Anhui, part 7: Turtle Cave

After lunch, our tour group hiked over to the Turtle Carrying the Golden Turtle, a curious rock formation.




It was actually easier to see the turtle-on-giant-turtle from back on Bright Summit Peak, but it was a nice outcropping for viewing the rest of the mountains. Views all directions from the vast expanse of bare rock.



Such as back to Bright Summit Peak...


And down to the trail we would soon be on.

This particular section of "trail" is called the Ladder on the Clouds. There were no clouds around, but it sure felt like a ladder!

We decided not to climb to the top of Lotus Peak.

Plenty others did, though.

Instead, we descended toward Turtle Cave.

In this small canyon near the head of the big turtle, we experienced a major traffic jam. Hundreds of people patiently (for the most part) waiting to get in a single line to descend the steep staircase.




Not even the Chinese subways had pedestrian traffic jams this horrible, although the automobile traffic on Beijing expressways was comparable...

Oh well. Look at the scenery.






Chunlin occasionally had English come to her lips quicker than Chinese, even when she was trying to speak Mandarin. I would say "Chinese" to remind her...

Eventually it was our turn to descend the narrow, steep staircase to Turtle Cave.

The stair-trail doubled back just like it was in a building. We went through the cave and out the opening. With the steps and handrails and whatnot, the cave no longer seemed particularly natural.

And one more look up at nearby Turtle Peak.


More photos on flickr, per the usual.

Anhui, part 6: Lunch on Yellow Mountain

Atop Huangshan ("Yellow Mountain" in English), we continued our hike with a million Chinese tourists.


I'm certainly not used to fire hydrants on the trails I hike. I suppose this was just a walk in the park, then.


Do you see the fish? Fish bring us fun. Please don't feed them.

Without roads to all the hotels atop the mountain, everything is transported by manpower on the trails, just like in olden times. This does not mean that the porters are not modernized, however.


Climb the stairs!


We rejoined our tour group at White Goose Ridge, which is where the old cable car reached. We promptly began spreading out again on our way to Bright Summit Peak, which is home to a large meteorological station. Stay with your group! Don't get lost! Don't fall behind!





Plenty of good viewpoints nearby.








Our group stopped for lunch at 10:20 at the Baiyu Hotel. The place was swarming with tour groups, many of which we hadn't seen before. Red hats, yellow hats, sky-blue hats, orange-and-blue hats, blue-and-red hats. Teeming mass of humanity.

"Hello!" I hear, for the Chinese may have a limited knowledge of English, but they all seem to want to try it. By lunchtime, I had had a dozen people ask to take a picture with me. The first time (the day before, actually), I had assumed they wanted me to take the photo of the two of them, but quickly realized that I was the attraction they wanted a photo of! Group shots with multiple cameras...

Speaking of lunch, for that is what we were eating in the shade of the store by the hotel at the edge of a paved plaza surrounded by trees, I discovered that donkey meat doesn't taste too bad at all, even straight out of a vacuum-sealed pouch. But I still preferred the steamed dumplings. Chi bao zi!

Soon it was time to start hiking again. And away we go...




More photos from that day are on flickr.

Anhui, part 5: Up Huangshan

We awoke to pure quiet and stillness. The highway outside our Tangkou hotel was empty. An hour later, there was an occasional horn honk, but not much at all compared to the night before.

We had a breakfast of porridge, egg, pickled vegetables, and shouting people. Chunlin wasn't satisfied, so she went to buy more bread, etc. Fried dough.

Soon our tour group from the day before (all staying at the same hotel) was herded up the street toward the bus depot. While on foot, it was easier for me to see which construction scaffolds were built with steel and which with bamboo.

Important stuff for an architect, you know.

At the bus depot, we met dozens of other with our same red hats and hundreds of other tourists in different colors, all filing onto the dozens of buses. Huangshan is a big production.



We were taken to the New Yungu Cable Car and given the option of walking up the hill (about 4000' gain) or taking the cable car. We took the cable car.









At the top, on White Goose Ridge, we followed the flow of humanity down the paved trail.


Sometimes the trail isn't so much a trail as a long balcony full of steps. They managed to make it paved the same on top, so when you're walking, it always looks like you're on solid ground. It wasn't until we rounded the bend that I realized for how far we had been cantilevered.

The scenery was, as expected, exquisite.











The tour guides were terribly loud, however, what with their electronic megaphones.

Lots of staircases. Crowded staircases. So be careful and show some comity!


I've posted more photos on flickr, if you'd like to see them...

New Hobby

My new hobby is looking at the WSDOT traffic cameras on I-5 to see what the speed limit is currently...

Four Years Ago

Today is the four-year anniversary of when Chunlin and I met.

'Twas a Friday evening at the Mountaineers' Mount Baker Lodge. We only spoke briefly, but she certainly caught my eye.

The next day I was talked into leading a hike, but the hike I chose seemed too difficult to Chunlin and the other women. (Chunlin and I took that hike, Ptarmigan Ridge, a year ago, so she certainly could have done it earlier.) So I spent most of that Saturday with four other men.

Saturday afternoon and evening, though, Chunlin and I had plenty of time to get to know each other.

By Sunday morning, we were setting off on a hike, just the two of us, and Chunlin told her carpool's driver that she had arranged other transportation home.







So now it's just about time to head north to Mt Baker once again...

Happy anniversary, Honey!

Anhui, part 4: Nine Dragon Falls

The next stop on our whirlwind tour of the scenic areas around Huangshan was the famous Nine Dragon Falls.



Early in the hike was a little waterfall called Dragon's Daughter.


The guardrails were made to look like wood, but were actually steel-reinforced concrete, carefully painted.



I'm not entirely sure how they made a continuous concrete handrail of that length, so it certainly impressed me.


Trails in China are all paved. Sloped trails have concrete stairs. It makes the walking easier, guarantees less erosion, and means that tennis shoes are overkill, not to mention hiking boots!


The ninth falls wasn't all that impressive, but that's where most people stopped.

We continued up the 400-some steps to the higher falls.


Up up up.


Until finally... the view of the main falls.

I think we missed seeing falls seven and eight and never climbed high enough to see one and two, but three through six were quite impressive!

We continued climbing up to the base of the higher falls.


Once there, life was peaceful and relaxing. As long as the breeze kept up, it was enjoyable. Otherwise, kinda hot. But that's southern China for you...

Chunlin washed her face in the pool and I dunked my head. A Chinese couple wanted a photo with the the American. I obliged.

We laid down on the rock slab and rested (after a few photos of our own).




With a glance at our watches, we sadly realized it was time to head back down the hill. Back on the tour bus, back to our hotel.

Mostly cold showers because we weren't quite quick enough to hop in, but that's a good way to cool off, right?

Our hotel looked like it was originally two separate buildings. Two adjacent staircase were connected at the landing between the first and second floors with a large door, but a couple floors up, they had a tiny door between the stairwells.

Cute, but odd.

Others in our tour group walked around town looking for a restaurant, but ended up at the restaurant in our hotel's lobby. We thus trusted their decision and ate there, too. Eggs and tomatos to start. Let Chunlin order. More dishes. A local beer washed it all down well.

The others in the tour group noted my left-handedness. Chinese lefties still write with their right hand, apparently. Otherwise the characters wouldn't look right.

We then hit the town for grocery shopping for tomorrow's big hike. The town was hopping -- cars, motorbikes, and pedestrians running up and down the neon-lit street. A brass band practiced on a back alley.



Bedtime for us.

More photos of waterfalls and stairs on flickr, if you'd like to see those...

Super Hair

I found a 3"-long hair atop my head -- attached. The rest of my hairs are only about 3/4" long...

Since I cut my own hair, I can't blame my barber; therefore I declare that it was a super-growing hair that exploded 2.25" in one week.

Either that, or it survived two haircuts!

Which of those sounds more plausible?