I wonder how many times I am incorrectly going to predict that the cold weather is over. Yesterday it snowed quite a lot in ZJK (the abbreviation for Zhangjiakou from now on) in the evening but I felt I could’t let the weather decide longer. If there is too much snow on or beside the Great Wall, then I will follow it from a little distance.
As it turned out, there is little or no snow where I am now. But the mountains to the North (see map) are covered completely white in snow. They are 4-500 metres higher than the place I am now.
I had a not so pleasant ‘first experience’ today. As I left the town just south of where I am now, I forgot my Ridgerest sleeping mattress. I have been using it in addition to the NeoAir inflatable mattress during the winter in order to stay warm enough and protect the NeoAir from thorns on the ground. By the time I had got to the Great Wall I didn’t want to spend time to return and collect it. The sleepng mattress was pretty battered, and I expected only to use it until I go to Hong Kong in a few day’s time. I can feel the cold seeping through from the ground now, but have some clothes and a small DnB NOR sitting mattress that I will put under the coldest spot. Probably my bum.
It is very windy here. It took longer than usual to set up the tent, and I’m glad I didn’t leave it till later as I was feeling cold by the time I was finished. I’ve have been wearing the down vest today, and it snowed a bit earlier on. It is strange to think that the forecast says it will be close to 30C (max) in a matter of days.
As always, I get a big wide smile on my face every time I return to the Great Wall. It has been a good friend for more than a year now!
7 kilometres today
Yes, I also remember the wall as being a friend. As long as the wall is within sight we know we are not lost, always a good sign. Always there, regardless of circumstance. A common denominator as the landscape passes by.