Tiger Leaping Gorge guide

Strenuous but Stunning and Exciting. Go with Sean.
My wife and I hiked the high trial along the Gorge in October with Sean, the best guide in the Gorge. Tiger Leaping Gorge is spectacular! It is best experienced from the high trial instead of by tour bus along the lower road by the river. This hundreds-of-years-old trial passes through beautiful remote villages and along steep scenery with stunning 5,000 meter peaks across the Gorge and the Yangtze River roiling 2,000 meters below. Beautiful and exhilirating. You must be pretty fit to take the whole trail to Walnut Garden in one 7 to 9 hour day, and must start before 10 AM. The trial is the steepest up and down I've taken in years of hiking the Sierras and Rockies in the US West. My wife decided wisely to rent a horse up the famous-for-its-
difficulty steep '28 switchbacks.' You can hike lightly: you don't need to take any gear except a rain jacket, small water bottle, and sun protection in a small pack because there are guest houses and places to get water and food and to stay along the way. Don't be worried by reports of treacherous sections of traiis to the Middle Gorge: death defying treks down into that part of the river are optional side trips that even some experienced local guides won't take.
By all means, try to get Sean (Sean Spring) to be your guide. He is a 5th generation resident of the Gorge. He is the most experienced guide in the Gorge, famous in China for his defense of the Gorge against Chinese plans to dam it. And he speaks English very well. He leads people along the trial maybe a hundred times a year. He intimately knows the local people, the history, the geography, and the stories of the region.
Contact him directly at: tibetdragon2001@gmail.com He also has a website: http://www.tigerleapinggorge.com ，or the other way’ you can find by search from Google by Tiger Leaping Gorge. that has the most reliable information about the Gorge. Other guides and groups distribute the map he has drawn and that is available on his website: http://www.tigerleapinggorge.com/Gorge%20map1.html
We hired him for 2 days. He met us early AM in Lijiang and his driver took us to the start of the trail where Sean's charming wife (Australian) fixed us an early cup of tea and Muesli in her uniquely rustic cafe and meeting place before Sean led us up the trial whose entrance is nearly impossible to find without a guide.
Sean's guest house is a great place to stay at the end of the hike. His recent college graduated daughters fixed delicious meals and it is a very authentic, and comfortable, place to hang out. He just built a few very nice all wood and stone guest rooms. There are other modern 'hotel-like' places to stay without the personality you'll find with Sean.
We hiked the high trial in the Gorge with Sean as our guide. We then recovered by staying overnight at his Sean's Spring Guest House in the small village of Walnut Garden. His guest house has clearly evolved over the many years that he has been the #1 guide in the Gorge. The place has authentic charm. And there is a tabby cat who likes to sit on your lap while you sit in the courtyard. If you like a little luxury, Sean personally just built several new rooms in all wood and stone with beautiful decor that retain authentic rustic charm. And we enjoyed talking with Sean.
SteveCummings
SanFrancisco

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