, and tears... emphasis, I am sure, in that order.
My first view of the Great Wall:
A lot of the forest area and greenery is growing up around and into the Wall and the watchtowers. This makes for a seriously beautiful hike and some seriously loose bricks and stones.
This is the initial taste of what's to follow: extremely steep "stairs" with loose bricks, rocks, and gravel. It was definitely the type of hiking that you would rather have had a harness for.
Climb 1: Made it!
We decided to take a group shot before we lost anyone for real.
Me and Sinead. And yes, I did hike the entire day with a baguette in my backpack. A baguette, a block of cheese, salami, avocado, chocolate, pomegranate, and 2 litres of water. Other people opted for a lighter load- I opted for delicious and hydration. Ironically, I ended up eating the much anticipated 2 foot long on the ride back but it was delicious and I made a lot of friends.
Just a little bit of incline. The photos don't really capture how terrifying this was because you can't see the bricks moving.
Fellow Canadian Josh climbs a watchtower.
Rolling hills and snaking walls...
The Great Wall Jump Shot, because you can't come all the way to China and not do it.
This was the farthest point we made it to. The climb up to this part was definitely the most terrifying of them all. I had initially decided not to do it, but then talked myself into it.
Yes, and I did this whole hike in my Converses. Sinead and I were laughing because we both brought running shoes to China for things like hiking and climbing the Wall, but then of course when you head out to Beijing for a few days, you don't pack your runners. So, you can be as prepared as you want but you'll just end up using whatever you have.
The far watch tower is apparently the tallest one on the Wall, or this section of the Wall, I'm not one for researching or fact checking. We wanted to make it there but ran out of time. More reasons to return...
This is the terrified, proud self-portrait after that last hairy climb.
And descending often proves more challenging than ascending.
In a nutshell: amazing. Absolutely perfect weather, an incredible team, a long sweaty beautiful hike, and 2 feet of well-travelled sandwich. I can't think of a more perfect day. But wait! We capped it off with a delicious dinner of Beijing duck and Tsingtao beer. It's 3 days later and I can still smell the sweat, taste the beer, and yes, my legs still ache when I walk down stairs.
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