China: Great Wall hiking
The Great Wall is one of those places that pictures don't adequately convey. We spent seven days hiking up to and on various parts of it, and I could happily have done much more.
The factors that made being there different to what I'd expected from pictures were 1) the steepness of many sections, 2) the fact that in some parts it goes off in many directions, often to the top of the highest peaks in the area before diving down again and then rising somewhere else, 3) different styles and types of construction, and 4) in places it now ends right next to a highway or road or in a town, then picks up again on the other side. In one village we stayed in, we walked right past part of the wall next to the main street for two days before realising what it was on the third day.
Six of the days were at quiet spots where our little group was either completely alone or there were just a few other people. One day was at Mutianyu, a very touristy, fully restored section near Beijing. We called it the "Disneyland" section. It was complete with a huge ticket office, shuttle buses to drive you from the ticket office to a shop/restaurant area, a choice of chair lifts or gondolas to take you to the top, souvenir sellers on top, and toboggans to get down! It's still a serious walk if you cover the entire open section, though, since it's stairs and more stairs.
The Mutianyu "Disneyland" section:
The gradient in the top half of this picture is steeper than the picture conveys!
Towards the end of the restored section, where the weeds were allowed to stay:
This is what it's like once the restored section runs out:
Picture of Michelle Obama on the toboggan:
This picture from our first day on the Wall perhaps does convey the steepness:
Down... and up
The steps are often narrow and broken:
Climbing up to the wall from our valley accommodation:
A less-restored section, with trees growing on top:
This is ON the wall, not next to it. A rare stretch of shade!
In a watchtower:
There are many apricot trees growing along and sometimes on the Wall, apparently descendents of trees planted to feed the original Wall workers:
It's interesting to think about how they determined just where to build it! Some estimates say a million people died in the construction.
A narrow, crumbling section:
I wore my Vibram FiveFingers 100% of the time and they performed admirably!
The constant climbing and descending made it satisfying walking. It's good hike for a group of mixed abilities, since some people can go ahead further and faster before backtracking to join the others at an agreed watchtower.
Food for thought: Great Wall marathon, half-marathon, 10km. I met someone on the grasslands hiking weekend who had just completed the 2015 half-marathon.
The factors that made being there different to what I'd expected from pictures were 1) the steepness of many sections, 2) the fact that in some parts it goes off in many directions, often to the top of the highest peaks in the area before diving down again and then rising somewhere else, 3) different styles and types of construction, and 4) in places it now ends right next to a highway or road or in a town, then picks up again on the other side. In one village we stayed in, we walked right past part of the wall next to the main street for two days before realising what it was on the third day.
Six of the days were at quiet spots where our little group was either completely alone or there were just a few other people. One day was at Mutianyu, a very touristy, fully restored section near Beijing. We called it the "Disneyland" section. It was complete with a huge ticket office, shuttle buses to drive you from the ticket office to a shop/restaurant area, a choice of chair lifts or gondolas to take you to the top, souvenir sellers on top, and toboggans to get down! It's still a serious walk if you cover the entire open section, though, since it's stairs and more stairs.
The Mutianyu "Disneyland" section:
The gradient in the top half of this picture is steeper than the picture conveys!
Towards the end of the restored section, where the weeds were allowed to stay:
This is what it's like once the restored section runs out:
Picture of Michelle Obama on the toboggan:
This picture from our first day on the Wall perhaps does convey the steepness:
Down... and up
The steps are often narrow and broken:
Climbing up to the wall from our valley accommodation:
A less-restored section, with trees growing on top:
This is ON the wall, not next to it. A rare stretch of shade!
In a watchtower:
There are many apricot trees growing along and sometimes on the Wall, apparently descendents of trees planted to feed the original Wall workers:
It's interesting to think about how they determined just where to build it! Some estimates say a million people died in the construction.
A narrow, crumbling section:
I wore my Vibram FiveFingers 100% of the time and they performed admirably!
The constant climbing and descending made it satisfying walking. It's good hike for a group of mixed abilities, since some people can go ahead further and faster before backtracking to join the others at an agreed watchtower.
Food for thought: Great Wall marathon, half-marathon, 10km. I met someone on the grasslands hiking weekend who had just completed the 2015 half-marathon.