Although yesterday’s camp site was great, it didn’t help much when it came to a good night’s sleep. Jon slept only the last hour before we got up and I slept a little bit more.
With very little water and even less food, we headed down the valley we entered yesterday. It took about two hours before we found houses and a shop. At the shop, Jon decided to head for Yong Chang which is the next yellow marker on the Great Wall Route page.
The shop had internet connection, so we were able to check mail and this web site quickly . Many thanks for the messages you keep posting!
Jon and I decided to speak at 18.00 hours and I headed back to The Great Wall. The Wall continued down the valley, but there were scars in the earth from flood water, probably from the snow melting in the mountains . In some places, sections of The Wall were missing completely and I made sure to stay away from the parts of The Wall that were too close to the edge.
It is sad to see the Ming Dynasty Wall slowly crumbling because of this erosion and there seems to be little one can do to stop it. Some places, trenches have been set up to lead the water in a certain direction and other places they have taken The Wall into consideration. It is difficult to protect a structure made mainly from soil and sand, from the forces of nature.
The sky started turning dark behind me, just as it did two days ago. I went on walking, half waiting for the first drop of rain, half looking for a good tent site, and half looking for a suitable cave in the wall. (I like halves..)
As I got further down the valley, I saw a few houses and thought I would either go there and ask for a place to spend the night, or pitch the tent in pretty windy conditions. I went for the last option in order to get more experience with the tent.
Have just spoken to Jon who shared some useful information about the mountains to the North of Yong Chang on the stretch tomorrow. He had to wait for two hours for the local bus to town.
Walked 24 km today, and 4 of them were ‘Off Wall’ to get water and food earlier today.
Hei, Robert.
Nå er jeg på besøk hos Tor, og han har vist meg hjemmesiden din. Spennende å lese om turen. Ønsker deg en riktig god tur videre. Lykke til! Hilsen Inger
Hei Robert! Jeg moette deg for maaaange aar siden gjennom Anne Elisabeth. Da jeg tilfeldig kom over bloggen din, ble jeg hekta – utrolig morsomt aa foelge med deg! Jeg sitter i England til daglig, blir her til rundt juletider eller tidlig 2010. Skal foelge med saa lenge du vandrer. Er imponert over fornuften du/dere har i forhold til hvordan dere takler ting som dukker opp.
God tur videre!
A part of the problem with soil erosion is due to over-grazing, particularly by sheep. Sheep, apparently, rip out the grass roots in the process of eating, as opposed to goats, that only clip off the grass (See, one learns something every day…)
The logic behind over-grazing is remarkably similar to the logic behind the financial turndown.
If sheep herders put 10 sheep on an area and the land copes, it may cope with 20. If it copes with 20, then it may cope with 50, ultimately leading to a collapse when there is no grass or grass roots left. This leads to soil erosion. The rain is not absorbed by the soil, but rather flows down the slopes, bringing some soil with it.
An American banker recently explained the leadup to the turndown: “when the music is on, you dance”. Bankers and farmers, same greedy logic eh….
Hei Stephen Robert… og Jon!
Det er spennende å følge med på turen deres. Jeg er stadig like imponert over pågangmotet og gjennomføringsevnen din, Stephen 🙂 Godt å lese at dere tenker sikkerhet og legger inn nødvendig hvile. Morsomt å lese Jons kommentar i dag om sauene er for grådige på gressrøttene. Flotte bilder!! Og så leser jeg de små gullkornene dine på fremsiden med stor glede. 🙂
Lykke til videre på veien!
Klem fra Margrete
Sender dere videre med denne flotte irske velsignelsen:
May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.