Are we there yet?

From Lijiang’s Yulong Xueshan Mountain (Jade Dragon Snow Mountain) in the east, to Zhongdian’s Haba Xueshan Mountain in the west, Tiger Leaping Gorge is the longest, deepest, and narrowest gorge in the world. The Gorge acquired its name because, according to a local legend, a tiger once leaped over its rapids. A warning in our tourist book, the Lonely Plant, informs us that the gorge trek is not be be taken lightly, and can be dangerous during the wet season. We read on further in our book to find out that many foreign have lost their way on the trail and some have even died. I survived though as I am able to write you this blog.

There are two trails to choose from depending on the level of difficulty you want to tackle and how long you want to hike for. We choose the higher trail, the more difficult trail, but the more scenic trail and began our 2 day hike in the gorge. It is the older route and also known as the 24-bends path, although I think it had more than 30 bends. The route starts at Qiaotou (pronounced chow-toe) where a Australian women has set up a canteen for hikers. She bakes fresh muffins and provides a map of the trail before sending you on your way.

Our first set of instructions go as follows: “To get to the high road, after crossing through the gate, cross a small stream and go 150m. Take a left fork, go through the schoolyard’s football pitch, and join the tractor road. continue until the track ends and then follow the yellow arrows to the rights. It’s a six-hours to Bendiwan or a strenuous eight hours to Walnut Garden” A strenuous eight hours it was indeed and we didn’t even make it to Walnut Garden. For the first 2 or more hours, I lost count, it is an exhausting hike up the mountain. Deanna compared it to completing the Grouse Grind twice in a row. It didn’t help that by backpack was not only full of clothes and snacks for the hike but also two 2L bottles of water. Along the way the local Naxi people are walking their horses and waiting for the moment for you to give in and pay them for a ride to the closest guesthouse. I don’t think I have even completed such a strenuous hike before, I was so focused on making it to the tope and to keep up that I didn’t really take that many pictures. The peak was rather anti-climatic, in fact we didn’t even know we had reached it until after we had been descending for 20 minutes. The Halfway point “a most excellent place indeed” it says painted on a rock a good place to spot for a picture and a snack. We continue hiking along tiny trails on the side of the mountain and look out at the breathtaking valley beside us. This trip is defiantly not for those who are scared of heights. We stop around 7:oo, just as the sun is starting to set at the Halfway Lodge and Hostel for dinner, a shower, and a good night sleep. Just before enetering the Halfway Loge we find a note painted on a rock, all the messages and instructions are painted on the rocks, that Halfway Loge has a scenic view even from the toilets.

Stay tuned for day 2 of hiking the Gorge