The Great Wall’ker

Took a bus from Datong to Youyu at 6.25 am, and then a taxi to the Great Wall.

One of the things my mother brought to China were some of her flapjacks. Incredibly tasty and nutritious cakes with all sorts of healthy stuff in them. This walk would have gone faster if I had had a steady supply of them. Thanks mum!

A lot of ‘firsts’ today. At least since December last year. The ice has melted so that I can stick the plugs properly into the ground to secure the tent. I have enough extra clothes to make a small pillow. I used the knee support for the first time. There is about one hour extra daylight now.

It is also much warmer, but the forecast says there might be a couple of -15C nights left. Almost no snow left. Instead there is plenty of slippery mud - especially on the hills. It shouldn’t be long before it dries up. But never say never. They expect about 3 inches of wet snow and rain tomorrow. That’s why I secured the tent as well as possible.

14 kilometres today

This week my walk along the Great Wall is featured over four pages in the Norwegian magazine: Vi Menn. They also wrote an article after I kayaked the length of Norway back in 2005.

The magazine will be on sale until Tuesday next week.

Welcome to new readers of this blog. I write here every day when I am out walking. A new picture is also posted every day. By clicking on the link to the left marked Great Wall Route, you can see exactly how far I have come. If you click on the picture to the left, you come to the picture gallery.

Happy family reunion on the Great Wall

My mother, sister and I have spent the last days together in Beijing. It has been great to see my family again after so many months alone along the Great Wall. Here is a picture taken of us while we visited the Great Wall a few days ago. Thank you very much for the visit Tone og mamma!

Tomorrow I return to Datong and will soon be back walking the Great Wall again. The forecast looks a lot better now. The minimum temperature varies a lot, but is about minus ten on average which makes my life a lot easier.

This is what the Great Wall looks like where I have come to in Shaanxi Province.

The fireworks have been going off since I arrived in Beijing 5-6 hours ago. They are getting more and more intense. This is a big contrast to the 31st of December in the small village called Mazhen just west of the Yellow River. That evening I didn’t hear a single firecracker go off.

A special thanks to the Chinese readers. Thank you very much for following my journey along the Great Wall! It means a lot for me to be able to share this adventure.

Wishing you all a very happy and prosperous New Year!

My mother and sister arrive tomorrow and we will spend about ten days together here in Beijing. It will be good to be together with my family again.

It’s my birthday today. I was planning on celebrating it by walking the Great Wall. But because of a bad forecast some days ago that since has changed for the better, I will be celebrating in Datong. Will go out and have a good meal, and do some Skyping in the evening. A pretty low key event in other words…

Other than that I will be working on pictures and washing dirty clothes. On the 8th I go to Hong Kong to apply for a new visa, and then meet up with my sister and mother in Beijing which will be great! Am really looking forward to seeing someone I know again. So there will be a break from the Great Wall now.

Thank you very much for the birthday congratulations   

I knew I was in for a cold one. There was no wind, so within a few hours, there was a lot of humidity hanging from the inner tent in the form of ice. I had a 1.5 litre bottle of apple juice as a cold companion in the sleeping bag so that it wouldn’t turn to ice during the night. Although I had walked a fair distance considering the conditions and was physically tired, I lay awake for a long time. I had absolutely all my clothes on. Fives layers on the upper body, and two on my legs and feet. Because the tent is small, I had to try and move carefully every time I turned around. This didn’t prevent ice falling in my face and on the bottom part of the sleeping bag making it wet.

Next morning I started packing the tent while a dog barked at me from a safe distance.

Yesterday’s forecast said there was more snow on it’s way, so I decided to return to Datong today. Every day I have to cross 6-8 steep valleys, and I don’t want to risk walking in hilly terrain with ice under newly fallen snow. That would be pushing my luck too far.

In a few days I go to Hong Kong to apply for a new Visa as the one I have now soon runs out. Then I will meet my sister and mother in Beijing! I am really looking forward to seeing them again after so many months of solitude in China.

12 kilometres today

Today was a beautiful day. The wind was pretty strong, and since it was cold all day, and partly cloudy it was cold. Some places there was a path along the Great Wall. The landscape continues to be coorporative. Nice rolling hills allowing for some fine Great Wall pictures. Yes Sue - I have taken some good pictures lately - the only thing stopping me is that the camera is very cold and has a metal body. Brrrrr…

There are valleys at regular intervals, and since I am walking northwards, descending in to these valleys is extra challenging. I fell once today due to hidden ice under some earth. Luckily it happened at the right place. A few times, I have decided to take the longer route around these trouble spots when it has looked too risky.

It was a shame to have to stop walking the Great Wall at around five o’clock. I could have gone on for longer, but the sun was close to the horizon, and without the sun, this place very soon becomes very cold.

23 kilometres today

I am sitting on a warm Kang now. Can’t get over how comfortable they are. I almost feel like a cat sitting in the sun. I am at a very small guesthouse waiting for a meal that they are preparing.

It was windy today. I had no water left, so had to ask a couple times for water from locals along the Great Wall. The goal for the day was to get to a road and try to find a guesthouse and a place to eat. The meal has just been served now, so you know I got there as planned.

What has not gone to plan however is that THIS was the night that was supposed to be -20c cold. Just checked the forecast and now it says -20c tomorrow. Bummer. So I’m going to feast on a very large meal now and drink some of the 4.5 litres of apple juice I bought in the shop along the road. I’ll decide later what to do tomorrow.

The Kang (Chinese style bed where the fumes from a stove are channeled under the bed before going up the chimney) is right next to a large window. The view is nice now that the sun is setting. Soft hills and a beacon tower on the horizon. A lot of fields and some trees in the distance.

14 kilometres today
The point on the map will show the place I am spending the night and not exactly how far I have come along the Great Wall. Didn’t have time to send the point before hitching a ride on a large trailer.