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
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