It rained when I arrived at Gubeikou late in the afternoon yesterday. I was unlucky and ended up on a slow bus. Average speed about 40 km/h and it went on the small roads wherever possible.

After eating at Gubeikou it also started to thunder just like the weather forecast said. I found a guesthhouse and spent the night there.

More rain this morning, and in the middle of the day I and my feet have been soaking for the better part of the day. It is warm though, so it isn’t a big problem. The new shoes feel good on my feet, so no blisters for a while there I hope.

The stretch today was a classic – from Gubeikou, past Jinshanling and to Simatai. Right now I am in a watchtower right before Simatai. I considered going down to look for a place to spend the night, but fun to spend a night in a watchtower too. This one even seems to have a lightning grounding system and also lies low compared to the surroundings.

The walk was fantastic today. The only regret was that it was grey the entire time, and sometimes so misty that I could only see a hundred metres ahead. This is definitely a stretch I want to do again in better weather when I have more time to look around both the scenery and all the interesting watchtowers I passed today.

They have interesting names with stories behind them. The Generals Tower which was ordered to be built by General Qi Jiguang in 1569, The Dark Tower named because of its small size and hence dark interior, The Jinshan Towers said to be built by soldiers from Jingzhe naming their towers after an island close to their home and The Flower Tower with doors and windows carved with flowers.

Today has been pretty hilly, and I am tired. There are two dogs barking down in the valley. I just heard a bat fly in the watchtower, and also got a shock when a rock fell to the ground Have also heard an animal run around just outside the tent. I hope it is just a curious squirrel. I have seen a lot of them in watchtowers today.

19 kilometres today