The Great Wall’ker

The day started with a rice breakfast with the Chinese family who let me spend the night with them. I finally made friends with their dog too and petted it before leaving. I got the email address from the daughter in the family so that I can send them the pictures we took of the family. Yesterday, I learnt how to eat sunflower seeds really quickly with just one hand. So now I can pose as a true Chinese not only for eating with ease with chop sticks, but eating these seeds too. And let me tell you - they are really addictive!

Although it has not rained, there was plenty of moisture in the grass and scrubs so I got soaking wet within the first kilometre. That is no big problem though when you know that it’s going to be hot soon. It got up to about 30 degrees, but with a fairly strong wind, that was no problem.

I entered an area of the desert with a lot of sand and that made it harder to walk. Some places I was able to walk on top of the Great Wall, while other places the desert had swallowed it completely.

Taking a rest at a little before noon, a big predator bird swept over me as I was eating sunflower seeds. If I had had the camera ready it could have made for a great shot, but I was a little too late, and this was the picture I got.

I came to a large fortress that was placed where the Great Wall makes a 90 degree turn to the South. This must have been a place along the Great Wall where they could not expect reinforcements straight away, and therefore needed a fortress to defend themselves until help arrived.

In the afternoon I took a break to eat a watermelon just after I had climbed a peek and could see the town Yanchi below me. It was a nice sight as it promised me a shower and a place to eat food, but it was about ten kilometres away. After finishing the watermelon I noticed how much lighter the rucksack had become and set off on the last stretch of the day to Yanchi.

I was too tired to get out the tripod to get myself in the frame...

34 kilometres today

Quick report as I am staying with a very nice family tonight and it is time to sleep. Woke up to a strong and cold wind. Started to walk, but after an hour, it started to rain. I took refuge in a beacon tower that had a nice cave carved into it.

When I heard a mighty thunder clap, I decided to vacate the beacon tower. Since bad weather was on its way, I put up the tent in a lightning friendly place and crept in. The weather was bad until three o’clock. At that time the rain became lighter and the wind stopped.

I started walking, and kept warm by doing this. A little later, I saw a small village and considered whether to go there and ask for a shop or not. As I stood still in the rain, a rabbit ran towards me and was less than ten metres from me. I managed to get out the camera and took some pictures.

I went to the village, but there was no shop there. Instead, I was invited to eat with this family. We ate some very good noodles together. I showed them the pictures I have taken lately and pictures from Norway. When I got ready to leave, they insisted I spent the night with them. Looking out at the rain, it wasn’t hard to thank them for the nice offer.

They told me that both the scorpions and snakes in the area can be lethal. Nice to know that the winter is coming… Learnt the word for sleeping bag today! About time…

Good night.

After getting the weather report from my girlfriend yesterday (thanks Trude), I decided to make an early start today. Set my alarm for six o’clock. At three a.m. I went out for a wee. Crystal clear sky and the stars and planets looked like they were only half as far away as usual. I could see the Milky Way very clearly.

I went back to sleep and slept straight through two alarms! At a little over seven I woke up, seeing the sun on the tent. It wasn’t very hot though - which it would have been a month ago.

Started walking and found a small path along the Great Wall. It varied in size and shape, but made the walking easier. The Great Wall is double here. The outer wall was smaller than the inner, functioning as an effective barrier against the horsemen of the enemy. The inner and main defensive wall was at least double in height.

Towards the end of the day I met a great elderly couple who invited me into their home. They were farmers and told me that their child and family work in Yinchuan. They asked about snakes and I showed them pictures I have brought about life in Norway.

Right now there is a grasshopper concert outside. Time to upload this and then eat some more. It is eight thirty, and completely dark. The only light comes from this great but small htc s740 mobile phone

31 kilometres today, and 10 yesterday.

The sun is setting behind the Great Wall right now. It is completely silent here except for the shepherd calling his sheep every now and then, and the sheep calling back. Since I started walking today I have only seen two people. Both shepherds. Don’t think they have seen me as I have walked on the Northern side of the Great Wall. Where the enemies belong!

I got off to a late start. The walking has been great! In fact it reminded me of walking in Norway during the summer. Not that I’m biased or anything… I suppose we all love what is closest to our hearts the most.

Because of all the good vibes today, I also got into the spirit of taking a lot of pictures. Many of them with me in the foreground. I even took some snaps as I set up the tent.

From experience, I know that it is the small, so called insignificant, things on expeditions like this that are photographed the least and missed the most. Going to eat some food now. The evening air is cool and clear.

Here is the interview with Norwegian NRK Nitimen.

I started walking fairly early today and that was good. As the forecast said, there was to be rain and it came in the afternoon. Since I was set up for the interview at three o’clock in the afternoon, I pitched the tent at a place with good mobile coverage in advance and avoided a heavy downpour. After the interview there was steady and at times heavy rain, so I took it easy in the tent!

The Great Wall is fantastic here. In the horizon I can see the desert dunes. The areas closer to the Great Wall are covered by green scrubs. I am starting to notice more severe earth erosion now and from what I hear, this will be the next challenge with regard to the landscape. Intense heat has been exchanged with earth erosion that leaves deep deep scars in the ground. These are time consuming to get around and at times dangerous. Right now I need to take particular care as the earth is very loose because of the rain the last days.

For Norwegian readers: Imorgen er jeg med i NRK P1 Nitimen. Er første gjest, og kommer på litt etter kl 9. Tune in

Very tired now. I have eaten and drunk too little today. A couple of times I got a bit light headed. The day started well with a cool temperature, but soon it was hot and humid. Need to get some sleep, so will write more tomorrow!

I am lying in the tent now. It is the coolest evening since I was walking with my brother a few months ago and I’m really enjoying it! It’s still light outside, but the sun has set.

As I rolled out the three season Western Mountaineering sleeping bag earlier, I finally managed to pin down how to describe the smell it emits after having housed my sweaty body since April. And it is a very accurate description:

Take a dog and lay it on it’s side or back. Take hold of one of it’s paws. Take a deep breath and exhale all the way. Then put the paw about a centimetre under your nose. Breath steadily in through your nose until you get the point… The good news is after a minute, you get used to it.

The Great Wall has been fantastic today! It has been between 7 and up to 10 metres high. Their is no mistaking it’s path. Every two hundred metres there is a large beacon tower. I was ready to take some good shots, but there are factories and power lines here. Hopefully it will be better tomorrow.

Have a good evening, and if you tested what my sleeping bag smells like, give the dog a hug from me.

17 kilometres today.

I have been working on pictures and washing clothes etc in Yinchuan. Today I went to the market and bought a large mosquitoe net. Then I went to a shop and asked if they could custom-make a net to wrap on the outside of my desert hat. The ten year old daughter was ordered to take me to a lady that could help.

We walked through a series of small alleys and by the time she rang a door bell, I had no idea where we were. The woman that let me in looked shocked to see a foreigner at her workshop. I explained what I wanted her to make for me. Slowly, and with a lot of help with theatrics and the little girl, she understood and made a mosquitoe ‘tube’ net that slips straight over the desert hat. In addition, she made two simple tubes that I can slip on my arms.

It is close to unbearable to walk for hour after hour being attacked by mosquitoes, so now I have an untested weapon to defend myself!

When the woman was finished, I asked how much she wanted for the work. She had spent at least an hour sewing for me. She said she didn’t want any money. I protested saying that this was, after all, her job. She still refused, but I took out money and put it on the workbench, before thanking her very much for the help and leaving.

The mosquitoe nets cost me RMB 50 (Kr 50 / $8) They are extremely light weight, and I can’t wait to test them   

Sorry - I have been unable to log on to the website the last days. The website has had technical problems, but things seem to be back to normal now. I will write about the last days soon, but here follows a short summary:

The last days I have been attacked by a dog, found three scorpions under my tent, of which two insisted on running towards me in attack mode. My walking stick was bitten by an unfriendly snake and I had my first encounter with police on the trip. Also in the last two to three hours of walking yesterday, I was drenched by the heaviest rain I have experienced so far.

Time to go out and eat and try to gain some weight…

Slept really well in the tent tonight because the wind made it cool. I thought I should check the statement of the women yesterday, so when I lifted the groundsheet of the tent, I looked for scorpions. I saw three!! One of them stopped moving, but two of them headed my way with their stinging tails raised for attack!

I didn’t want them anywhere near my rucksack and stamped my feet to discourage them from moving closer. They didn’t even twitch and came straight at me. So - I tried to kick sand on them. They stopped for a few seconds. When they went on charging, I had to stamp them. Not a nice feeling.  They are very robust so I had to twist and turn my foot to stop them…

Walking down to the fortress, I thought how much fun it would be to show the women the picture of the scorpions they proclaimed did not live in the desert. Then I saw something moving close by. It was a sizeable snake that headed for some scrubs. I went a bit closer to see if I could get a picture, and it suddenly struck at my walking stick! I was quite shocked that it was so aggressive and also that I could feel the vibrations of the strike in my hand.

Deciding this had been enough excitement for one morning, I walked to the fortress and showed pictures of the snake and scorpions.

After noon, dark clouds swept in from the North. Soon it was raining lightly and I walked with my umbrella. Since it is still warm, using an umbrella is great for rain. It keeps your upper body dry whilst you still have good ventilation. After an hour in the rain, it started raining heavily and the wind got stronger. I got several offers, from kind passersby, of a lift to Yinchuan, but refused as I wanted to reach my goal for the day. I was pretty drenched by the time I got there, but very very happy that I had now completed the Ningxia outer loop of the Great Wall.

22 kilometres today

I got up at five o’clock today and started walking just as the sun rose over the desert dunes to the East. The mosquitoes were gone and man that had let me stay for the night was sleeping.

I was glad that it was cool. As the dawn grew to morning, a lot of farmers started their day. It is harvest time now and I can literally see how the farmers are joyful because they can harvest their crop after a long summer of hard work. I took a break when the sun got warmer. Sitting on an elevated irrigation channel, I watched a family harvesting corn on the cob. The summer is definitely on it’s last verse. I noticed leaves hitting me when the wind blew them from the trees. Some leaves have turned yellow.

It is strange to be on a walk that will last a whole year. The small signs from nature become big events because they mean a lot to my well being. After walking though this desert for the last four months, I am looking forward to the Autumn. I long for temperatures that are below 25 degrees C. In three to four months, it will get very cold indeed, but until then, I hope to enjoy good walking conditions.

Towards the end of the day I met some women by a tourist attraction. It looked like an old fortress that was rebuilt, but they told me it had nothing to do with the Great Wall. I bought some water and Ice Tea from them and then headed toward the desert to set up my tent, but first I asked them if the desert had any scorpions.  From what I could understand they said: No - this part doesn’t, because scorpions don’t like… A word I could not understand.

33 kilometres today

There was a wedding at the hotel I was prescribed to use.  As I was checking out, there were fireworks right outside of the reception. It was so intense that ALL the people inside held their ears! A fun way to celebrate and looked like all the children (Including me) were enjoying it.

After walking about 20 kilometres, I came to a small village. I asked a woman if there was anywhere to get a meal and she pointed Northwards and said it wasn’t far away. I walked to the place and as I was turning a corner met an old man who was leaving the restaurant, plus three loose dogs.

One of them started making a foul noise and it basically attacked me! I had the walking stick at bay, and used one to pin it down. It didn’t give in so easily, so I whacked it with the other walking stick. I also tried to keep an eye on the other two dogs, as I thought they may be wanting to join the party. The old man walked over to the dog and picked it up. The two other dogs turned out to be friendly.  I guess the dog that attacked me was scared to see me and wanted to protect his owner.

The people that owned the restaurant were very friendly. Particularly the son in the house. He was ten years old and offered to sell one of his puppies to me. He started with a price of RMB 50 (Kr 50 / $8) I turned down the offer, although the dog was great! He asked if I wanted the dog and I said truthfully that I would like the dog, but I couldn’t. The young boy changed tactics and went for RMB 80 (Kr 80 / $13) I didn’t quite understand his move, but said no again. Then he resigned and offered it to me for RMB 20 (Kr 20 / $3) Yet again I had to say no.  By this time the food had come, so I started eating.

I would like to have the company of a dog on this trip, but walking for days in scorching heat in the desert and knowing that a very cold winter is on it’s way, it would be too much hassle to have to cater for the dog as well as myself. Many places, the Great Wall is very steep also and the dog would need help to follow me.

I walked on. As it got dark, the mosquitoes came out in large numbers. It was still very hot, so I had the choice between rolling down my sleeves or being eaten by the mosquitoes. A pretty hard choice to make. There was no wind, so the flock of mosquitoes managed to follow me. Every time there was a slight gust of wind from behind, they blew in front of me, and I had to take on a full frontal assault. At this point I decided to make a mosquito net when i got back to Yinchuan.

It was completely dark when I came to a small village and asked if there were any guest houses. At first I was told there weren’t. After looking and asking around for a while a man I had previously asked, opened a door to reveal a room with four beds. He wanted 5 RMB (Kr 5 / $1) for the bed. After a while I went out to thank him and found him sitting on a bed by the road. It turned out he made his living by washing trailers 24 hours a day. I told him a little about the walk I was on and thanked him for letting me stay the night. The next morning I left an additional RMB 10 in the room as RMB 5 seemed too little for such a nice man.

32 kilometres today

I started walking at about two o’clock today. The temperature was noticeably cooler and I could hold a good speed without sweating too much.

There is no known Great Wall between the stretch I just followed and the next stretch that starts East of Yinchuan. Scholars seem divided to where it’s possible remains are. Most mean it went on the Eastern side of the Yellow River. But there are indications that the Yellow River has changed course fairly dramatically over the years. Because of this, it’s possible that the remains of the Great Wall may be found on the Western side of the Yellow River too.

I struck up a course towards Southeast today, heading for the only bridge I could detect that crosses the Yellow River in the area.

After walking for about three hours, I came to a small village and asked for a cheap place to spend the night. I ended up paying 20 RMB (Kr 20 / $ 3) for a basic room with shared toilet and shower. Then I went to eat. After ordering food, I went out to get some Ice Tea. Two policemen approached me and asked to see my passport. Then they said they wanted to speak more to me, and would wait at the guesthouse.

As I ate, I was wondering what was going on. Back at the guest house the two officers had become five. They asked me to pack my stuff and follow them to a different hotel. I asked why, stating that in the four months of walking, I have never had any problem with the police. An officer that spoke some English looked up a word on his mobile and said: “It is prescribed”. So instead of a cheap 20 RMB night, I am now at the prescribed hotel at 165 RMB. At least breakfast is included  

At all times the police behaved in a friendly way. The guy that spoke English was very sympathetic. I hope this will not happen too often, because I am many kilometres away from the starting point for tomorrow.

15 kilometres today.

I have just checked the weather forecast and the temperature will drop tomorrow and stay at or under 30 C (86 F) I can almost not believe that this little miracle has finally happened and am really looking forward to somewhat cooler days.

The Chinese website is coming along and now there are only a few pages left and some layout issues. Hopefully I will manage to finish most of the tasks today.