Hiking Tiger Leaping Gorge

11 October 2009
Lijiang => Qiaotou => Tiger Leaping Gorge (Tea Horse Guesthouse)

Our first day on the trail of Tiger Leaping Gorge. We headed out a day
later than planned due to my stomach bug. We left Lijiang at 8am on
Tina's Guesthouse Bus (30Y … more expensive than the 16Y normal bus
but certainly more convenient). Three hours later we were dropped off
right at the start of the trail, which meant we didn't have to spend
time wandering the streets of Qiaotou. Guys with mules were there to
meet us and ask for our business. They, of course, followed us up the
trail speaking in complex Mandarin. From what we could gather, they
were highly concerned about us westerners with backpacking packs
making it up the mountain. They kept warning us about the steepness
and that they should at least take our bags up the trail. We were
followed by a guy on a mule for our entire walk up to the Naxi
Guesthouse (1 hour 40 minutes) where we stopped for lunch. At first it
was a little annoying to have him follow us but we figured it would be
good insurance in case we fell and broke a leg on the trail.

We were exhausted by the time we got to Naxi Guesthouse. We had
breakfast at 7 am and we had started hiking at about 11am with the
intense sun crushing us. I hadn't had very much to eat yesterday or
this morning either as my stomach had been funny.

At Naxi Guesthouse we had a nice meal of fried chicken and peanuts,
rice, and a vitamin drink for the surprisingly low price of 22Y. The
vitamin drink tasted like bubble gum and was pretty much sugar syrup
with a bit of water. I kept pouring water in it to dilute it; however,
the sugar gave us much needed energy to tackle the hardest part of the
trail. With our bellies full and in much better spirits, we headed out
to 28 bends. Again we were followed by the same guy on the donkey. He
tried a few more times to get our business but eventually left us just
before 28 bends. We ascended taking our time and managed to make it to
the top in 1 hour and 40 minutes. We were pretty proud of ourselves.
The majestic Haba Snow Mountain stared down at us and the upper
reaches of the Yangtze River were below us continuously carving the
gorge. The views from the trail were gorgeous and totally worth the
hike.

An hour and a half later found us at Tea Horse Guesthouse where we
decided to call it a day. We hiked in the last bit with an
Australian-German couple and their mom. The guesthouse has a beautiful
view of Haba Snow Mountain and we spent the rest of the afternoon
resting, drinking a Dali beer, and gazing out at the gorge. Over
dinner we chatted with two Californian girls who were doing their
quarter abroad in Hong Kong. We had chicken with peanuts and fried
noodles with veggies. The girls had crepes and apple pie for dessert,
which we had a nibble out of and was actually pretty decent for a
Chinese attempt at western food. Tomorrow will be an early start as we
try to make the 5 hour hike to Walnut Grove.

- Julia

Lake Lashi

10 October 2009
Lashihai and then back to Lijiang
We woke up again after another night on a rock hard mattress with
Scotty tossing and turning due to the excess tea consumption the
previous night. Needless to say we both did not have a good night
sleep even though we got in bed at 8:30pm.

Breakfast was wheat flat bread, homemade honey, pomegranate, apple,
boiled eggs, and something akin to wonton but without filling and a
little bit more softer. We took bikes from the guesthouse (Nan Yao)
and biked down to the lake. We took a boat ride on Lashi Lake. It was
wonderful to be on the water. Very different from the boat ride we
took in Yangshuo as there was no beer vendors in the middle of the
lake. Our boatman hummed and sang while he rowed complimenting the
sounds of the lake. The boat made a gentle pattering sound, like rain,
as it passed through the reeds. The sky cooperated with a beautiful
blue backdrop accented by large cloud formations, which reflected
wonderfully on the lake. Our boatman was nice enough to stop and take
pictures at a few spots. He was actually quite good with the camera,
taking multiple shots and taking time to compose them.

We then headed to the Buddhist temple in another village near the
lake. It was very quiet, unlike the Jade Buddha Temple in Shanghai. We
pretty much had the place to ourselves except for the monks. The chant
of the monks, sounding of gongs, and the cooing of pigeons enveloped
us as we explored the temple.

We then stopped for lunch at another guesthouse. We had chicken (bony
…), marinated potatoes (?), some strange gelatinous veggie mix, spiced
bean jello, and rice. It wasn't our favorite lunch, but it was
interesting. After lunch we headed back to Lijiang and to the Tea
Boutique Hotel near the waterfront.

Despite the crazy hiking, I am glad we decided to try this trek. It
was enjoyable visiting Wenhai and Lashihai villages that were
untouched by commercialization. I imagined that these small rural
villages was what China used to be like. Families out in the field
harvesting, planting, and fertilizing by hand. Very peaceful, small,
and simple. We got to meet and interact with wonderful people that
lived these idyllic lives. Many of the "old" cities we have visited
are just filled with trinket shops and restaurants in addition to
beautiful architecture. Not that there has been anything wrong about
the places we have experienced; however, this was the first time that
I felt we were seeing the true spirit of China.

- Julia