A Christmas Day Hike to the Great Wall

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A Christmas Day Hike to the Great Wall

We went on a Christmas Day Hike, (12/25/06). One hour from Changping to Ma Fang Tai by taxi, a four hour climb up to the Ruins of the Great Wall and down the mountain to Mo Yashi Ke and then a one hour taxi ride back to Changing. It was about 10 of us and we took the non-tourist path. It wasn't so easy but this was my third trip with these guys so I knew what I was in for. My plan was to stay ahead, in front, so I wouldn't get behind. Because there is no stopping when you're on this journey with them. Well, you could stop but who wants to be the one to hold up progress with real mountaineers on a mission, not me. So my plan worked and we climbed up the mountain and crossed over to the Ruins. We took the path where the water flows off the mountain and then we found a wider and rather decent path. When we got to the top, it was quiet, serene and beautiful and Oh, Christmas Day. We pulled out rations/food and shared what we had with each other:fruit, nuts, cakes. Then we packed up, found a nearby village and took our taxies back into town where we ate to our heart's content.

First Hike to the Mountains

(Pictures of First Hike begins after Map of Xmas Day '06 Hike)
On September 9, 2006, we are just 2 hours outside of Changping, Beijing, where I stay. We took the ride up on bus #31 from in town. The bus literally ran into the mountain with a bus load of people and no one cried whip lash. Everyone just got off, took a bathroom break and waited for the driver to change the flat tire. Then we reloaded and that was that.

Once we arrived to our point of destination, we got off at a village and began the walk through to the back of the village onto the mountain. The villagers were warm and friendly. We played around with gadgets in the village because it was a look back in time for us. We were spinning some work wheel around.

We began our climb. We climbed some great heights. We came upon a nut orchard. Our travelers had knieves ready to cut into the nuts we found on trees. We walked towards a quarry and used it as our guide. Of course we had some real mountain climbers and nature buffs with us who were good with the kind of direction where you depend on the sun or a mark on a tree. Good thing for me because it's not that easy for me. Once we climbed over the mountain, about a four hour hike, we found a village waiting for us.

One of our travel companions had been that way before and had left a picture with a lady in the village. Boy did we receive a warm and joyous welcome. The woman and men sat out to cook fresh vegetables and meat for us. it was our first time to eat in the village and we didn't know what to expect but we were hungry. I went to the washroom and saw everything being cut and freshly prepared. It was a feast and it was delicious. We enjoyed the fresh nuts, meat and vegetables. Since Chinese value and love children, Emeka received extra special heaps of nuts. We made the mistake of putting them in our pockets to show we loved them only to find that we kept getting a never ending supply. Even when we got on the bus to go home someone blessed him with a large bag of nuts. We were all nut down and out with walnuts.

After we finished eating and said our goodbyes, we walked through the village town and seen all sorts of amazing things like courtyards, pool tables outside, vendors, big food on trees and curious villagers. As the sun went down and it got dark, we sought out transportation to get home. We took the #31 bus down off the mountain and back to Changping, 2 hours. What a day. This was our first hike, just two weeks after we arrived. Hiking is not only fun, but satisfying and good for the health.

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