Day 22
For my last full day in Beijing, I signed up for a hike that Kara found. It was with Beijing Hikers. It was a Jiankou to Mutianyu. It starts out on the wild wall, which is unrestored, and ends in the restored section in Mutianyu. It rises 1100m in a little under 2km to the general's tower and then by the ox horn and then down into Mutianyu. We met off a metro station on the northeast side of Beijing and headed north to a crossroads. The road to the start was narrow and twisty. It was barely wide enoug for our bus and an oncoming vehicle. When we got close we could see glimpses of the wall.
This is the crossroads where we started.
We hiked to a small hamlet with farms along the road.
We were going up there.
Our group where the trail started.
It was pretty gentle in the beginning.
I liked the fuzzies on this tree.
China's version of leave no trace.
We ran into some packers along the way.
Now it started to kick up a little
It's getting closer.
I think it says it's a park so step easy.
Now it gets a tad steeper.
Now we are going up!
We had trail markers to follow. The lead guide set them and the rear guide picked them up.
Getting closer.
The view across the valley was awesome.
Looks important. I think it gives the stats on this section of the wall.
It just keeps going up.
Finally made it up to the wall.
So we couldn't use this ladder because we would have to pay the guys at the top.
So we hiked down to another ladder down a little bit.
Pretty sure it's safe.
Almost there.
The views from the top were amazing. It was a good day as well. A tad hot, 94 degrees, and the humidity was around 70% so it could have been worse. It didn't get really hot until we were on the wall.
This is the ox horn part. We will be taking the shortcut. It is very steep.
Here is the general's tower. They are working to shore it up. The pack mules were bringing stuff up so they could work on it.
Here is what the wall is made of. This section is only 500 years old.
We will be hiking down there.
Nine Eyes tower is over there. It's one of the tallest from this era of the wall. Beijing Hikers has a hike over there. It's rated as tougher than the one I am on.
Better view of the Ox Horn.
I went inside the tower for a bit.
Looking down out of the tower.
We are starting down and a look back.
Pretty flowers.
I would say it's tall.
The next guard tower.
Different bricks over here but just as old.
Another tower closer to the horn.
A look back
This section was fun to hike. You can see why they call it the wild wall.
A good view of the Ox Horn.
I am so glad we didn't hike it. It is wicked steep.
We are shortcutting and this is a view of another tower.
Back onto the wall. I feel like a Mongul.
Getting closer to Mutianyu.
They did have drainage on the wall.
So the Chinese tie red ribbons to trees to grow some luck.
This is the transition point from wild to restored. This is the peak come from the Mutianyu side. This vendor had it going on. I am super glad we are going down this section.
The girls smuggled Swedish Fish in my bags to eat on the hike.
People do sleep up here.
We are going down there.
This is where the fun begins. The stairs are all different sizes. If you skip a step it could mean disaster.
Big brother is always watching!
A look back.
It's getting steeper.
One of my favorite shots. It just disappears then reappears where we are going.
It took me a while to make sure no one was in the picture.
You can see the different steps.
This is the steep part.
We had to go down the stairs and hop the wall to the left. It was a tad nerve wracking.
A look back. I am totally soaked with sweat.
Don't look down.
Watch towers on the far ridge. This is what we saw from the school I was at.
My feet don't fit so well.
Kinda crazy this part.
A look back.
More stairs. I feel Po's pain.
That's were we are going.
A look back.
I find it funny they only sign on the fram and sheet.
This is the top of one the gondola's you can ride up for Mutianyu.
We are coming up on the Beijing knot, it's one of the few places the wall comes together from two directions and goes away from a third direction.
A look back
They have glass stairs for some reason.
A hole in the guard tower.
Now we are heading down into Mutianyu.
There is about a mile of these stairs to get down into base. They were all uniform so life was good.
This is the base.
Back to a bus that will take us to our bus and head to a local restaurant for a meal. Then 2 hours back to the start. It was an incredible 9 km of hiking. I highly recommend Beijing Hikers.
