Trip report from China

[hikethe115]

Hello all, I guess I haven't posted much lately since I have been in China. I am actually in the Tokyo airport killing time right now.

I have had a wonderful experience here. I went to Yellow Mountain which is spectacular although rather touristy. The hiking was on "sidewalks" with lots of ups and downs (mostly stairs). They have a canyon they call the Grand Canyon. The paths are well maintained with limited access...very hard workers keeping them groomed. They have hotels where you carry your stuff to the hotel for the night in the moutains. We hiked to "flying rock" and the 2nd highest peak there to get some great views. The next morning we took a sunrise hike, but the clouds didn't permit a sunrise viewing. However, watching the clouds roll along the tops of the mountains was beautiful too. I was lucky enough to go with a small group from the Beijing hiking club which made it all the more special.

I also got to do 2 hikes on the Great Wall. The first was at a well maintained section of the wall. The 2nd was about a 4 hour hike on an unrestored section of the wall. The views are amazing from both! The only down side was the heat.

The last hike was with the Beijing Hiking Club to a waterfall nestled in the mountains with views of the Great Wall on high. It was one of the hottest days in the city so it was nice to find a shady spot and dip our feet.

Anyway, I will be back in the Northeast hiking this weekend in Maine. It was a wonderful trip, but I am looking forward to getting home. I hope the blackflies won't be too bad this weekend!

 

[Tom Rankin]

Hello all,...

Gee, which is longer, the Great Wall, or the AT ?

 

[jade]

Thanks for sharing your wonderful adventure......I'm curious, did you travel to China exclusively for hiking? Get home safely, there are a few (million) blackflies that want a piece of you!!!

....Jade

 

[Jay H]

Is there a speed record attempt for hiking the great wall?

Are there peakbagging lists over there?

Thanks for sharing the report.

If the Yellow mountain you speak of is in Anhui provence, it's also known as Huangshan mountain and it is a spectacular place, it is soooo awesomely beautiful, even in the cloud cover. In fact, I think it needs some clouds just to give some perspective.

Would be a wonderful place to hike there, I wish I did cause I took the gondola up since my parents were with me and they aren't hikers..

Jay

 

[hikethe115]

Jay...yes it is indeed Huangshan Mountain in the Anhui Province. You are right that clouds make it special too. It is known for its "Sea of Clouds". We had a group of 12 and some of the folks were not really hikers, so we took the cable car up too. However, some of us did a lot of hiking around, up and down, after we got to the hotel. The trees are really amazing. Some of them are about 700 years old. I visited a few places where the trees were over 1000 years old!!

 

[MichaelJ]

Woo-hoo! Keep safe, and I hope you'll have hundreds of pictures to share when you get back.