Jon, Jon's coworkers, and I joined the "Wild Great Wall" tour to Jiankou this last Saturday (as Jon wrote about). While the trip ended up being quite beautiful and worth it, we did face several "character building" obstacles.
1. Our lack of preparation. Jon and I ended up on our bus to the wall with a couple of Egg McMuffins, jeans, tennis shoes, and a distinct lack of water. This was due to us being out late last night, and waking up with barely any time to spare. Once on the bus, I belated noticed everyone had boots, hiking sticks, and ski pants, and I felt like I was in a Chinese REI advertisement. Uh oh.2. The bus ride. I wouldn’t go into gory details, but let’s just say the 1.5 hour ride involved more than one person throwing up, due to the driver’s decision to relive Apollo Ohno’s races with his bus.
And here’s the one Jon took of me.
What the hell? The tree covers the wall, and you don't even get the top of the mountain? Can you frame this picture any worse???
4. The hike across. Anyway, Jon and I were wearing tennis shoes with barely any traction, so every icy segment seemed extremely dangerous. We had to hang on the tree branches, that stuck up across the wall.
3. The hike up. The hike itself was no joke, especially for people as fit as Jon and I. It involved walking up for about an hour from the base of the mountain to the Great Wall itself. Once we got up here, totally winded, I looked forward to taking a pretty awesome picture. Check out this one I took of Jon, which perfectly frames the scene:
And here’s the one Jon took of me.
What the hell? The tree covers the wall, and you don't even get the top of the mountain? Can you frame this picture any worse???
4. The hike across. Anyway, Jon and I were wearing tennis shoes with barely any traction, so every icy segment seemed extremely dangerous. We had to hang on the tree branches, that stuck up across the wall.
At one point, the branch Jon was holding cracked, causing him to tumble down a bit (maybe he was being punished for being such a bad photographer?). Least you think I am exaggerating, this might be a good time to introduce the email, verbatim, that Jon forwarded me to invite me on the trip.
Original Email:
"I am going to great wall with some hiking club.
Anyone interested in Hiking to the wild great wall-Jiankou on Saturday morning?"
First Response:
"Reminder: people die there regularly, so be prepared."
Original Email:
"I am going to great wall with some hiking club.
Anyone interested in Hiking to the wild great wall-Jiankou on Saturday morning?"
First Response:
"Reminder: people die there regularly, so be prepared."
5. The hike down. This segment was an extraordinarily narrow trail punctuated by pockets of horse manure.
Despite all of this, I have to say the hike was very worth it. Jiankou felt way out of the way of tourists, so we only really saw our small tour group. I was able to get some good photos, and met some nice people on the way. We also had lunch on the wall, and you can't really get much better scenery than that. So I recommend it!
But still, I got a massage the next day.
Despite all of this, I have to say the hike was very worth it. Jiankou felt way out of the way of tourists, so we only really saw our small tour group. I was able to get some good photos, and met some nice people on the way. We also had lunch on the wall, and you can't really get much better scenery than that. So I recommend it!
But still, I got a massage the next day.
3 comments:
Glad you survived, sounds amazing!
Hmm, the picture framing situ reminds me of how my pictures of Eric are like yours of Jon, but his of me are.... well, you get the idea. Haha! :) Glad you made it safely
yea, boo on the picture framing jonathan. otherwise looks awesome :)
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