notes and images

Tag: hiking (Page 4 of 4)

Eight days in Western Mongolia with a toddler

Turns out you can do pretty much anything with a toddler. Sure, it can be tiring. Yes, it’s sometimes daunting. And true, the idea of brunch every Sunday can often seem more appealing in the short term than planning and doing an eight day camping trip in a remote place far from any services. But, really, all you need to do is get out your door. That’s always the hardest part. And like many things that are hard, this trip was correspondingly memorable, and so rewarding. To see our child in the wilderness, playing happily with new friends just met, with only the unspoken language of childhood in common; to lay a foundation in her subconscious for a lifelong love of the outdoors; this alone made it worthwhile. The incredible trip we had while doing that was just a bonus.

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Mystery Wall West of Longquanyu

The first time I took my daughter hiking without her mother, she was just learning to walk (the kid, I mean!). Because this was a test run, I brought my sister along (now a new mum herself). But the challenge arose from the fact little W was still breast-feeding. My sister’s great, but (back then) she couldn’t help with that. Instead, I had a bottle of frozen milk and my PocketRocket…

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Hot Hiking above the General’s Pass

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“My car (che) is in Zhangzuo Village, how do I get there?” “Oh you want to eat (chi) in Zhangzuo?” “Okay, uh, (to other lady) is there a bus to Zhangzuo?” “Sorry, I’m deaf!”. Oh. “What did he say? I can’t hear!” Between my rusty Chinese, the old ladies’ rusty Chinese, and a few hearing problems, our hike to the General’s Pass ended in a bit of a comedy of errors. It had been a long day, a sudden heat snap in Beijing’s usually mild spring hitting us during the rugged ten kilometers of rocky, early Ming wall. Negotiating nearly a kilometer of vertical gain with a new puppy who needed carrying most of the way, topped off a pretty tough day. But as always on the Great Wall, there were wonderful views, interesting features, and friendly villagers. As I’ve said before, if you’re tired of the Wall, you’re tired of life.

Click through for photos.

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Snakes, Ladders & Camo on the Dajiaoyu Wall

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April 2015: Half way up a narrow, steep, crumbling, five hundred year old staircase is not the place to decide to turn around and climb down. It’s still less the place to switch places with your friend. But when I looked at the sagging lower layer of bricks and the loose sand around them, I decided that hauling myself over the top of the nearly two meter brick wall in front of me was too risky. It was the last obstacle before the top, but I didn’t want it to be my last obstacle ever. Cause of death? Crushed in a rockfall. No thanks.

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The Fort and Wall at Beihua Ridge and White Horse Pass

Far to Beijing’s north, the Great Wall runs roughly along the border with Hebei Province. Just west of the well-known “wild wall” at Gubeikou is a little-visited but wonderful section of Ming Dynasty Great Wall called Beihualing – Beihua Ridge. It has everything: dramatic towers, ridgeline wall, remoteness, beautiful Ming stonework lying just where it fell centuries ago, and a really big fort. Just up the road is the equally impressive White Horse Pass, or Baimaguan.

Click through for photos of this incredible area.

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