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Day 66
Waking for one of Mama's pancakes (which was huge but we struggled through like troopers - especially Rob) we boarded the minibus that was to take us to Qiao Tao and the start of the Tiger Leaping Gorge trek.
After getting our tickets for the path we headed up the hill with two groups, ours including Rob, Jillian, Paul, Lindsay, Anya and of course us two and the other a big group from Israel(who were also staying at Mamas).
The heat was intense at the start and it was a pretty relentless hill going diagonally up the gorge side, however the scenery just got better and better which helped the walking. As we rounded the headland and entered the gorge we would call home for the next two days, the snow capped peaks came into view. They really were breathtaking.
The first section of the walk would have been a really peaceful experience if we hadn't picked up two pony men who were determined to ask whether we wanted to ride up the path on a horse rather than walk - they really didn't want to take no for an answer but we were
determined we'd all make it up of our own accord! After a filling lunch and stocking up on water at a little place on the mountainside called the Naxi Family Guesthouse we seemed to leave the pony men behind making for a much more serene walking experience.
The walking after lunch continued upward as we closed in on what is reputed to be the toughest part of the trek, the '28' bends. The path steepened as we came across a section where it began to switch back on itself and we began to count. Climbing a pretty tough section we rounded a bend to find a little shack selling drinks where we all gathered for a breather - only to be told that we had not yet reached the start of the bends which was another 15 mins walk down the path! Some members of the group were not impressed by this news!
Reaching the '28' bends we realised that it was fairly obvious with the path rising steeply and snaking up the hill in a seemingly endless fashion. We started up the steep slope counting as we went ... reaching bend number 29, 30 and 31 we
stopped counting thinking that this section was not very well named, however it wasn't long until we reached the top where an amazing view of the valley greeted us - it was well worth the effort.
From here we still had a substantial distance to cover which took us through a really nice wooded section, across some waterfalls and past some of the local wildlife and livestock until we reached our bed for the night at the Halfway Guesthouse set in a stunning location on the side of the gorge. This is the same guesthouse that Michael Palin stayed when he did the trek in his book (and programme) called Himalaya and proudly displays the pages of the book about the guesthouse laminated on the wall. After making sure we had a bed for the night we cracked open a couple of cold beers and watched the sun set over the imposing and beautiful scenery.
The guesthouse is set on the side of the hill with the most of the rooms, restaurant and even the toilets making the most of the view. The toilets in particular were a novelty with a small thigh high wall being the only
thing separating you with the outside world giving you the best possible peeing view (but also allowing people walking up the path to get a bit of an eyefull on occasions).
After another hearty meal washed down with another bottle of suds, we went to bed to make sure we were refreshed for the next part of the trek.
Waking at around 1am Mark had a call of nature and climbed down from his bunk with his head torch in hand to tackle the journey to the toilet. When outside the moon was so bright and the sky so clear that the whole valley was lit making a really eery but incredible view of the gorge. Mark was then joined by Paul and Lindsey who decided to stay up for a couple of hours taking in the view - before trying to get a couple more hours sleep.
Day 67
We all rose to another beautiful day and tucked into a chocolate pancake and green tea for brekkie. Packed and paid up we walked along the gorge eventually dropping into another guesthouse called Tinas where we stopped for a cold beer and an opportunity to call
Mama to see if there was any chance she could sort out some transport home later that day - after a confusing conversation between Mama and Mark it was the "many people not OK" message that came across strongest, so we made plans to end the day back at Qiao Tao and try and get another bus home (if there was one). With plans in place we donned our packs once again and headed further down into the gorge (or 'George' as it was called on the sign) until we were only about 10m above the raging white water in the valley floor.
Paying a local guy 10y (for the maintenance of the path) we continued along an amazing path cut into the rock under a waterfall and through a cave (which turned out to be dead end but looked just like something out of an Indiana Jones film). The path eventually took us right down to the waters edge.
We took a break and had a bit of a scramble closer to the water to get a true sense of its power before starting up the hill again back to Tinas. The path up split into two
routes, the slightly longer and sedate one which simply wound its way up to the road or the more extreme steeper one which took you up the famed 'ladder' we had heard about before embarking on our trek. No prizes for guessing which we chose ... starting up the hill the path soon turned into a ledge with a makeshift handrail to help you winding up the steep side of the gorge. It was about 15 mins before we reached a sign that said 'falling rocks - go quickly' needless to say we picked up the pace and included a couple of nervous upward glances in our onward journey. 10 mins later we reached another sign, this time pointing two ways, one side pointed to 'safe path' and the other to 'dangerous ladder'. The team split with Chrissie, Anya and Paul deciding on the path and Mark and the others going ahead with the 'Dangerous Ladder'.
The ladder went up the rock face and was pretty sturdy having been attached with wires to the rock, roots, branches (basically anything they could find). It wasn't as bad as the sign had suggested and was a lot of fun. The path
then rose steeply and included another short ladder (which Chrissie flew up and loved) and another steep climb and we saw Tinas emerge in the distance.
Stopping at Tinas for a late lunch (4:00pm) we ordered a feast washed down by another cold beer. After Mark, Rob and Paul polished off the bucket of rice we set about the journey back to Qiao Tao. We knew that this was not going to be straight forward as there had been two sizable landslides blocking the road home. Wondering what all the fuss was about, we managed to get a minibus taxi to the first of the landslides to be faced with the unarguable reason for the bus to not go any further, the landslide was huge and we had to climb around the edge of it to reach the other side. After a debate as to whether we would walk between them or get a taxi bus (that was conveniently waiting on the other side) we opted for the bus to ease some of the team's weary legs. Halfway through the journey, the driver slammed on the brakes. We all looked up to see what was the matter just as
a load of rocks came tumbling down the mountain. They were nothing like what we had previously seen and started off the size of footballs breaking up to ping-pong ball sized rocks by the time they got to the road. We backed up to make sure they missed us and waited for a quiet period before the driver floored it and we sped through.
Reaching the second impassable landslide (again it was an impressive reminder of the power of nature) with even more rock piled onto the road than the first. Climbing over this one we found another bus to take us all the way to the town where we were able to catch a minibus home to Mamas. Unfortunately Mark had an irritating contact lens and tried to remove them in the bus on the way home (not an easy feat on chinese roads) however this seemed to ease the pain for a little while.
Back at Mamas - we found our beds and were told that if we were hungry then Mama would sort out dinner for us ... we couldn't say no to an offer like that and tucked into a hearty meal before hitting
our beds exhausted but having had a fantastic two days and an experience that was up there with the great wall as our best experiences in China.
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Primmy and Ped
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Tiger Leaping Gorge
Thanks for all the wonderful photos. You both look so well. Love reading about all your adventures. Love Primmy and Ped xx