(Note: I'm wayyy behind on playing catchup on the blog back in the States - this was from mid-June.)
Sure, when I first heard it, I was initially sceptical, thinking that it sounded like a rip off that ground-breaking martial arts flick some years back. But you know what? After two days hugging narrow ridge trails and loving the ever-changing views at every turn, one thing is for certain - Tiger Gorge more than lived up to its name, and all the accolades as the famous canyon in Asia.
Now, heading this way wasn't even on my original agenda... I had instead planned to go hiking in the Shei Shan mountains near Chengdu, a multiday forest hike that had the unique prospect of crashing with monks every night. That sounded like a winner to me, but a discussion at Yangshuo with another backpacker over several beers convinced me to change plans a bit.
And man, did that work out well, I just wish I could send that guy an e-beer by way of thanks!
Getting out to the Tiger Gorge by local bus was easy enough, and I headed on the trail, en route to the Naxi Family Guesthouse, a farm/hostel a few miles in.
Except... well, except for the minor detail that I missed the trailhead, and found myself walking down a very dusty construction road being built for tourist buses much lower down the canyon. The hospitality of the Chinese only compounded things, as with a grin and a wave, a guy driving a passing tractor offered to let me hop up on his tractor... again, going even farther down the wrong road.
Sigh. Grumble. Shit.
Right, there was nothing to do but enjoy a long, slow, and frustrating hike back to where I started. But, like most travel setbacks, it actually worked out for the best - as I got a room at Jane's Hostel in town, where I got a killer combination of a cold beer, two friendly (if slightly psycho) cats, and best of all, ended up meeting some great hiking partners.
Our group hit the road the next day, and started up the infamous 28 Bends - a whole bunch of twisting and turning up a mountain, which translated to about three hours of near constant up, up, and UP.
Oh, for sure, at the beginning, we were all full of smiles:
... but by the halfway point, we were more than ready for a break at this trailside stand, whose friendly proprietor did well selling all the essentials - cokes, Snickers, and even the odd bag of ganja.
Recharged by nicotine and chocolate, one of our group even found comfort in relaxing - Chinese-style:
Like the classic Willie Nelson track, it was back on the road again, as we kept going up, up, and still further up. The hike was equal parts brutal and amazing, as we soon found ourselves above the clouds; always a great feeling. The Frenchman and I even found a perfect vista point:
... only to get shaken down for $.80 by a local farmer who supposedly owned the land.
Once our legs got over the trauma of the 28 Bends, we got to enjoy the next few hours of gently rolling trails, just taking in view after view.
We stopped at the Tea Horse Hostel to rest our feet, only to get a nice surprise of free tea and biscuits, along with great views and a friendly dog. Awesome, but had to chuckle at their local garden:
The last bit of the trail was fantastic, but we did have a scare, when we all stopped short - "hey, did you hear something?"
Short answer? Yes... yes, we did. A few seconds later, we could see a huge old boulder crashing down over the trail, snapping trees as it went. We took off running top speed, and only a frantic sprint helped a Dutch couple get out of the way in time. Here's the aftermath:
Oh, and a funny thing about travelling - seems like the more dangerous the event, the funnier it becomes afterwards. And, sure, this was no different, we were definitely giggle-prone for the next half hour, although we were listening very, very carefully, as we hiked over more precarious trails...
...and passed the odd pensive shepherd here and there...
... all the while seeing trailside marketing for hostels down the trail:
Thenkfully, we finally arrived at Halfway Guesthouse. Simple and basic to be sure, but a fantastic way to just soak up the wonder of being in such a sublimely beautiful place. The combo beer garden and restaurant had million dollar views, and we took full advantage, talking far into the night over many a Dali beer.
The highlight though had to have been Hervey's conversation with the 80 year old father of the hostel's owner. Through Hervey's sheer exuberance, and their mutual sign language and guessing, we found out that he used to hunt tigers and bears 40 years ago, fought in WW2 against the Japanese, and in all other ways was a pretty tough dude. Eventually, other tables started listening in too - we were all loving the chance to hear his stories; I just wish I could even get by in pidgin Chinese - sign language only goes so far!
The next day was much easier, just heading down to the hike's end at Tina's Guesthouse. A trailside temple and a gushing waterfall were nice surprises, as was a sublime view of the entire length of the gorge...
Catching a minibus back to Jane's Hostel, we thought the adventure was over, but the taxi driver did his best to add a bit of excitement, as he barrelled along a super narrow and bumpy dirt road at top speed. With nary a guardrail in sight (this IS China, after all), he also loved taking his eyes off the road to talk loudly on his cell phone.
Dude. NOT the time to take a call, buddy. Seriously.
A firm word from Johan, our Dutch friend, plus some barely contained gasps as the car swerved suddenly towards the edge thankfully put a stop to that, and we were able to get out on shaky legs at Jane's Hostel, tired but triumphant!
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