Hike! 2008 Great Wall trip

[greatwallforum]

Originally Posted by chinoook

Fine. If (if ...) I manage to go to China within the next two month - maybe we can meet then.


-chinoook

I am going to get a cell phone when I get to China and I will PM you with the number. Call me if you come to China before the end of September!

[chinoook]

Originally Posted by greatwallforum

I am going to get a cell phone when I get to China and I will PM you with the number. Call me if you come to China before the end of September!

Ok. Very good!


-chinoook

[greatwallforum]

I'm in Hangzhou China now and I will reach the Beijing area Great Wall soon.

[Hugo]

Originally Posted by greatwallforum

These are my goals so far for this trip:

• Visit and photograph the places listed in the above (Destinations) post
• Become more familiar with the Jiankou Great Wall and the Xizhazi area
• Climb the Yingfeidaoyang area of Jiankou
• Complete some long hikes
• Cross the Simatai Sky Bridge

If I can handle Yingfeidaoyang and the Simatai Sky Bridge, I think I can handle anything on the Great Wall, so I am testing myself in preparation for next year’s expedition.

I dont know if you had any experience at Yingfeidaoyang and the Sky Bridge.
each place I walked for twice, east to west and west to east.
I'd like to say, they are not in the same level although people's comments in website are almost the same
Simatai Sky Bridge is much more difficult.
for 2 or 3 steps, 2 meters' high, 0.5 meter's wide and both sides are cliffs
But, it's not that dangerous when you stand on people's amazing wonder 500 years ago!
the fear to the Great Wall will bless you on your journey

[Hugo]

Originally Posted by greatwallforum

I have found a possible place to stay, at least for part of the time — the Shentangyu hotel.

I guess I won't be taking all my photos at the full 10 megapixel resolution.

Personally, I dont think this tower is at Shentangyu.
It should be at Dashuiyu(Qinglongxia)

[greatwallforum]

Originally Posted by Hugo

Personally, I dont think this tower is at Shentangyu.
It should be at Dashuiyu(Qinglongxia)

Yes, now that I have looked at lots of photos of the Wall at Qinglongxia, I am sure you are correct. Thanks for pointing that out. The photo comes from the www.bjsty.com website.

[greatwallforum]

Originally Posted by Hugo

I dont know if you had any experience at Yingfeidaoyang and the Sky Bridge.
each place I walked for twice, east to west and west to east.
I'd like to say, they are not in the same level although people's comments in website are almost the same
Simatai Sky Bridge is much more difficult.
for 2 or 3 steps, 2 meters' high, 0.5 meter's wide and both sides are cliffs
But, it's not that dangerous when you stand on people's amazing wonder 500 years ago!
the fear to the Great Wall will bless you on your journey

It's extremely impressive that you have crossed those places, and the fact that you have done it in both directions is even more amazing.

What was Yingfeidaoyang like? Does the Jiankou Tianti lead directly to Yingfeidaoyang if you're going from east to west? Or are they separate places? How difficult / scary was Yingfeidaoyang?

I have seen those big steps on the Sky Bridge at Simatai. But I wasn't really close to them so I could not tell exactly how high they were or if there were any holds. How did you climb up and down those steps? And how big and heavy of a pack were you wearing?

Thanks for your information! It's obviously not at all easy to find someone with your experience. So, I really appreciate your advice.

[greatwallforum]

Note to self: Never try to hike on the Wild Great Wall during the Beijing Olympics! I have encountered a lot of resistance from guards and therefore my plans had to change drastically. Also the weather was not as good as I had hoped. However, I have still had a lot of fun experiences and learned a lot about the Great Wall.

I'm currently in Xi'an, and so far I have been to Simatai, Jinshanling, Panlongshan, Gubeikou, Wohushan, Qinglongxia, Hefangkou, Shentangling, Shentangyu, Shentangyu fortress, Lianhuachi, Niujiaobian, Zhengbeilou, Jiankou, Xizhazi, Jiuyanlou, Xiaoxihu, Lianyunling, Xishuiyu, Shuiguan, Qinglongqiao, Badaling, Jiayuguan, Shiguanxia, Xuanbi, Dunhuang, Yumenguan, and Yangguan. My favorites were Wohushan and Jiuyanlou plus the Han Dynasty Great Wall near Dunhuang.

When I return I will provide more details and photos of all the places I visited.

[greatwallforum]

As I mentioned in the last post, I experienced a lot of problems trying to access the Wild Wall in many places. This forced me to change my plans. Instead of being able to do a long section hike, I often had to leave one area and use road transportation to continue to the next place.

This was not all bad as it allowed me to visit places I was not originally intending to see, including Shuiguan, Qinglongqiao, Badaling, Jiayuguan, Dunhuang, Yumenguan, Yangguan, and Xi'an.

Here is one of the security guards that led me back to where I came from in the first place I visited, Qinglongxia.

Here the Great Wall is blocked with a barbed wire fence, three warning signs, and camera surveillance. This was on a steep ridge between Qinglongxia and Hefangkou, at about 40°27'9.5"N 116°40'3"E (40°27'5.5"N 116°40'3"E on Google Earth's misaligned image), and there was no realistic way to get around it.

[greatwallforum]

Here are some of the signs warning against climbing on the Great Wall. Sometimes there were guards present, sometimes not.