I used to have this comfy old t-shirt that said "I hiked, I complained, I nearly passed out, and I barely made it out of the Grand Canyon!" The edges of the sleeves were tattered and the fabric soft with frequent use over a span of 10 years. However, it was a complete lie. I did not, in fact, hike the Grand Canyon. If my recollection serves me correctly, my father drove our rental car to the rim and we walked a nice paved path alongside the rim for about an hour while simultaneously discussing my theory that the Grand Canyon is merely a fancy backdrop created by the Kodak Corporation to get unsuspecting tourists to snap hundreds of pictures on Kodak film. 
Construction on the "original" wall commenced during the Qin dynasty (221-207 BC). It was built to keep out marauding nomads from what is now Beijing. Little remains of that first wall, but during the Ming dynasty, construction began again. The current wall is comprised of several walls built during and subsequent to that time. Depending on what you read, the Great Wall is somewhere between 5,000 km (3,106 miles) to 6,700 km (4,160 miles) long. You would think that measuring a wall would be an elementary task. However, since the wall was built in so many sections and there are portions that finger out from the main structure, the people who have enough time to walk out the whole thing with a yardstick disagree on what sections to include in the calculation.
What gets me is that people over 2,200 years ago, using rudimentary tools, carried (or more likely got large animals to carry) giant boulders up to the tops of mountains for a big fence to keep out some pesky Mongolians! How many Mongolians could there have been back then? Was it really such a problem? I mean, today China has over 1 billion people living in obscenely cramped quarters with no regard for personal space whatsoever. What's a few thousand rowdy nomads going to hurt? Personally, I think they would spice things up a bit!
Our first view of the Great Wall did not disappoint. The majestic beast rose before us, snaking up and down the mountain ridge, interspersed with watchtowers at random and infrequent intervals. Seeing the Great Wall was a lifelong dream of mine and, to be honest, before we moved here, I never thought my dream would be fulfilled. But here I was, facing this formidable opponent and all I would do was stare in awe. 
When we got there, the air was clear and crisp although it would get unbearably hot as we made our 4 hour trek to Simatai. We walked over parts of the wall that had obviously been restored, as well as crumbling piles of rock that could barely be called a "wall." 
We climbed clumsily over steep parts, sauntered along flat parts, and cautiously descended vertigo-inducing stairs, all the while soaking up the magnificent vistas. I must have perspired half my weight in sweat that day but all I had to do was look around and that was motivation enough to keep going.
All along the way, 80-year old Chinese grandmothers and grandfathers would pester us to buy cold water, soda or beer (seriously, beer in the middle of a searing hot June day?) and I would wonder how they did it day after day. I guess that is how the Chinese live so long - doing things like hiking the Great Wall everyday!
In the middle of our hike, Marc needed to take a break. Thank God we had the foresight to bring toilet paper!
After 4 hours, 10 km, 528 pictures and 6 bottles of water, we finally made it to Simatai. I was happy to be there but sad that our once-in-a-lifetime journey had come to an end. Fortunately, the enterprising folks at Simatai had a surprise waiting for me. For just a few US dollars, we rode the Flying Fox down to the parking lot where our driver was waiting to take us to the nearest hospital, I mean our hotel.
P.S. If anyone knows where I can find an "I hiked, I complained, I nearly passed out, and I barely made it off the Great Wall!" t-shirt, let me know.
P.P.S. Don't worry Moms, Marc did not defecate on the Great Wall of China.
No comments:
Post a Comment