The Great Wall’ker

Minus 19C tonight at the place I will start walking tomorrow. Minus 15C or warmer from tomorrow and onwards. That’s good news! I just hope the mended knee will manage OK, and am looking forward to a good stretch walking the Great Wall.

To Norwegian readers: There will be an article about this walk in the magazine: Vi Menn in a few weeks time. I’ll write more when I know what date it is printed.

Wishing you all a good weekend! Particularly Trude   

Things have been slow here lately. I have had a cold that was particularly bad in the mornings. The prospect of waking up in the tent in minus 15-20C with this  cold was not very compelling. I feel better now though, so I plan to leave shortly.

Lately I have also written a couple of articles about the walk that I hope will be published.

Sorry for not writing for a while. My knee is feeling better now, and it looks like the cold weather will soon be over. I’ll soon be walking the Great Wall again. Am looking forward to it!

Wish you all a good weekend.

I hope to be able to pick up the new Visa tomorrow, and am looking forward to walking the Great Wall. The weather has suddenly turned nice and warm in Datong. By warm, I mean above zero degrees. Almost feels like spring. But there is still some cold weather ahead.

My left knee is slowly getting better, and I hope it will be good to walk on with the weight of the backpack in a few days time.

I had no experience with using walking sticks before this walk. They felt strange to use in the beginning, but now it feels strange walking without them.

The Black Diamond walking sticks come in three sections. They can be collapsed using two flick lock mechanisms on each stick. Practical when travelling in a car, bus or train as they can be fastened to the side of the rucksack. Their length can be adjusted to any length up to 140 cm.

The sticks have steel tips which is good in hilly terrain. I also brought a couple of rubber ends for walking along roads. They quickly wore out. A clever Chinese man made me another pair out of the rubber from a wheel. These will last for the rest og my life.

The walking sticks help in many ways. Walking up steep sand dunes, walking down steep hills, checking the depth of water in a river, and how hard the surface under the river is. If extended all the way, they can increase the length of your jump when traversing small rivers. They are handy to keep dogs at arms length. Two or three times so far I have used them to whack dogs to prevent an attack. Right now the ground is covered in snow and sometimes ice. The walking sticks give me the two extra legs I need to walk confidently in places where I wouldn’t dared have walked otherwise.

This post is for those especially interested in cameras. I love photography and therefore it is hard to keep it short when I describe the camera I use while walking the Great Wall.

I don’t carry an SLR while walking the Great Wall as it would be too heavy. I carry two smaller cameras. Although the Panasonic DMC-LX3 has a limited zoom range, I use it for the majority of the pictures I take.

The camera has a metal body that both feels and, more importantly, IS sturdy. My camera has hit the ground a couple of times without being damaged. It is slightly bigger and heavier than the average compact camera.

It has a fantastic Leica lens that is both sharp and bright at F2.0-F2.8. This means I can take pictures in dark places without having to use a too high ISO setting or a flash. Teamed up with the optical stabilizer and a sensor with a lower pixel density than most small cameras out there, the image quality is very good also in dark places.

I record most shots in RAW format and use post processing to adjust the colour temperature, brightness, contrast etc. This takes a bit of time, but gives better control and hopefully raises the overall quality of the pictures.

The camera is small enough that I can take it out from my beltpack and fire off a couple of photographs without drawing too much attention. And attention is guaranteed in rural China when taking pictures with a digital camera. My camera has a lens barrel mounted in order to keep dirt, sand and rain from entering the zoom mechanism. This makes the camera more bulky. It also gets in the way when taking pictures with the pop-up flash, which I very seldom use.

Speaking of zoom - this is probably one of the few areas where this camera doesn’t match others. It’s zoom range is from 24mm to 60mm (35mm equivalent) so you have to get close to the subjects you are photographing. But in my experience, the best pictures are not taken from across the street or field. They are taken at fairly close range.

I like this camera because it has plenty of dedicated physical buttons giving me direct control. I decide on which shooting mode, aspect ratio and focus mode I want to use before raising the camera to my eye drawing attention after a short while.

I use three shooting modes: Intelligent auto that records in jpg in case I don’t have too much space left on the memory card and the scene is not too challenging light-wise. The Program mode records a RAW image as does the Aperture mode where I have stopped down the aperture to a minimum for maximum depth of field.

The switch for aspect ratios is placed directly above the lens. I often play around with these ratios before taking the picture. This makes me think before taking the picture. Maybe I move around a bit to get the best possible composition after having decided on the aspect ratio. I like being forced to think about the composition while taking the picture and not two weeks later when I am sitting in front of my laptop.

I always carry two batteries. This is enough for a week or two along the Great Wall in the summer, all depending on how much I have been photographing. But in the coldest periods the batteries run out quicker, so I have to save the camera for the pictures I want the highest quality on.

This post is dedicated to the geeks among you. This web site just made Google Page Rank 4 which I am very happy about. Probably that is as far as it will go - that is unless I fall off a cliff or something and make headlines around the world. Probably not worth it!

Have a good week. I will apply for another Visa extention at the end of this week.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO BROTHER JON  

Got up early and took three buses to get to Datong. In Pinglu there was a three hour wait.  I got in touch with the owner of the bus which goes  daily to Datong. He was a very nice guy and rescued me from the -5 C in the waiting hall of the bus station. We ate together with his driver and some others. The place was warmer and the atmosphere was great with lots of noise from hard working guys shouting at each other when they entered or left the place for the cold outside.

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Two hundred metres down the road, there had been an accident.

The recent snow has made driving even more risky than normal. I saw several lorries that had lost their grip and sailed off the road. At one place two lorries had collided, but both of the drivers carriages had swung to the opposite sides saving the drivers. (I think)

— Written the 9th of January

The night was cold. On my upper body I wore two layers of wool and a fleece. My legs had one layer of wool and fleece. On my head I had a cashmere woolen hat, and my neck was protected with a double fleece. I had stuck my gloves in the fleece trousers to protect my hip bones from the cold. There is absolutely no fat there, so the cold goes straight to the bone which from experience is pressed hardest against the cold ground. Then the down sleeping bag, and two sleeping mattresses. Then the tent to wrap things up. Still though - in the middle of the night, the cold came creeping through the sleeping bag making me shiver without control.

I was happy when the first light came, and later when some rays of sun hit the tent. As I got out of the sleeping bag, rubbing my eyes I heard a voice from outside. A farmer that looked seriously concerned asked if I was OK. He looked at the small tent and shook his head. I had warmed up by this point, and stuck out my hand to touch his to show that I wasn’t a block of ice. His hand was warmer than mine though.

It snowed today too. More or less the whole day. I often scouted Northwards, feeling that if I ever come back to the Great Wall, then this small stretch will be the first I want to walk DURING THE SUMMER. Due to the snow and dark weather, I only saw the Great Wall on a few occasions, and it looked magnificent.

The area I walked through had many watchtowers and several large fortresses. A few of them had villages inside! In one, I found a large shop - in fact a very large shop considering the size of the village. Inside, I met an old couple that ran it, and an 85 year old woman who had dropped by to chat. She had bound feet. I asked how many kids were left in the village and the couple answered that there were only two kids left. The rest lived with their parents in larger towns in the area. This is the story that I see time after time in China. The largest migration that has ever taken place on earth is happening right in front of my eyes.

I noticed that my left knee was painful. Probably because of the longer than normal distances lately, and having walked on hard ground with a heavy rucksack. I decided it was time to take a breather and let the knee rest. In less than a week I have to renew my visa.   I don’t want to chance walking the next stretch with a banged up knee and perhaps not getting back to Datong in time to renew the visa.

After it was dark, I got to a small village by a road. The local shop was still open and I bought some Ice tea and food before asking if there was a lu dian (simple hostel) around. He nodded and told me his mother ran one in the back yard. It was a room with an arched roof dug into the ground. I was happy , thinking I had the place to myself. Just as I got ready to sleep two men came in. They were nice in every way, but they smoked a lot. These dwellings have no air circulation, apart from the little that happens naturally through the windows and when the door is opened. So I spent the night breathing smoke. The oldest got up in the middle of the night just to have another smoke although he was coughing like mad. He repeated this first thing in the morning. Poor guy.

30 kilometres today

— Written the 9th of January

It was under minus ten when I started walking this morning, determined to follow the Great Wall along the small river that runs into the Yellow River.

During last night I thought it was a great idea to walk on the river, but when I got close to the edge I saw it would be too dangerous to get ON to the ice. There is a big dam seven kilometres south of this point and hence the Yellow River is a gigantic water reservoir here, rather than an actual river. The level of water had dropped about three metres since the first ice. This left crevices along the shore of the river for about five metres. Usually, these ice crevices were pretty steep and the ice here was insecure. So, although I was certain the flat ice on the water below me would hold my weight, I was alone and didn’t want to take too big chances getting on to it - and also getting off it at some unknown place.

So, I started climbing the steep hill behind me and walked on the inner side of the Great Wall of China. Most of the hills I climbed, up and down, were covered with some snow and ice some places, as they were all facing northwards. Then it started snowing - pretty heavily at times. The snow in itself didn’t bother me as it was light and dry. But it covered the ground and made it impossible for me to know what lay beneath. At one stage I was walking down a steep narrow path to get past a valley and slipped, because there was hidden ice under the snow. With the walking sticks, I managed to keep my balance.

After a few kilometres, the snow got heavier. I got to a high point and looked eastwards. I couldn’t see any more of the Great Wall of China from this point - only watchtowers. It was dark, although only early in the afternoon. I summed up my situation: I was cold, but as long as I moved it was OK. I was alone. The weather has deteriorated the last hour and there was a centimetre of snow covering the ground and ice. I took to my senses and it was a hard decision not to walk on. Instead I headed in a more southerly direction. At the first possible place I tried to return to the Great Wall following a small dirt road.

When I got to the end of it, I asked a guy if there was any chance of getting to the Great Wall from there, but he shook his head. So - I had no alternative but to follow a small untraffickated dirt road a little to the south of the Great Wall. Needless to say, all the walking today was in very hilly terrain. The walk to the ‘end of the road’ that I just mentioned would have been a good days exercise for most people. At least the walk up again with 20 kilo’s on one’s back.

Towards the end of the day I just found a little field hidden from view and set up the tent. It was too cold to start fiddling with the mobile to write a report. I knew I was in for the coldest night so far.

19 kilometres today

At 8.30 this morning I got the bus back to my end point yesterday. Then I walked 31 kilometres to get to Lao Niu Wan. This is where the border between Inner Mongolia and Shanxi Province turns eastwards away from the Yellow River. As does the Great Wall.

I had heard from many people that this was a tourist attraction for it’s very scenic location. I had also heard that there were several hotels here. My plan was to book in at a nice hotel and have my first shower for a week, wash clothes and check the route for the next few days on Google maps. I was even considering spending a rest day here as a tourist.

My disappointment was therefore huge when I discovered there was nothing remotely like a hotel here. Not anything like a shop either. I am not disappointed in the place itself, just that I had planned to spoil myself a bit after some long and cold days.

So now I’m sitting on the Kang of an older couple that run a sort of Chinese bed and breakfast service. There is one warm room, so we are all sleeping on the Kang tonight. I won’t be able to check the route or wash myself and my clothes.

IF I have understood the man I spoke to this evening correctly, there is no path along the Great Wall tomorrow. From looking at the very mountainous area after walking today, I am going to be careful not to walk myself into any problems. Have to check the weather first to make sure I can continue walking tomorrow and sleep in a tent for some nights.

31 Kilometres today

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

I wish you a great celebration tonight, and all the best for the New Year! Thank you for following me along the Great Wall of China on this site.

There is a celebration here of sorts too. This is my last night in Shaanxi. Tomorrow I will hopefully cross the Yellow River for the second and last time on this walk. The Yellow River marks the border to Shanxi which is the fourth Province the Great Wall passes through. The two provinces really have the same letters in their Pinyin versions, but as a practical adaption, an extra ‘a’ has been added to Shaanxi to mark that it’s first character is pronounced with the third tone.

I am also celebrating because from what I hear January is usually a bit warmer than February. That’s worth a celebration in it’s own right!

A beautiful clear bright new moon rose from behind the Great Wall as I started my descent to the valley I am in now. After sunset, I walked in to a village where I was told they had simple accommodation, thanks to the local council in the town that helped track down the missing owner of the place. They also told me they will celebrate the Chinese New Year in February, but people don’t celebrate the calendar New Year here.

Now I’m snuggled up in my sleeping bag. Although there is heating in the room, it was close to freezing here. During the evening it got warmer though. I am going to celebrate New Year by eating a Snickers Bar, drinking an Akevit that John M kindly gave me last time we met and listening to ‘Happy New Year’ by ABBA on the mp3 player!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

12 Kilometres today

Here are the two Christmas effects I have had this Christmas. An icon that a Swedish priest called Leif gave me when I was in Hong Kong to renew my visa. Thanks very much Leif!! It has meant a lot to have this icon during the celebration.

 
 
 
 
 
In addition I have had fun using John’s Emergency Christmas Tree Kit which did wonders, and got me in to the Christmas spirit. Thanks John!

I wish all those in Norway and other places where they celebrate on the eve of the 24th a very Merry Christmas!!!

A large thanks to John in the UK that sent me a copy of his fantastic and original Emergency Christmas Tree Kit ™  Thanks a lot John! I will post a picture of the result tomorrow!

Click the image beneath to see the kit in all it’s glory:

Thanks John!!

Today has been a cold and windy day!! Went to the Great Wall north of Datong and had a good time there with some friends I have met here in Datong.