The Great Wall’ker

Started walking at eight o’clock following the Great wall of China. Pretty quickly I had to make some serious decisions on whether to walk long detours or take calculated risks. The worst was when I had walked a long way in fields and got to a valley. The only way down and over was pretty hazardous when carrying a 20 kg plus rucksack. The alternative felt worse though.

I walked down a steep hill with the ice covered Yellow River on one side and a river bed leading in to the river on the other. Steep inclines on both sides. I was most worried about unexpected ice, so took it slowly. Then I balanced across an aquaduct-like bridge only a meter wide, but with a pipe in the middle. So I held on to the pipe while walking across. The drop was sufficient to mess up my day and this walk badly. Then the worst bit: a 3-4 meter descent on steep rocks with nothing to hold on to.

After a while, the Great Wall turned to (just) a line of watchtowers. That is - I couldn’t see any traces of The Wall. Most places there was a vertical drop to the Yellow River, which would be sufficient to keep attackers at bay. As I walked on, more and more deep valleys were in my way.

I asked people I met if there was a dirt road that could get me all the way to Wang Jia Zai, and they said there was, and pointed me on. The problem was it was hard to understand their answers. As I knew the night was going to be TOO cold for me to sleep in the tent (thanks John!!) I called Helen who is the woman who translates the Chinese web site and asked her to help me which made things a lot easier. Many thanks Helen

I use Lithium batteries that are longer lasting and lighter than ordinary ones. I thought they would handle the cold better too, but it took only a few hours for a brand new pair to run out. I hope this was just a freak occurrence, because I don’t have that many with me. In warmer weather they are fantastic.

It was about minus 10 C most of the day today. I got some great ‘Ice in the beard’ pictures. Fortunately the wind was not strong.

I got to a trafficated road at about four o’clock and took a bus to Wang Jia Zou. I’m sitting on a cold ‘Kang’, but in less than an hour I will feel the warmth from underneath, due to the fumes from the fire being channeled under the bed. A great invention

The title of today’s entry was going to be ‘Feeling like an outcast’. I have written enough now though, so will save that one for another day. I am hungry and thirsty so time to feast…

27 Kilometres today

Although I have not walked that far today it has been pretty hard work. The first part was along a road.  I spent half of the time making sure I wasn’t blown in to the middle of the road as trucks drove past. Lots of sand and other debris in the air. The deep valley gorged out by the Yellow River created strong gusts of wind, particularly by the bridges I passed.

I got to an abandoned Temple and took refuge there. My Ridgerest sleeping mattress had loosened from its old straps. I sat down in the sun, but protected from the wind, and repaired the straps.

I could see the Great Wall of China from the Temple, and it looked fantastic riding along the edge of a ridge along the Yellow River.

Then I continued along the Great Wall leaving the road behind. I know absolutely nothing about this area but hoped for two things. That I could follow the Great Wall of China all the way to the next town, and that I could find refuge inside somewhere. They expect minus 25 degrees tonight. Beyond my limit. I met a man outside getting wood for his fire. I asked him if it was possible to walk all the way to the next town 10-15 kilometres to the North. He confirmed there should be no problem.

Then I offered him some money for staying the night in his home. My Chinese knowledge isn’t very refined, so I hope I didn’t offend him. He understood my dilemma because of the cold weather and strong winds. He let me in, but would not accept any money.

Later his wife and children came home. At first, his wife seemed very sceptical for letting a foreigner stay the night. Many thanks to Cherry in Datong for acting as a translator and mediator in this situation. I was afraid I might be thrown out after it got dark, but Cherry managed to convince them that I am not a mass murderer. This evening I have been showing their children a couple of magic tricks while the wind has been howling outside.

I just discovered that after almost nine months walking the Great Wall, the battery of my very light weight headlamp has gone flat. I have an even smaller backup, and will test it tomorrow. I’m happy to have discovered this now, and not when I really needed it…

15 Kilometres today

The morning started with an interview for the Hequ TV station. The reporter came at nine, and by ten o’clock we were finished. That’s the most effective interview so far! My Chinese is pretty basic.  After the interview I thought it a good idea to practice how to answer the most commonly asked questions. What on earth are you doing!? Why? What do you think about this town or Province?

Speaking of Chinese - I decided to start asking people to write down all the questions I cannot understand. Then I will ask someone who speaks English to teach me what they mean. This should be a good way to learn quickly. (Should have started a long time ago…)

It was chilly by the Yellow River this morning. Two women were practicing Tai Chi with colourful fans. It was a picturesque scene with the river flowing slowly by in the background.

The Great Wall of China mainly runs close to the river bank here, but twice it went up the hills to the east. I have started noticing watchtowers with a round shape now. Not round in the sense of sugar poured on a table, but the shape of an inverted cup.

For the first time on the walk, I found a watchtower with intact brickwork both outside and inside. I hope this will become a more common sight in Shanxi. These watchtowers are nice for a rest or to get away from the cold wind.

The ‘future’ doesn’t look too bright for my part. The forecast says minus 23C for tomorrow night, and minus 22C the following. Both are beyond my limit. I will spend time tonight to find out how to keep the progress up despite the  cold nights.

20 Kilometres today

I have received information that the online system for making donations to  the Dana Farber Cancer Institute is NOT working. I’m sorry about this and have sent a mail to get it sorted out!
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Today I lit off a long strip of fire crackers at the western shore of the Yellow River. I was standing at the border of Shaanxi, Shanxi and Inner Mongolia and celebrated that I’m finished with the first three provinces of the trip!

The landscape is changing now. More often I see sandstone sticking out of the earth. By steep hills, I see a lot more sand stone than before. I know that the next stretch along the Great Wall of China will be hilly, but am excited to see if the change of ground surface may help a little.

I had heard from the town I stayed the night before that it should be possible to take a boat across the Yellow River. What met me however was deep ice cold water with plenty of large ice flakes drifting by. I had hoped for some boats to get me over, but there were none. Probably no wonder, as my side of the river was covered with twenty meters of unsafe ice.

As there were unexpectedly no boats and a thirty kilometres walk to get around, I decided to flag down a young lad on a small motorbike and offered him money to drive me to the nearest bridge. From there I took a bus to Hequ. Walking to the exact other side of where I had lit off the fire crackers, I sent off the GPS point for the day.

In the evening, I found a great combined restaurant and guesthouse. All that I need!! A restaurant on the first floor, and two floors of rooms above. The rooms are nice and warm and there is a computer in the room.

The people working here are very nice. We spent a lot of time writing questions and answers to each other using an online translation program on Google.

11 Kilometres today