Yesterday – rest day in Zhangye.

It rained last night and we woke to a grey and cold day. My brother Jon decided to stay in Zhangye as he does not want to walk too much on hard surfaces, and we won’t be walking along the Great Wall for another couple of days. I set off, taking a taxi to the last stop point. After getting into the car, I started fastening my seat belt and noticed sand and dirt pouring out from the back part of the seat belt, which obviously had not been used for several years. So I just let it go, and the belt and most of the dirt returned back into it’s resting position…

The cold weather was perfect for walking. Luckily I managed to find a lot of dirt roads so that I wasn’t dodging cars all the time. It was grey though and towards the end of the 25 km, it started blowing a lot too. I put on my lightweight windproof jacket, and it kept me warm and cosy. It also kept me dry. Previously, I have only brought a Gore Tex jacket for hikes and used this both against wind and rain, but it is a shame to put on a jacket that prohibits air circulation to protect oneself against the wind, as it soon gets humid on the inside. The windproof jacket is very light and has excellent breathing qualities that is many times better than any Gore Tex product. Highly recommended and very comfortable.

After 25 km, I decided to get back to Zhangye, and headed south towards a road where there should be some traffic. I was incredibly lucky and only two minutes after getting to the road jumped on a bus heading for Zhangye.