The landscape has become softer lately. The Great Wall still, mostly, follows the ridges of the terrain, but it usually doesn’t require as much effort to follow it. There is earth erosion here, but not as severe as in Shaanxi province to the West.

The are however other challenges. Last night was cold, and because there was no wind to circulate the air in the tent, a layer of ice (“rim” in Norwegian) had formed on the inside of the inner tent. I hadn’t slept much through the night and decided to sleep as it grew warmer. This also meant the tent and sleeping bag would be dry by the time I started walking.

The sun doesn’t hit the Northern hills in the terrain. As a result there is old snow and ice there. The problem is that some places the ice is under a thin layer of soil. This makes walking difficult, and I have slipped a few times. A slip might not sound that bad, but with a five meter drop just a couple of feet away, it could definately ruin the day. I prod the ground with my walking sticks and try to stay away from dangerous descents.

Yesterday and today the forecast has been -16c. Tomorrow night it is -20c. I might try and find somewhere to spend the night indoors tomorrow. After that, it is supposed to get warmer.

16 Kilometres today