3 posts tagged “great wall”
Hiked all day and danced all night! I couldn't be happier... or more tired. *smiles*
Because it was the sunniest day.
Because the challenge was to reach the Great Wall at the ridge of the mountain, and we made it.
Because the view was spectacular.
Because it was HARD. My quads were quivering three quarters of the way up -- and then I still had to get *down*.
Because a bunch of random people agreed to go hiking with me and they liked each other.
Because there was a feast of fresh grilled trout and fish dumplings at the end.
Because I went into it tired from a long week and came out of it happy happy happy.
Because it was preceded and followed by a night of dancing.
Because I still have Sunday.
After two weeks in this mucky, grey weather, I got outside Beijing for a day of hiking -- was really craving the clear head and burning muscles of a 10-miler, not to mention some greenery. It was a long, hard week and I worked Saturday but wasn't as far along as I'd wanted to be by the end of the day (interspersing work with errands didn't help) so seriously considered skipping the hike to get more done. In the end I decided my sanity was at stake and that a few hours outside would make me more productive in the coming week.
The hike was organized by a group called Beijing Hikers. I generally don't like to hike with a group, especially people I don't know, since the point to me in hiking is to GET AWAY from other people. But there's not much choice at the moment, being without a car, and not knowing the hiking spots outside town. This allowed me to pay someone else ($25 -- pretty steep!) to organize everything, and all I had to do was hike. Though a bunch of folks were chatterboxes, there were points of quiet (usually at the top of a steep incline when everyone was out of breath... but that's when you want to quietly enjoy the view most anyway); they said it was a 12 km (7 miles) but I don't really think so. Anyways, until I can figure out another way to spend time outdoors, Beijing Hikers it is.
Unfortunately we weren't able to escape the grey, as you can see from the photos. The ones of the Great Wall didn't really turn out well, but there are some ok ones of farmhouses and the villages in the distance. Note the satellite dishes. I put the photos into a collection, but here are a few of my favorites:
Then for dinner I had a big plate of cucumber and egg dumplings.Yum!
