Hi Ho Hi Ho…a trekking we did go!

(as always…click on the pictures to see them larger…they are the best thing here)

I didn’t mention that after dinner last night, some of us ventured to the deck of the (not so) Halfway Guesthouse to star gaze.

I think this is one thing I was looking forward to the most.  One of my most cherished memories was sleeping outside with the kids when we went river rafting on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River in Idaho (I said “cruise” Corey heard “boat”).  The children had not seen a sea of stars, let along satellites crossing over.  It was magical. 

Well, the kids weren’t with me this time, but I could still look up, remember, and be in awe of the sight.

Too quickly it got just a bit cold for this, so I headed in.

The next morning our “Uber” hikers ventured out early to get a head start as they would be not only doing the 5K out to Tina’s Guesthouse, but also venturing into Tiger Leaping Gorge.

I arose to see them off, get last minute instructions from Betty (don’t lose anyone), and basically catch a glimpse of the brightening sky.

My appetite was still gone…nope…no broccoli this morning….actually pancakes, but eh, not interested.

I packed up my backpack and took some final pics of the deck.

Yes, that is a Communist Flag.  On the pole are wood replicas of flags from all over the world.  This place is POPULAR!

14 of us set off with our two guides to finish off the last 5K….which was advertised as Flat…then downhill.  OK…NO….It was a relatively treacherous hike…doable, but I thanked heaven YET AGAIN, for my 30 RMB (5 bucks) walking pole.  Very handy for balance!

Here are some snaps….

The Halfway Guesthouse

These three let it BE KNOWN that we were NOT welcome there…and made quite a fuss!

And then

The sun made it’s appearance.  Breathtaking.  It was worth staying behind just to see this. The sky was BOOMING blue!

We moved along at our own pace, which is nice because it lets you chat with a person…then rest, and move on to another.  I was with 21 of the most diverse and interesting women on this trip!

All Happy and all accomplished!

See these ?  Down there is where we were heading…and not via the paved road (the very very bottom…where the water is, is where the first group trekked to earlier in the day)

Water from the mountain.

Temple up in the rocks

This is a shelter for hikers who did not either make a booking or want to make a booking at one of the Guesthouses.  You could see the remains of fires as you walked by.

The day was just spectacular!

5K and 2 hours later (exactly on schedule), we arrived at Tina’s Guesthouse for lunch…yes, you guessed it….same meal, different venue.  We were ALL looking forward to getting to Shangri-la just for a change of pace.

We hooked back up with our big bus…but before driving to Shangri-La, we stopped at ;

TIGER LEAPING ROCK…yes…there is a rock!

See that big thing in the middle?  That’s it!  There is a platform down there where non-hikers can take the steps and go down to the rock.  We didn’t stop…but did grab a few pictures

Me (and the rock)

That’s Betty with me!  She was the “leader” leader and my trainer for when I lead trips.

We drove on towards Shangri-La.  We stopped at “Small Zhongdian” to visit a traditional Tibetan Village.   All I can say is WOW

We were greeted at the Village by THIS little darling and her family

Needless to say, the village was pretty simple. 

Drying rack…they were everywhere These are turnips.

Alfalfa.

Here is a villager moving through his day….trying to avoid the gawkers

Interestingly, houses are not “reused”.  Once a family (probably 3 or 4 generations) leaves a house for a new one, the old one stands empty. 

 

It’s hard to see here, but these homes are very ornate.  The villagers help each other build their homes…and the craftsmanship is off the hook.  (more on that in a second)

We made our way through the village and at the very end came upon a family working very hard clearing out their “yard”

 

They were building this mound from the muck and compost etc.  See the lady waving!

They were so kind as to invite us in to see them.

We would take pictures, and then show them to our subjects.  They LOVED that!  Such beautiful smiles and welcoming hearts.

After this we were invited inside their home!  Wait until you see the mantle

Not a great pic…but this is all carved.  The senior member of the house offered us cigarettes and a seat (no thanks…we have to be going).  We gave them some money for their generosity and for posing for our pictures.

Back to the bus for the final push to our last hotel

Due to the pollution in Hong Kong, these skies are rare for us…we took picture after picture after picture.

On our way to the hotel we stopped at a road-side…”hole” for those that had to go.  There is a keeper of said area…and it costs $1 RMB to use the facility.  Well, facility is a loose term… NO pics of the hole…but here is the “keeper”

She likes her picture!  But you were NOT getting out of there without paying up. Most of us stayed on the bus!

Our last hotel of the trip was the Songtsam Retreat at Shangri-La.  It was right behind the biggest monastery in Zhongdian.  It was a sight to see.

 

Just a couple quick pictures from the bus…We would run and check into the hotel…where we had 30 minutes to change and get to dinner.

Let the Trekking Begin!

So…after acclimating to the altitude for a couple of days, it was time to pack “day packs” (for the ponies to take) and head off on our Trek .

Now, this part of the trip had many of us anxious.  We had been hearing (and reading) A LOT about AMC (Acute Mountain Sickness) AND it’s (potentially life-threatening)complications…HACE (high altitude cerebral edema) and HAPE (high altitude pulmonary edema)

Yes…serious stuff.  It did not help that at dinner the night before one of our troupe “knew a guy who did this trip and ended up in a coma for a month”

HELLO!  Can we NOT discuss this at dinner??  We had done everything we could to NOT have this happen…but JUST in case, I ordered portable oxygen to be carried by the ponies.  This seemed to calm the crowds down…but I really think it got to the point where we were freaking ourselves (and each other!) out!

We took our bus for about an hour, then transferred to small cars (4 or 5 to a car) to get to our starting point.  MY driver decided to turn off of the NOT paved road…realized he was in the wrong place…then tried to back down the mountain to turn the car around.

EVERYONE OUT.  This maneuver alone had headlines written all over it (4 TOURISTS KILLED IN CAR SLIDE).  We made it to our spot, where we had lunch at a local Naxi Family Guesthouse.

What was on the menu you ask?  Wait for it….Broccoli and carrots, potatoes, corn, Kung Pao Chicken, Pork…Rice…ALL things we had eaten before…sigh.

Here is their corn drying! 

  Here I am before we started…all layered up…that would not last long.

Off we go…First we had to HIKE to our starting point…the “infamous” “28 bends”…We got to the starting point …and I say “Bend One”  NOT knowing we had not even started yet!  The guide laughed (at me, not with me)

It was here we found out Obama had won the election (I had been hoping to go most of the trip w/o politics, but amazingly, people get service EVERYWHERE)

Some of the ladies chose to take ponies to the top of the 28 Bends.  this would help them conserve energy on the rest of the Trek. 

Part way up:

(notice the layers are off??)

 

Here I am at the top of the Bends. Some layers back on…it was WINDY!

Needless to say…the views were SPECTACULAR!

The entire trek was 11K, but with the altitude, it felt tougher to me…or was I suffering from CAS (Clean Air Syndrome?)

The Gorge below us was Tiger Leaping Gorge. (Yes, a tiger is said to have leapt from the side, to a rock, to the other side…we would see THAT spot tomorrow)

  I really wish you could see how far down this was!  We tread carefully!

Yes…Satellite dish…with snoozing kitties

This guy moved OFF the trail to poop.  Very polite!

The views were just as pretty on our side!  We did not climb this.

Soon enough we made our way to the Halfway House where we would stay for the night.  Much earned beers and high fives for us as we finished (one of our group met us as we came in…since we all finished at different times)

 

Here is the Halfway House.  No heat…but snuggly electric blankets and yes…real toilets!

We took showers (yes, hot water) and met for dinner. 

Where…we had….well, I don’t need to tell you…it was more of the same.

It was here my appetite was lost…which I did not realized until 24 hours later was a symptom of slight altitude illness…but that’s all that happened…The next morning we would trek out!