Although I am up on a hill close to a Great Wall watchtower I can both see and hear coal mines around me. As long as I stay away from the most poluted sites I guess this is good news as it means there are more people around. And people quite simply mean food and water.
After a few kilometres along a road I took off in the north easterly direction. Walking the Great Wall was hard as it was located in a large mining complex! They had dug steep walls so I had to walk through the complex before getting to undisturbed nature and Great Wall.
I started coughing after a while, and the cough became so strong that I started vomiting too. Threw up about half of my breakfast. Not very comfortable, but at least I got rid of the cough in the end.
Before I got to the next valley, I had a really hard time finding a safe way down. I followed a small valley, but it suddenly had a five metre drop. There were a few tracks on one side, but there was snow and ice there. I was not particularly tempted as I do not have studs for my boots and the track was narrow, clinging to a steep hillside.
So I went for the other side. Just as narrow on a steep hillside with a twenty metre drop, but no snow and ice. When I got half way up, I saw several ‘killer’ thorn bushes. Killer because they were about my height and the thorns are sharp and very long. In fact the whole bush is made entirely of thorns, so each and every sturdy branch ends up as a thorn. Anyway – that meant I had to walk even closer to the edge.
As I am doing this alone and during winter time, I will have to assess these situations more carefully. The problem is that walking back may not be a better solution as it takes time and energy and the alternate route may be just as risky.
Then I looked eastwards and saw what looked like a large Great Wall about five kilometres to the east! I asked a gang of about ten truck drivers having a break if it was the Great Wall but they said it wasn’t and meant I am on the right track. I am following a series of watchtowers, and see remains of Wall where there is no earth erosion. But The Wall is not very high. The one I (think) I saw in the distance was a lot grander. With the route I am following now I might link up with it tomorrow. I also wonder if it is a Ming Dynasty Great Wall or not.
Well – it is pretty cold on this hillside, so it’s time to send this report and then get all of my body inside the sleeping bag.
15 kilometres today
Hej Robert!
Jag följer dina strapatser, roligt att du fick en riktig “rotblöta” mitt i allt vandrande, finns det någon inspelning som ska ges ut kanske från den karoke-kvällen?
Jag har nu också varit i Kina:-) Kom tillbaka från en 3 dagrs tripp till Fuzhou, var spännande att träffa folk från den lokala kyrkan där. Har nu laddat ner en demo på OP F.P. 2 och ligger i hårdträning.
Ha det, take care!
Leif
Kämpa på Robert!
Jag hoppas att allt ska gå bra och att du inte råkar ut för några stora problem eller svårigheter.
Varmaste hälsningar
Gustav
Hei Leif og Gustaf – så hyggelig å høre fra dere 🙂
Hehe – det ble en salig rotbløyte i Shenmu ja – det gjorde godt med veldig hyggelige folk jeg traff der. Artig at du har fått deg en tur til Kina Leif. Og VELDIG bra at du ligger i hardtrening til OP F.P. 2 – du kommer til å være en mester innen jeg kommer hjem og vi kan møtes på nett!
Jeg ønsker dere begge en fin førjulstid, og gleder meg til å treffe dere igjen enten det blir i HK eller Sverige. (Eller Norge)
Robert