The Great Wall’ker

Yesterday, I reached North-Korea 600 days after I took the first steps in the Gobi Desert.

The last couple of kilometres I was followed by a TV crew and two photographers. It was, at times, a little hard taking in what was going on as they were taking pictures, asking me to stand here or there and so forth. The truth is that even if I had been there completely alone, it would have been hard to take in the moment.

The Great Wall at Hushan goes over a small mountain. Then it dives steeply down to the Yalu River. This river marks the border between China and North-Korea. The Great Wall was covered in snow and I was happy once again to be walking with the walking sticks. All the time, I was being photographed and filmed from various angles, high and low. A very strange experience after having walked alone in solitude for so long.

At the bottom of the small mountain, there was a large watchtower. We walked up it, and as I walked the last steps, I made a little video, and also took pictures of my feet where they rested on the watchtower. (Thanks for the tip Roxanne - I’ll post the picture later)  At that point, I was about 100 metres from the North-Korean border. In the distance I could hear manly voices shouting something that seemed well coordinated and military. There were two North-Korean border guards walking on the other side of the river.

Luckily, I remembered to pick up a stone close to the watchtower. This is a tradition I have had on all my longer trips. I pick up a (small) stone at the beginning, and then another one right at the end of my journey. A good memory to have in years to come.

What did I feel at that moment? I was happy, relieved and grateful to have reached my goal. At the same time sad that this life of walking is over for now. These are however feelings I have had the last week or two, and there was no big difference at the end point. Sorry - I was not struck by any unique awe-inspiring thoughts… Hopefully they will come when I return to Norway!

I walked back along the river which was an interesting experience. The path could best be described as an obstacle course. A hanging bridge, several very steep steps, winding steps, 180 degree turns etc. At one point the steps were bolted fast to the mountain and the river was right beneath. At the closest, I reckon the North-Korean border on the other side of the river was only 10 metres away. I made a point of hiding my walking sticks. Didn’t want any rifle-like objects to get the attention from the other side.

I go to Beijing tomorrow, and get to spend one whole day there before heading back home to Norway. That might be when the emotions start hitting me.

Once again - many thanks for all your comments - they are much appreciated! I promise to keep on writing this blog for some time yet. Many of you have said you will miss reading the blog entries, and if so, you can imagine how much I will miss the exciting life I have lived here in China. At the same time, NOT living an exciting life seems alluring now.

22 kilometres yesterday
0 kilometres in a straight line to Hushan Great Wall close to Dandong.

About to start on the trip back home now: Dandong -> Shenyang -> Beijing -> arriving in Oslo December 5th at 18.25. Strange how the trip home is now planned down to the last minute, yet has been postponed time and time again over the last year and a half, due to hardships along the Great Wall.

Will write more about my last day walking to North-Korea later today.

I have been walking longer, faster and with fewer rests than ever before, these last few weeks. This is the poem I have been echoing on long days.

          I will persist until I succeed.
          Always will I take another step.
          If that is of no avail I will take another, and yet another.
          In truth, one step at a time is not too difficult…
          I know that small attempts, repeated, will complete any undertaking.

          Og Mandino

Walking the final steps down to the end point of the Hushan Great Wall

A quick note to say I’ve made it. Standing on the last watchtower of the Hushan Great Wall now with only a hundred metres spare to North-Korea. Very mixed emotions, but an enormous sense of relief for reaching a more than 21 year old dream 600 days after I set off from the first watchtower of the Great Wall by Jiayuguan.

Will write more soon. It’s getting cold here, and the journalists need to get back to write their stories. I was driven to yesterday’s end point by people from the hotel, and walked alone for three hours. The last hour I was accompanied by several jounalists on the final stretch to the Great Wall.

UPDATE - Thanks very much for all the nice comments and e-mails. Much appreciated! This indeed shows that I have not been walking alone on the Great Wall, which is a good feeling. I am really tired now, and after a long hot bath I’m off to bed. For the first time in 600 days, I will wake up tomorrow knowing that the Great Wall will take care of itself.

Today was a half day, and I’m grateful for that. My many marathon stretches through Liaoning Province seem to be catching up with me. Hard to get up in the mornings, and I almost fall asleep at the dinner table in the evenings.

Today was very good walking-wise. Not so cold. Beautiful terrain to be walking through, and the Dandong signs have been replaced by Hushan signs which is my final destination!

When I was walking in Beijing Municipality several months ago, I was contacted by Vivian who invited me to stay at the hotel where she works in Dandong. We have had regular contact since then, and finally got to meet today. When I got to the Zhong Lian Hotel I was met by Vivian, and some of her work partners. We have had two good meals together today and I am now sitting in a fantastic room with a view straight over to North-Korea! Thank you very much for your hospitality!!! I feel very grateful that you have been able to take time out of your busy schedule to greet me in this way   

Bo Hui Qiang, Wang Wei, Robert, Zhang Guo Cheng and Xui Xiao Feng in the reception area of the Zhonglian Hotel.

Also a very big thanks to Zhao Fu Qiang - the manager of the hotel for being so hospitable.

It’s time for bed now. A big day awaiting tomorrow!

22 kilometres today
About 16 kilometres in a straight line to Hushan Great Wall close to Dandong.

After the news brief sent by the Norwegian Embassy recently, things are suddenly picking up on the media side. Today I have been contacted by Chinese TV, radio and newspapers that want to do interviews. In addition, there will be a second interview with China Daily. I have also been invited to CCTV4 studio next time I come to China, and look very much forward to that! Thanks to Sue in Denmark and Vivian in Dandong for helping me trying to get the most out of the last days here

In addition to media, I want to make sure I have some time alone to reflect a little over what I’ve been doing the last year and a half. After kayaking the entire length of Norway, I spent one night in a tent at the destination (Nordkapp plataaet). It made me settle down, and realize that the trip was over. It feels good not to rush on straight away. So I might pay Hushan a second visit once all the reporters have gone home to edit their stories, so that I have time to ‘edit’ the end of mine.

A cold day again today. But it did not snow, and it was slightly warmer than yesterday.

The definite highlight of the day was entering a small restaurant where all the tables were taken with people playing Majang. The owner of the place was very welcoming and had the most fantastic laugh I have heard for a very long time. And she laughed a lot! Made my day.

Her daughter spoke a little English so as we sat down in a separate room to eat, while the guests played their games, we had a talk. She was 48, but with her constant smile and laughter I would have taken her to be ten years younger. Her daughter was 21 years old. We sat on a kang so it was nice and warm.

As I was about to leave, I asked her how come she laughed so much? She answered that she had a good life and didn’t have any great pressures. Good for her!

I was expecting to walk further than I did today. The walking conditions were OK. I took a lot of pictures of the snow-covered landscape. Under my feet the snow crunched (knirket pga kulden) with every step.

Instead of two very long walking days, I have settled for three slightly shorter ones to get to my final destination. That way I will get to the Hushan Great Wall early so that the interviews can be done without having to hurry.

34 kilometres today
About 32 kilometres in a straight line to Hushan Great Wall close to Dandong.

Woke up to a really cold day. At the start of the day I wore everything I have with me but the Gore-Tex coat, and had to walk ‘full throttle’ just to get some heat in my body. There was a really cold wind, and it wasn’t blowing that hard at all.

I had some food at noon, and as I sat inside, I saw it had started to snow. Big fluffy white flakes. And there were a lot of them. When I left the eating place I put on all the clothes I have with me for this stretch of the walk. Upper body - two layers of wool, ‘dessert’ shirt, windproof jacket, Gore-Tex jacket and then the down vest. Head - woollen hat, ear warmers and the Gore-Tex coat hood, Lower body - short woollen underpants, woollen long johns, heavy duty trousers and Gore-Tex trousers. My knees have been hurting lately, so I used the jogging shoes today. A pair of thick fluffy woollen socks, and then two layers of ‘take away’ plastic bags did the trick on each foot. (These plastic bags are very thin) Since it was so cold, the snow that landed on the jogging shoes didn’t melt, but just froze.

I was quite disheartened again because of the bad weather, and had to call it a walking day at the 29 km mark. At that time about 7-8 cm’s (3 inches) of snow that had fallen in 3-4 hours. I was hoping for a 40+ km day so that I could have made it to the Hushan Great Wall within the day after tomorrow. That is not likely to happen now.

Really hoping for a good walking day tomorrow so that I can get a lot closer to the Hushan Great Wall, and the river that separates North-Korea and China.

29 kilometres today
About 55 kilometres to Hushan Great Wall close to Dandong

Woke up to about 7 cm’s (2-3 inches) of dry snow this morning. That was a surprise as there was no mention of it on the weather forecast just two days ago. It was a little disheartening to think I would have to drag my feet through snow all day long. I have brought my big boots on this last stretch, and put them on in the morning. I also used the good old plastic bag in the boot trick as the Gore-Tex fabric of my boots is not doing much good now. They are well beyond their “Use before” date, and will not be following me back to Norway.

Luckily, I saw a snow ploughing-car not long after I started walking. People were out early, and I walked past a long line of decorated cars getting ready for a wedding, by the looks of it. It was very cold, but bright and clean due to the newly fallen snow. For the first time since last winter, I used the down jacket (well - it’s a vest) all day long to stay warm. Tomorrow, I will wear two woollen tops to be warmer as it is supposed to get even colder then.

As Sue has picked up already, the Norwegian embassy in China has kindly written an article about the walk. You can read it in English or Chinese.

I made a mistake when entering the end point of today’s walk. The longitude is correct, but the latitude is the same as two days ago. My fault. Hopefully it will show up correctly tomorrow.

38 kilometres today
About 68 kilometres to Hushan Great Wall close to Dandong

Today was a media day. No interviews, but just trying to get things in order for when the trip is finished. As a result, I didn’t get to walk that far.

Highlight of the day was to see the first sign for Dandong!! Not sure if they are called districts or counties or something else, but I entered it today.

Really tired now, and am going to catch up on sleep and rest.

32 kilometres today
About 95 kilometres to Hushan close to Dandong.

By the looks of the walk the last days, you may think I have been celebrating the end of the walk too early. The reason for the criss-crossing is that at this point little is know about the Great Wall in the area. Because of this I am following a ‘best guess’ of where it once went. For every new find that is done, our understanding of the more exact route will increase. Because my visa runs out on the 5th of December, I need to keep a steady pace, and am therefore following roads at this point.

Today I walked almost directly eastwards, gaining only a couple of kilometres on the goal of the Hushan Great Wall close to Dandong. With that leg of the journey done, all is set for the final countdown to the Hushan Great Wall by North-Korea. Thanks to Vivian in Dandong for giving me the telephone number of the director of the wall at Hushan. If I get flagged down by police or military these last few days, it feels good to have a phone number to someone who is expecting me.

It was a cold day today, and the route took me through a high mountain pass. Beautiful, but pretty hard walking, and cold.

Can’t believe how tired I am in the evenings. Will send this off, and then go to bed.

A very very big thanks to Yang Li Li and Liu Wei at the one and only Bin Guan at Shanzuizi. Thanks so much for making this a very pleasant stay! It was fun autographing the wall in your stairs and the thirty photographs we took yesterday   

42 kilometres today
About 114 kilometres to Dandong as the crow flies.

First - A big thanks to YOU! The reader of this blog.

When friends that I could communicate properly with have been few and far between here in China, this blog has been my refuge and at times vent. It has been nice to know that so many people have taken part in this journey (from the comfort of a warm and dry place most probably!)  Thank you all for encouraging messages and e-mails. They have kept me going!

Thanks also to my brother for helping with sewing parts of the techy stuff together here, and also for giving me a kind brotherly reminder from time to time that I have to make more pictures for the picture gallery! Also to my mother for looking through every sentence I have written, and corectimg speling mitakes! (That will be corrected in no time at all!) (WRONG - I’m going to leave it just as it is !!!!  People have to read your words, not mine.  Love mamma)

Most of the world probably woke up to the news that North Korea bombarded a South Korean island yesterday. A tragedy, within a larger tragedy of a split nation. I am currently only 116 km’s from North-Korea - far closer than Seoul on the other side. Being on the Chinese side makes me feel a lot safer. During the last couple of days walking, I have observed more green vehicles in the area, which is only natural. As I get closer to the border, chances are pretty high that I will get the question ‘what (on earth) are you doing’. In addition to my official papers describing the walk, I will get in touch with the leader of the Hushan Great Wall on the border to North-Korea so that a quick phone call to him should sort out things if I get stopped.

I am hoping, with the rest of the world, that the situation does not spiral out of control.

Today’s walk was hard. From noon there was a lot of snow, and the wind picked up quite a bit. Am very happy with today’s effort despite the weather. Really really tired now. Walking such long distances most days zaps my head in addition to the body. Good night.

31 kilometres today
About 116 kilometres to Dandong as the crow flies.

First - a big thanks to my two weather reporters! Bjoern Sindre and John. When I am not able to get a good weather report, I send a text message to them asking for the latest news. As you can imagine - this is pretty important so that I can avoid potentially dangerous weather, and walk half days if possible. Many thanks to both of you for sending the weather reports I also want to thank Bjoern Sindre’s friend Alfredo for purchasing audio books for me, and sending them here.

Also a big big thanks to Oeystein (or Einstein amongst friends) for patiently taking backups of the more than 100 GB’s of photographs I have taken while walking the Great Wall. It feels reassuring to know I have a full set of pictures back home in Norway.

Got going at around eight this morning. It was cold. I had to walk for a long time before warming properly up. The plan was to hike a record long stretch.

During the day, I stopped several times to buy fluids. I have made a habit of asking people in the small shops if they have heard of any Great Wall in the area - any signs at all.

Well - today I struck gold. While asking a lady for shoe laces, a guy came in and we got talking. I told him what I was doing, and he said there was Ming Dynasty Great Wall in the area! I was SO excited and together we walked to the site.

Sure enough there was a 2-3 metre high Wall following a ridge upwards, and beyond. We walked it together for a while, and I photographed The Wall from near, far and several angles. There was no brickwork to be seen - especially with the layer of snow. He said few people in the village actually knew that this was Ming Dynasty Great Wall.

I have been eagerly hoping to find signs of Great Wall here in the mountains, and was extremely happy with today’s find. Have had a big grin on my face the rest of the day! This find feels like the icing on top of the Great Wall cake. Now ‘all’ I need to do is keep up the high pace for about another week. Thanks a lot to Frank for helping with translation today.

If it had not been for the Great Wall find, I think it could have ended up as a record long haul. There may be some bad weather rolling in tomorrow. Will have to confer with my professional weather reporting team…

44 kilometres today
About 137 kilometres to Dandong as the crow flies.

Have had a very good walking day today. Although I got off to a late start after 9 am, I was able to cover a long distance. This is simply done by keeping a high speed, and stop having any breaks! Not something I can recommend in the long run. Only one break where I actually sat down today.

I am asking people if they have heard of any Great Wall in the area, but no positive response I’m afraid. It would have made my day if an old guy lightened up, took me for a walk into the hills and showed me a ten metre stretch of something that resembled an old wall. Still some days to go.

The area I have moved into is stunningly beautiful. I said this to a local guy today, but he just shook his head. Perhaps he was thinking of the harsh winters they have here. The precipitation that fell yesterday covered this area with snow. Lots and lots of pine forrests here. I have seen the processing of so many products on this walk. To mention a few: several sorts of nuts, cotton, coal and other minerals, peppers, corn, rice, several fruits and now wood. Taking a deep sniff of the recently cut pine wood as I pass by reminds me of home. The hills that reminded me of Nordmarka have become mountains now.

Home… To illustrate what I am feeling about approaching the end of this walk: today I found myself shaking my head because it is going to be sad when this part of my life is over, and at the same time smiling because I am looking so much forward to meeting everybody in Norway. (well - not EVERYbody). That’s what they mean by mixed emotions.

I’m hoping for a monster long walk tomorrow as the forecast says the day after will have up to an inch of snow. That will slow me down.

40 kilometres today
About 155 kilometres to Dandong as the crow flies.

I got back to the walking today and had high expectations of doing some good walking, but they were stopped by terrible weather.

Early on it started raining hard, and at times it beltet down. It was very cold, and just on the verge of snowing.

I was following a road that at times turned into a big mud hole. The sides of the road had several cm’s of water and mud at times.

After more than an hour, I passed by a lady sitting motionless on the other side of the road. At first I didn’t react - probably because I’ve seen so many farmers in their fields lately. But there was something out of place, so I stopped and turned around.

She was older than I thought - older than 75. She was thinly dressed, and she had modern jogging shoes on. This made even less sense, so I crossed the road, and that is when I started realizing what was wrong.

She was covered in mud and freezing cold. I tried to make contact with her, but she didn’t answer. I pulled her carefully to her feet, and that’s when I understood the poor lady must have been there a fairly long time. She was shivering uncontrollably, and had no energy to get to her feet by herself.

From the effort of standing up, she bent over as to throw up, but nothing came. She had saliva coming down from her mouth. Then I noticed she had a new cut on her cheekbone. From this, and the fact she wasn’t answering any questions about where her house was I gathered she must have slipped and got severely shaken, perhaps even had a mild stroke. She held hard on to me as we stood there together in the rain. She swayed from side to side trying to find her balance.

There were plenty of cars driving slowly past and I tried to flag down quite a few, but none stopped. I asked her many times which way her home was. She pointed one way, but a minute later started walking the other. She held a firm grip onto me, and together we slowly got to a house.

We entered, but the woman there said she didn’t know who the old lady was. I said she must be from the area. Together, we walked further up the sidestreet and ended up at a home for old aged. Nobody recognized her there either, and they seemed eager to get rid of the problem. I said that was not happening as long as I was there, and told a guy to call the police.

He called, and started talking to them. I saw that the old lady was sitting in a warm room and out of immediate danger. Then I thought it best to vacate the premises to avoid a long talk with the police about a situation I couldn’t help them with. I went out to discover it had started snowing heavily.

I would rather not think what would have happened if I had not passed by her when I did, and this evening my thoughts go out to her hoping she has a hot meal in her stomach, shelter above her head, and hopefully some family around her.

10 kilometres today

Yesterday I bought the tickets back home to Norway. A very strange feeling really. I am looking very much forward to coming home - no doubt about it.    At the same time though, I have a growing understanding (and perhaps fear) of how drastically my life is going to change from the life I have lived here in China.

I arrive at Gardermoen on Sunday the 5th of December at 18.25!