Tiger Leaping Gorge

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Tiger Leaping Gorge
This is a very difficult story to tell because the characters and the backdrop are too amazing to describe. I am going to take the soft option and combine 3 days into one.
Arrived Tuesday at the gorge and stayed at ‘Sean’s’ the first night. It is located 20km along. A brand new road has been constructed along the bottom for the lazy tourists to view the gorge.
We book into our guesthouse and head off for a quick jaunt down to the Yangtze, it is basically straight down on a track very hard to define. We wind our way through the corn fields, terraced into the sides of the hills, ladies in broad hats and lovely smiles scattered amongst the corn.
Five-hundred metres later we reach the river. I am talking altitude not distance. The Yangtze is an uncontrollable, surging mass of water – crashing against the rocks on its journey through the gorge. Arguably the third greatest river in the world, definitely feeds more people than any other river.
We climb our way back up the slope, stopping frequently for breaths of fresh air.
Making it back to our Guesthouse – we drink the usual beer, eat some Chinese and talk some shit with the other travellers. French and Korean are the flavour tonight.

The Trek
Our driver drops us off at the head of the gorge, where the Jinshai meets the Yangtze. We start our trek level with the river which is 1600 metres above sea level. We climb up to 2600 metres, level out, and then descend down to 2100 metres at the finish. Travelling a total of 22 kilometres.
We cruise along at the start, winding our way through farms and villages, till we reach Naxi guesthouse – where we stop and buy some more water and have our first rest.
The tough part begins from here. The track winds back and forth, slipping on loose stones and mud we trek around 28 bends until we reach the top. Thomas has been bitten by a wasp (which hasn’t helped his demeanour). We soldier on with many stops, gasping for air and drinking our water. Despite this, our mood is high and the jokes are heartening. There are no other people to speak of; just the clanging of mule bells, bleating of goats and the odd song of a bird in the trees.
Topping the summit, like all great achievements, brings on that wonderful feeling of satisfaction and exhilaration, but most of all relief. The view is amazing: far below us the Yangtze weaves its way through the gorge, and above us – on the other side – the Yulong Mountains rise vertically (a whopping 5500 metres from the riverbed). Snow clinging in pockets in the crevices, the top cannot be seen for a shroud of fog hovers at the peak.
What can I say? It is literally breathtaking and figuratively breathtaking.
The path levels out now, cutting its way into the side of the mountain. Do not slip over the edge though the first step is a doozy. The sides of the mountain are covered in fir trees, bamboo and (nearly) every plant in Kathy’s garden. Cotoneaster, four o’clock daisy, osmanthus, iris, may bushes, calla lilies, achilla and many more which I cannot name.
We finally reach Tea horse guesthouse 4 hours after leaving Naxi. We eat lunch. This place is aptly named since this is the original road of the Tea route which stretched from Kunming through Tibet, Nepal and finally to India. Just as important as the Silk Road, but not really mentioned. How they ever did this journey is beyond my belief. Tea must be great stuff.
Refreshed, but a bit leg weary, we continue on to the Halfway House Guesthouse. Another 2 hours away, we intend to spend the night here and continue on tomorrow.
The place is a buzz with fellow trekkers. Where they were all day I don’t know, I suppose there is a lot of country out there.
Everyone is in great spirits. I guess we are all sharing the comradeship of our journey:
There is the quiet Israeli couple who look at you warily under those dark eyebrows.
The Belgians with their jovial yet reserved smiles.
The Spaniard and his friend the Mexican, both dark and good looking.
A bouncy, young Dutchman travelling alone, who it seems has been everywhere.
A couple of groups of Chinese dressed immaculately who keep to themselves.
The three brothers from Canada, who generally believe everything is wonderful and nothing is going to change their minds.
An American couple from New York State, aged 78 and 75, done everything, been everywhere, and cannot not be stopped no matter what life throws at them.
And last of all – the quiet Australians Kathy, Natarsha, Thomas and Jamie. Who can seem to hold their own in this concoction of world travellers.

The Destination
We rise early for a hearty breakfast of eggs and coffee. Say good bye to our new friends and head off.
The forest is becoming lusher as we go. We pass through several waterfalls cascading their way down the mountain. Luckily the wet season is late, less the path would be nearly impassable.
Goats cling to the side of the slope, their agility amazes me. Their shepherd waits patiently nearby, they must have a long day, sitting there looking out into the distance (I guess the view is OK though).
We start our descent down the steep path, though I must admit down is better than up, reaching Tina’s Guesthouse back on the main road about one hour walk up from Sean’s. Our journey complete. We are all very tired but I feel very proud of us.
A car has been organized to take us up more mountains to our next destination: Shangri La. It is about 3.5 hours drive away, at the foot of Tibet, 3500 metres up. Things keep just getting more interesting.

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