hiking
Yunnan Mancation
Driving to the ends of the earth is one good place to find some sense of adventure. When you drive to the end of the road, where the pavement or gravel ends and the trail begins your bound to find something interesting. Since August of last 2011, right after Seth and I’s successful climb of … Continue reading
Jiankou in Snow
Those trapped in the languid places of no seasons can’t understand the way a winter will change a place; or the way spring will bring new hope; summer will bring sun and Autumn the golden end of a season. Â I was saddened when Beijing had a few warm days in February that I’d missed my … Continue reading
A Winter Visit to the Wall
When I lived in Issaquah (just outside Seattle) I could easily visit the mountains almost at anytime; a meeting free morning at work and a late arrival combined with an extra early Dawn Patrol would enable me to spend a few precious hours racing up and down the mountain trails of the Cascades. The Great … Continue reading
JianKou – The Middle Path
I returned to Jiankou for my fifth visit in October with Miles and some workmates John Rodgers and John Darrow, who were visiting from Seattle. We stayed at the Zhao’s Hostel and arose in the dark. We took the main concrete path past the parking lot heading south to the Wall just to the east … Continue reading
The 9 Eyed Tower
The Bushwhacking Fallacy : Every foot forward into a bushwhack compels you to continue. Every foot forward is gained through pain and would require retraversing the same ground again in pain. You are not excited going forward and going back seems even less desirable, so you push on in hope that it will end soon … Continue reading
Jiankou Great Wall Dawn Patrol
After the BBQ I dropped the family off at Park Avenue and I jumped on to the 4th Ring Road heading north. From there to the G45 DaGuang expressway heading for the village of XiZhaZi. Traffic was light and it was odd to be driving down the road in China. It was only my second … Continue reading
Camping at the Great Wall
ad•vent•ure an exciting or very unusual experience a bold, usually risky undertaking; hazardous action of uncertain outcome We’ve been in Beijing for three months and while I been lucky enough to get out for a couple of hikes (1, 2)  on the Great Wall I hadn’t been camping for around 6 months, the longest time … Continue reading
The Great Wall – Gubeikou to Jinshanling
The Great Wall is an icon in China, one of those cultural legacies that is a symbol of national pride. And its on everyone’s list to visit when they come to China. (There are over 435 thousand photos on Flickr as of this posting of the Wall). There are photos of the wall packed with … Continue reading