THE STORY work in progress - Day One complete

An early start

The 24 Bends

High Point

Down through trees

The route ahead - and our plans

Along a dramatic cliff face

Half Way Guest House

Heading down

Minibuses back to Lijiang

Reflections

PANORAMA 2

An early start

Next morning we woke around 6.30, with the first beams of sunlight cutting through the sky above the mountain. There was an outdoor washroom, with sheds housing toilets to one side and showers to the other. The French group set out before us, as we sorted out our bill. We'd decided against having a fried breakfast before setting out, and had enough snacks to keep us going. We'd been wondering how the Naxi woman kept track of all the different transactions the previous day, but she produced a detailed notebook and after adding in the bottles of water we had just requested, she ask for 115 yuan. So, that was 15 yuan each to stay the night, a meal of soup, mixed stir fried vegetables and rice, 4 beers, 3 Sprites, and various bottles of water, all for under £8. And the traditional farmhouse setting and cups of tea thrown in for free. Pretty reasonable!

We set out with Mike just after 7.00, and the Naxi farmer showed us the well-made path to follow. First it passed a group of stone cairns which we had noticed the previous evening, and assumed made up the village cemetery. Then the track bent left, dropped down through a few trees, and then started climbing gradually. The air was cool and refreshing, and we made good progress.

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The 24 Bends

A large brown crag appeared ahead of us, and the trail bent up more steeply towards it - we realised this must be the start of the notorious 24 bends (or was it 28?). Certainly we were looking at a steep mountainside, and could see the French party ahead of us zig-zagging their way upwards. We paused to catch our breath, and were caught by the American guy we'd met in the village street the previous evening, wearing a brimmed hat and carrying a camera bag. His two female companions were further back, and he was in no hurry to go past, but we chatted briefly before moving on.

Gradually we climbed up to where a new building was taking shape, and a couple of workmen were resting. We took a break, looking back towards the terraces spreading below Nuoyu village which we had just left. Then we pressed on, to the right through a few more trees then bending left up more steep bends. We had made the right decision to start early, in the shade. Owen was really struggling after his upset stomach and lack of food, and we wouldn't have made it if we'd tried to push on the previous afternoon. I'd given him my walking pole, which seemed to help. We climbed upwards, bit by bit, bend by bend. At last a red flag appeared on the ridge above us to the right, signifying some sort of milestone. The trail bent up towards it, and we reached a little wooden shelter on the ridge, bathed in morning sunshine. It had taken us about 90 minutes, from the guest house.

The American/Canadian trio had passed us on the way up, and were coming back from the red flag - which marked a precarious viewpoint 20 metres out on the narrow ridge. Catriona and I edged our way out towards it, but we were both nervous as we realised there was nothing much between us and the Yangtse 700 metres below, except some very hard rocks. We cautiously grabbed a couple of photos and clambered back, hanging on for dear life. Back at the shelter beside the main trail, we took a photo of the North American group, and they did the same for us. It turned out to be the best of the three of us during the entire holiday - a great reminder of where we had got to. .

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High point

That turned out to be the highest point on the trail. Sean's Guide Map showed this as 2,488m, which didn't sound tremendously high considering it showed Qiaotou, our starting point, as 1848m. The difference - 640m - was barely 2000 feet, or just a big hill in Scottish terms, but we had gone up and down the day before, and the climb of the 24 Bends was probably about 400m or 1300 feet. It wasn't as high as I had expected, but it was still an impressive location - the green crags of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain seemed very close now on the other side.

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Down through trees

Mike took the lead heading gently downwards through some delightful mixed woodland. He was good company to chat with, and we heard more about his travels through New Zealand, Vietnam and Korea over the past few months. There were plenty of photo opportunities of the mountain framed by branches. We talked about a photo competition, trying to get the best Tiger Leaping Gorge photo, the best animal photo, and so on.

After a long easy section, the path became more nerve-racking along the edge of the very steep slope down into the gorge. We could see a coach park way down next to the river, but I felt quite uncomfortable trying to get a photo. I had to miss some shots looking back up the gorge for the same reason. The path was fine, but the edge was very close. Then we began descending down the side of a ravine, across the stream, and round the other side to what we could see was a very exposed corner. Once again, the path was wide enough but we just had to take care. Owen, Catriona and Mike were making reassuring comments, but then it turned out Mike was equally nervous!

After that tricky bend things improved again, and we entered another belt of tall trees. It was like a woodland walk in Scotland except the mountain above us was 6 times as high as a munro (Scottish 3000 foot peak).

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The route ahead - and our plans

At the edge of the forest we were treated to a great view down the gorge - by now we had realised that the river was flowing north, not south as we had thought the previous day. Up to the left we had a glimpse of the white peak of Haba Snow Mountain. A concrete platform provided a spot to rest and enjoy the view across Yacha village, with another narrow section of gorge beyond. From Yacha, as from the other villages, there was a vehicle track leading to the road down below.

We discussed our plans for the rest of the day. It was around 10 a.m. We all wanted to get back to Lijiang in the evening, but there was a lot more gorge ahead. We had been told about the trail going behind a waterfall, and a narrow stretch where it was difficult and slippery, just before Walnut Grove. Catriona was keen to reach the waterfall, but it could leave us struggling to get back for the last bus to Lijiang around 6 pm. There would be little shade along the route and the heat of the sun was building up.  We thought we would probably get as far as Half Way Guest House in Ben Di Wan village, and head down from there, but we could review the situation when we got there.

The trail led around a more gently slope, across a stream, and into Yacha village. We passed Tea Horse Guest House, which looked appealing, but we had just had a break and carried on. It looked like the French group had stopped there, and the French-speaking woman who had set out earliest was sitting up on a grassy bank contemplating the view.  She was making the most of the spiritually uplifting surroundings.

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Along a dramatic cliff face

We continued straight along a broad dusty track, then at the edge of the village took a narrower trail that headed towards the next steep-side section of the gorge.  We had been disappointed not to have seen the profusion of wild flowers that were supposedly to be found on this route, but saw a few on this stretch.

The track turned below the rock face along a steep grassy slope. This stretch of path was in the worst condition of any we had walked so far, and it was Catriona's turn to feel a bit nervous. After some time walking in the heat, we managed to find a bit of shade under an isolated tree to have a snack and some water, before continuing. Then we were walking along a dramatic cliff face with a remarkable curtain of twisted rock strata, on a path raised above the steep slopes below. This was a great spot for photos of the rocks, the gorge, and the mountain on the other side. Down below we spotted a team of ponies being led down another trail by a man.

Messages were painted on the stones beside the path, indicating the distance to villages in both directions - we had another half an hour to go. An old watercourse had been laid along the bottom of the cliff, next to the path, presumably to irrigate the fields below, but had fallen into disrepair. It led round to a deep cleft in the cliff face  - a miniature gorge - out of which a stream was flowing, but the valves were no longer taking water into the channel. The path continued round the cliff face, which then receded. Now we saw another team of ponies, this time carrying paniers of bricks to the site of a new dwelling just below us. Our path joined a wider roadway, leading up from the valley and into Ben Di Wan village. Another wide track came down to meet us, and a man led another couple of donkeys down it. Catriona caught a good photo of the donkey, a palm tree, and the Haba Snow Mountain above.

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Half Way Guest House

Walking on through the scattered village, the trail went onto a narrower path between farm plots leading to Half Way Guest House. Clearly this was prospering - there was some new building going on. Apparently a few years ago the owner turned it into a guest house after so many passing walkers asked if they could rest there and get some refreshment. Steps led down into a courtyard and at the far end we turned left into a wonderful eating area under a canopy but with open sides. One side was filled with the view of the wooded slopes and jagged line of peaks of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.

It was midday, and we were ready for a good meal. Some other walkers were finishing off their food, and a couple of youngsters - one seemed to be the waitress - were having a laugh with each other. We looked through the menu that was made of fabric, a bit grubby now but with an impressive collection of Chinese and western dishes. We could understand why the couple from Vermont who we met at Naxi Family GH had been so impressed by the view from their bedroom here.

It was certainly a great place to relax, eat a Chinese version of chicken fajita, or omelette and chips, and drink water then some beer. If we were going to push on to see the waterfall we wouldn't have long for lunch, but we decided to call it a day and enjoy our meal and the setting. We felt a lot better in the shade with something to eat and drink, but knew it would be relentlessly hot if we carried on. Catriona was obviously disappointed, but at least we had seen a large part of the gorge.

We rested after lunch, and I looked at some of the business cards of previous visitors pinned to the wooden posts in the wall. There were people from many countries, and I added a Walking Stories card. The Canadian/American trio turned up, but it was the guy's turn to get an upset stomach and he went for a lie down whilst the girls stayed for something to drink. Then a couple from the other group of Americans from Naxi Family GH arrived, to join the conversation.

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Heading down

We finally decided to move out and paid the 62 yuan (just over £4) for our lunch and drinks. As we walked back on the outside of the guest house, three of the French speakers were just arriving and we spoke briefly! It was a strange sort of temporary informal walking club (we were to meet one of them again a couple of days later in Dali, and then at Kunming airport).

The final stretch of our hike was back along the dusty track through the village, then along the roadway down towards the group of industrial buildings we could see below. After descending steeply, the road turned right, up a little, then around a rock face that had been blasted to make way for it. A few more bends down and we reached a limeworks close to the roadside. We passed a young woman carrying a heavy basket up a steep narrow trail crossing the bends in the road. The white dust from the limeworks had blown across to leave its mark on the rocks on the other side of the river.

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Minibuses back to Lijiang

We weren't sure where we would get a bus or a taxi, and the road looked awfully long and hot, but we were lucky. A minibus was coming up the road, and we flagged it down. The driver was taking a young Chinese couple back to Qiaotou, but just had room for us. We negotiated a price of 10 yuan each (70 pence or one Euro) and off we went. The road passed the lower houses of Yong Sheng village, and continued along the gorge. At times it went under overhangs of rock, and the driver had to veer around boulders that had crashed down onto the road - another hazard to contend with.

Back in Qiaotou, the driver knew another minibus driver who would take us to Lijiang for 20 yuan each. This seemed a pretty good offer, rather than waiting for a bus that would cost 12 - 15 yuan and might be as uncomfortable as the one we had arrived on the previous day. The Chinese couple came along too, and I was able to chat to the young woman, whose English name was Jocelyn Wong. It turned out she worked with a law firm in Beijing, they were returning there the next day after having spent time up in Shangri-la which she recommended highly. It was a rare chance to find out a bit more about China from a Chinese person who spoke good English. She offered to give us any help when we reached Beijing, if we needed information on places to visit - as it turned out.. (see The Great Wall walk).

The driver was no different from others throughout our stay - tooting his horn madly as he passed other vehicles, overtaking on blind spots, but managing to get us back to Lijiang much more quickly than we would have managed in the bus. We were there by 5 p.m., and walked back to the old town where we said and fortunately the hotel where we had left our packs was able to accommodate us for another night before our departure for Dali.

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Reflections

This had been a brilliant experience - the route, the scenery, the weather (great for views, rather hot for walking). We hadn't all been fully fit, and this led to some differences in what we felt we could accomplish, but we all got a lot out of it. Mike had provided good company, and we had enjoyed meeting up with people from other countries. Maybe some day we would come back to do the other half, to see the narrow section of the gorge at Walnut Grove and the waterfalls.

It would be fascinating to see what the gorge is like in a few years' time. Gordon Sharpless on his Tales of Asia website had documented the new facilities being developed, and the road being built through the gorge, in a few years from 1999 to 2002. We had seen more new places set up since then - such as Lu Ye Guest House, and the new tea house near the start of the walk. The rugged setting will probably protect the trail from too much development, so that it provides many people with great walks for years to come.

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Contributed by: Andrew Llanwarne

Photos by Andrew, Owen and Catriona Llanwarne

Read the Two Sisters Story to find out what lies beyond the Half Way House!

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