The Great Wall’ker

I just heard that the first snow has fallen in Oslo. Probably most readers are experiencing colder weather now and perhaps wondering what it is like here.

During the night it is usually below five degrees C. That is no problem with the old 3-season sleeping bag and it should manage some minus degrees without too much trouble. The sleeping bag is old only because it has been used for the whole trip. It, and it’s big brother were bought in the US this year. When the cold really sets in, I will be using a much warmer sleeping bag and two sleeping mattresses.

During the day, things are different. It is usually about 20 C in the shade. I am walking in desert terrain, and there is little shade. This means that the days are pretty hot. I use my desert hat to keep my head out of the sun. I have changed trousers to a sturdy type of the Swedish Fjällreven. They are dark and absorb a lot of heat!

The daily variation between day and night is about twenty degrees. I wouldn’t mind cooler days, but there are no pickings here and this is certainly a lot better than the summer that lies behind me, and the cold winter that lies ahead.

I have been walking downwards a lot today. The terrain was still pretty challenging, but ahead of me I could see a flatter and more forgiving terrain. There are trees in the desert now and they have spectacular colours.

When I got to a road today, I hitched a ride with a young boy to the closest town. I ordered 4 main dishes and a litre of Ice Tea. Then I got back to the same spot. The remains of the meal are currently giving my tent nice aromas and will be eaten tomorrow morning.

I have been eating too little lately. The last couple of days I’ve tried to eat till I’ve almost been sick. It is easy to notice when the body has enough energy and when it is running on a flat battery. This oatmeal business isn’t the most becoming food to eat day after day.

About 20 kilometres today
(Forgot to stop the GPS for the MC ride, but will work it out later)

I didn’t write a report yesterday because a thunder storm came uncomfortably close to my tent camp. I have heard of several people being hit by lightning while using their mobile phone in a thunder storm. I don’t know if mobile phones actually attract lightning, but I didn’t feel happy being a guinea pig.

Yesterday morning I walked to a nearby road and continued in the direction of a small shop. I was completely out of water and had not eaten a proper meal for quite some time. The terrain was full of rifts because of erosion, so I had to make a long detour.

I was lucky in two ways. A car stopped and offered to drive me the four kilometres to the shop. Once I got there I bought five litres of water and Ice Tea and the old owners of the shop offered me breakfast.  I was very grateful and left some extra money as thanks for their hospitality. I then got myself back to the starting point and went on walking the Great Wall.

The Great Wall not only follows the ridges of the hills in this area, but these hills are the highest ones to be seen. This gives a spectacular view of the surroundings.

The area was more populated than before, so towards the end of the day I started asking people if they knew of a shop. A guy told me there might be a woman with a few items for sale a mile away along the Great Wall. I managed to find it and met a wonderful 66 year old woman and her cat. She let me in and I bought two noodle meals for supper. Eating the meal, we spoke a bit and I took pictures of her kitchen. She was preparing supper for all the pigs they owned.

By this time it was getting late. I went on walking and noticed dark clouds behind me. When I turned around to look at them, I saw a big dog following me. It kept at a comfortable distance of 30 metres. I walked on and it kept following me keeping the same distance. I thought that a companion such as this dog would have been great to have on the longest and toughest days along the Wall…

It got darker and I looked for a camping site. Not so easy when all the hills have terraced hills with fields, or houses with barking dogs. I found an area by a large beacon tower and thought I was alone. Then I discovered a female  shepherd. Just as I told her that I was walking the Great Wall I saw lightning in the distance behind her.

That was lucky, because I got to tie down my tent extra well. The only tent site I found was on one of the lower terraces from the beacon tower. It was still high up in the terrain. Soon came the lightning and thunder. It was intense and the closest was about a kilometre to the south. There was also a strong wind and heavy rain.

16 kilometres yesterday