As you pull into the area and look to the mountain tops, The wall dominates the landscape in all directions as far as the eye can see. Our guide Wanda took us to the base area where the climb for this section begins and said have fun and see you later. That should have been our first clue.
I am sure everyone getting ready to ascend thinks it will be tough but doable. From the bottom it doesn't look that steep. But as the saying goes, looks can be deceiving. Tough is a gross understatement.
We all start out with enthusiasm and then reality sets in. The reality is that walking the Great Wall is like mountain climbing with stairs. Although stairs is also a misnomer. By stairs I mean successive narrow platforms no two of which are spaced at a similar distance. One step may have a 4" riser with the next being 15" followed by a step that is 8" high. There is no pattern to the risers, just whatever those long ago builders thought would work.
Each time you pause to get your breath (of course we didn't need to do that!), the view down became more incredible. We climbed up and up and up till we reached a tower where we rested for a bit.
The view across the valley was breathtaking.
The stairs to the next tower were less crowded and though it looked less strenuous, we opted instead to get our "Hero of the Great Wall" card and some ice cream (for energy) before heading down. After all we did see some shops below.
The realization of just how high we had climbed made us take one last opportunity to scan the horizon and stare in awe.
The views are something I will never forget. But we could only put off the inevitable for so long. Thus our downward trek began.
In many ways the walk down was more difficult than the climb. With the steps being so uneven your knees take a lot of strain and your thigh muscles just scream. You can breath a bit easier though.
A look as we neared the bottom showed more and more wall. Some sections are opened for visiting, but many areas are closed off because of the condition of the stairs.
Once we arrived at the base area again, we felt very proud of ourselves. It would have been a much easier climb when we were in our 40's or even 50's, but we made it! There was an area with some artisans working and some small shops.
Ken considered buying this hat. But then he decided on a baseball cap with a dragon on it instead. I found a couple of cute guys to hang out with.
We then spent a bit of time watching a watercolorist at work.
His pieces were beautifully done and he was very friendly.
As we approached our van we couldn't help but take a few final photos.
One final observation from our time at the wall. In an effort to accommodate the English speaking tourists, signage has been added for our convenience.
What they lack in grammar they make up for in sentiment. The last one must be using the Chinese phrasing technique.
It may sound a bit over the top to say visiting the Great Wall is life changing, but in many ways it can be. The sense of history and the feat of engineering that is present in this place is unlike anyplace else I have ever been. It makes me want to learn more and more about the world around me.
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