Day 13: Tiger Leaping Gorge (part 2)
We got to sleep in today. The sunrise from this part of the gorge wasn't quite as impressive as the one at the beginning, but it was still awesome, of course. Most of the hike was pretty much the same. Yesterday we made it through the gruelling "28 Bends" (a series of switchbacks up to the highest point on the climb -- we just about died), after which you have to go down again. So first you work one part of your legs, then you kill your knees and the other parts before mercifully regaining flat(ter) ground. The hike was pretty short and easy today, even the downhill part. We met some friends along the way, and since we ended up staying in the same guesthouse, we decided to go down into the gorge as a group. The coolest part of today's hike (before going down into the gorge) was when we passed over/through this waterfall (Dad, you would've loved it too!!). Yes, we got some pictures. I have wondered before how people can walk around through such tricky areas, but after a while you don't wonder anymore. You just do it. Anyway, while we were stopped at the waterfall I decided to see if mountain water was all it's cracked up to be. Let me tell you: IT IS. I have never tasted such cool, sweet water in my life. It was the best water I've ever had, and I can say that because I wasn't even thirsty when I tried it. Oh, it was wonderful. I could live up there just to be able to taste that more often.
The climb down into the gorge was probably the highlight of the whole hike. We checked into our guesthouse and dropped off all our bags, ate lunch, then took the plunge. And I mean that almost literally. Keep in mind we're going down a few hundred meters into a gorge -- made of rock -- picking our way over field, rock, stream, and narrow path. And I really do mean narrow this time. The fields were, as always, awesome to walk through. These are not the fields we're used to in the States. Use your imagination to think of rice paddies, how they're all spaced out and arranged. Now build those ascending the side of a mountain. WAY cool!!! The path was maybe 18 inches wide most of the time, along the side of a mountain or sometimes through someone's field or a big area of sandy dirt. Eventually you come to these two guys who charge money for going into the gorge because they help maintain the path when the rain washes it away. How does that make you feel? We got to climb over these scary wooden bridges and ladders, through the side of the cliff (like a big chunk had been chipped out -- I'll post a pic later, prob. on my xanga site), eventually leading down to this really rocky area at the narrowest point of the gorge, where the tiger alledgedly jumped across. We had to pay to go out onto this rock where the tiger "jumped". Let me tell you: I have never done any rock climbing in my life. This was unlike anything I've done before. Usually the best places to put your foot were between 1 and 6 inches wide on this particular rock. It was AWESOME!!! The best advice I received was: keep 3 things on the rock at all times. It worked. Then we went to this other rock where again the tiger alledgedly jumped across the gorge. The rapids in this area were incredible. Yes, of course I have pictures and will post them on my xanga site when I get them from my friends. We spent some time playing on all the rocks and climbing over/through them, and then we decided to head back to the guesthouse before it got dark. There were two options of getting back: going back the way we came, through fields, etc., and this other option called the "sky heaven bridge". I opted for the latter along with our two new friends (Christine -- "Jones" -- and Katie). Now the sky heaven bridge is what we would call the less user-friendly option. It's pretty much straight up the side of the gorge back onto the "highway", and even from the bottom you can see this scary looking loooooooong ladder. So we started on our jolly way, praying at every step that we wouldn't go plunging to our deaths (sorry for writing that, Mom -- I am obviously still alive, though) ;) and rejoicing when we got to the ladder. At the base of the ladder there was a sign pointing in two directions. To the left was the "safe path". To the right, the "DangerOOs ladder". Guess which one we took....you only live once, right? :) The ladder was sturdy, but it was really long. About 3/4 of the way up my imagination started to get a little ancy and I did get a little nervous. But it was such a rush! So we got to the top of the ladder and realized that we still had most of the way to go. Pretty much every time we thought we were almost done we looked up and realized there was another ledge of the mountain above us. I don't remember ever being so happy to see level ground when we reached the top. :) The rest of the day was pretty uneventful; just resting and recuperating.
No comments:
Post a Comment