Archive for March, 2009

30 03 2009

Takeoff tomorrow

Posted by Robert in Preparation

A dream, that became a plan, is now about to become reality.

Tomorrow afternoon, I take a flight to Beijing via London. The last days have been nothing less than crazy and I can feel that I’m pretty drained physically and mentally. Putting half a year of preparations into a rucksack might sound like a simple task, but it takes a lot of mental planning.

Also, I have spent a lot of time reflecting on how to update this website regularly in the best possible way, to give you an as good as possible experience of the trip.

Time to go to bed now, so that I won’t be a walking zombie tomorrow, or I’ll probably forget my sleeping bag…

Because of the intense preparations lately, I have not been able to update this site as often as planned. The first thing I want to do when I’ve landed in Beijing is to write about the equipment I am bringing along, and also to thank all the people that have helped me get this far! (The list is long)

The adventure starts tomorrow.  Good night   :-)

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23 03 2009

Status 2 weeks left

Posted by Robert in Status every two weeks
   
 
I received a large box from Vertikal who are sponsoring sports equipment and have been testing their equipment. Lightweight is the keyword, and under that category, amongst others: tent, boots, sleeping mattress, fuel stove and kettle.As with the previous two long hauls, I wish to do the walk along the Great Wall as a fundraiser. Through helpful friends, I have been able to establish contact with a Cancer Institute in the US. The Jimmy Fund supports cancer research and care at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. More to come on this!My body seems to be in shape for this walk. I’m not incredibly strong now, or in incredibly good shape to be honest. But I can walk a fair distance with a 20 kg (40 lbs) rucksack without too many aches and pains. And do the same the day after.

On these long walks, I have always used the first few weeks to slowly ease my body into ‘Expedition mode’. As this walk is estimated to last for a whole year, I plan to use at least a month before aiming for 20 km (13 miles) on average a day. So be patient with me in the beginning, and I promise to come back strong   :-)

The same goes for when my brother Jon joins me on The Wall after the first month. We will then walk together for a couple of months which I’m looking forward to already.

 . The next two weeks are going to be full of goodbyes. In fact I have started already. On Friday I said goodbye to a couple and their one month old child.It felt strange when I walked out the door, and we said: “See you again in a year!” to each other.A year is a long time, especially when it is ahead of you, and it is full of what some people would call uncertainty, but I call Adventure. I know, looking back, it will seem as most years - to have passed very quickly.

I’m excited to get going but at the same time prepared for some sort of a ‘culture shock’ when I get to Jiayuguan which is the starting point of The Wall. The people, nature, food, culture and language will be very different. But I will also find the remnants of the Great Wall that I have been dreaming about for the last 22 years. They will act as a familiar  friend   :-)

Soon I will be writing an ‘Equipment’ page that many of you have been asking for. So many things to get sorted this last week, so it’s time to get going!

Comments 3 Comments »

12 03 2009

Got a ticket in my hand

Posted by Robert in Preparation
Departure 31st of March!Suddenly walking the Great Wall has gone from being a dream to a reality in a matter of weeks. I’m very excited, but at the same time it is going to be sad to leave those close to me for so long.Already looking forward to meeting my brother Jon after a stroll by the Gobi desert, and Trude half a year later.

To the right you can see the route I intend to follow. Have a good look at it, and press the + button on the map several times to see the terrain I will be walking in close up.

 …

Comments 3 Comments »

06 03 2009

Status 4 weeks left

Posted by Robert in Status every two weeks
   
 
In the last two weeks, a lot of things have come together.I have visited Lenovo and Nordialog and received sponsored equipment for the trip. Many thanks! Early next week I hope to receive a large shipment with sports gear from Vertikal that I can start testing. I am particularly excited about the tent that will be my mobile residence for at least eight months of the walk.My cold has gone which is good, so now I can keep on training properly and take long walks outdoors.

Also, with the help of friendly and knowledgable people at the Great Wall Forum, the planned route is getting nearer to completion and will be displayed here shortly.

Finally - I am VERY EXCITED about being able to do this walk as a fundraiser for a large Cancer Institute in the United States. More details coming soon.

 . With only a few weeks left before leaving, things are getting critical. It will be even more important to excercise for the walk. If my body can’t take the daily punishment along The Wall, then the walk won’t last for long.Within two weeks, you should see some fairly big changes on this site as it is set in “Expedition Mode”.The next two weeks will be spent familiarising myself with the Lenovo X200 laptop, HTC S740 mobile phone and the sports equipment. I’ll probably spend some nights outdoors, to use the equipment in real life and to see that everything is working as expected.

There are so many people to thank for getting this project together, that I am writing a separate post with that in mind.

Oh yes - and then I have to order the tickets to get to China! I’m still hoping to leave right at the end of March, but it may be the beginning of April.

Comments 1 Comment »

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  • Dandong, Liaoning



    Dandong

    Dandong is the largest broder city in China and is located in Lioning province on the border to North-Korea. It is the end-point of Robert's walk along the Ming Dynasty Great Wall of China. Read more...

  • 1 - Shenyang
    2 - Benxi
    3 - Dandong