Days 199-200: Tiger Leaping Gorge

The two day hike through Tiger Leaping Gorge was one of the things I was most looking forward to on the trip. The hike followed the high trail of the gorge above the Golden Sands / Jinsha River (part of the Yangtze), leading through remote mountain villages, waterfalls, and dramatic mountain vistas. The first day was the most physically challenging as we worked our way upwards along the cliffs. Some locals on horses followed our group's stragglers some, hoping for people to give up and need a ride to safety, but we all managed the hike in the end. The most challenging section was a stretch known as the "28 bends" from all the switchbacks, and even the fittest among us were feeling a bit drained by the time we reached the top.

It was persistently overcast, but the only rain we had was conveniently almost completely during our lunch under shelter. It left things a little muddy, but was much better than having to hike in the rain. Our accomodations for the night was a guest house in a village perched on the mountain, run by a group of local people. The second day of the hike was on my birthday, and celebrating waking up in some quiet mountain village to spend a day hiking is a perfect way to celebrate it. It also marked the 200th day of my trip, which is the exact halfway point (of my plan, at least). The fact that day 200/400 fell on my birthday is pure coincidence, but milestones all around! The day was much less physically demanding, but the landscape and views were nicer.

We had a rooftop lunch at another village down by the road that marked the end of our hike. The location also offered some nice shots of the surrounding mountains and of the river back the way we'd come.

We had an entertaining bus ride back to Lijiang as we followed a narrow, cliff hugging road that sometimes had our wheels less than a foot from the unguarded cliff edge, and at other times dodging around boulders from the regular avalanches. Once we got out of the gorge it was still slow going as we got stuck behind long convoys of trucks crossing torn up roads where construction was going on.

Back in Lijiang I was treated out to dinner and Frank picked up a birthday cake for me, and we hung out in the courtyard eating cake and drinking. Certainly a lot more of a celebration than I was expecting!