Hello World,
You may or may not know that we plan to hike and camp through portions of the Pacific Crest Trail (ideally sections of Yosemite and Tahoe). Accomplishing this requires a level of training and preparation. Training and prep was not a viable option while living in Saudi, so this summer we stocked up on gear and planned to hike as much as possible once we got to China.
Our new colleagues were somewhat skeptical, 'You moved to a concrete jungle, a mega city of 24 million people...to hike will require getting out of Shanghai'.
So, we joined a group appropriately named, 'Get The Hell Out Of Shanghai'...it is run by an global minded adventurous couple (he is Chinese, she is French). We embarked on our first hike on the weekend of September 11.
The hike was up Mount Jiuhua in the Anhui Province. It is also known as the Nine Glorious Mountain, one of the most sacred mountains in Chinese Buddhism and it is scattered with various temples. We were a bit anxious about potential crowds because about a week before the trip we were informed that this weekend was the birthday of someone significant and that many people would come to the temples to celebrate.
In total, we were part of a group of sixteen. Phillip and Brittney left school on Friday, came home for about 40 minutes, put on our packs, hopped in a taxi, squeezed into a metro, and met with the other fourteen at the metro station. From there we loaded a bus and drove into the night for about 7 hours. We arrived at a local guesthouse around 1am. Everyone took a quick snooze and was up for breakfast at 6:30.
Breakfast included spicy green beans with garlic, steamed buns, hard boiled eggs, pickled vegetables, and congee (rice porridge).
After breakfast, we hopped back on the bus for a quick ride to the market where we stocked up on water. From there, two small vans (5 passenger) were arranged to take us to the base of the trail. So basically, with all the gear and 16 adults...we were CRAMMED. Phillip was in one van and Brittney had to be in another. Nice knowing you!
We were like sardines up a windy, bumpy, narrow, and muddy (it was raining pretty good by this point) hill. We finally stopped and everyone started to breathe again. Then...we started walking.
It was misty and everything was wet. We walked over rocks, on grass, through trees and jumped over ditches. On our first little stop...someone found leeches on her shoes. Three total. No one told us about leeches. From here on out we were to check and stomp our feet every five minutes, and check the person in front of you (note to self: don't be the last person).
The first hour was decent, the next two and a half were challenging, but the misty weather was in our favor. Brittney quickly realized the difference between hiking, and hiking with a pack. She instantly regretted NOT weighing it. The walking sticks were actually very helpful. But little did we know...this was not even the challenging part.
After the first three hours, we actually learned the meaning of hiking UP. It was almost vertical for quite a stretch. And then, there were the stairs. Up Up Up. Never ending.
From there we witnessed some kind of ceremony where they burned paper and so much incense. Relieved that we made it to the top, we knew we had to be close to our next guesthouse. However, what goes up must come down. The crowds were intense, the stairs were slippery, and the legs were shaking when not in motion. Local people would often stare at us for longer then usual-then we realized we were the only non-Chinese people around.
@Miller
By the time we made it through the decent, only three people were struck by leeches. One guy had a pretty big one on his lower leg and did not even notice it until Phillip calmly said, 'You have a leech on your leg'. He ripped it off and then came the blood. His ankle was pretty much bloody the rest of the day. He said it did not hurt.
At some point, we finally made it all the way down the mountain and to the village where our next guesthouse was located. When we arrived into our village town, Brittney smelled something sweet like biscuits, then she saw several vendors cutting these little squares of something. She was determined to find them later. Most of the group agreed to have the host prepare a Chinese meal and then explore the town afterward. There were enough vegetable options and everything was tasted very very good. Brittney had a warm beer and Phillip had some awful Chinese spirit mixed with tea. Drinks were not the highlight.
@Miller
We found another temple and started exploring it. It had brilliant colors and music and incense. We burned some incense and made some prayers. Unfortunately this temple also had stairs-no one wanted to see another stair again. We ignored our hatred for stairs and walked up a few levels. Then, we said no more and headed back. There were sweet biscuits to find after all.
@Marcus
We found the biscuits, although, they were not biscuits at all, they were like peanut toffee. They had a few different options, like sesame, peanut, hazelnut, and some other kind that no one could interpret. They were all good.
Happy to have no leeches on us or in our things, we finally fell asleep for the night. Tomorrow was a few more hours of hiking.
Phillip and Brittney explored the town a little bit more, and then joined some people at an outdoor breakfast spot. There were vegetable steam buns, noodles, fried dough, and pickled vegetables. It was all good. Over breakfast, Brittney asked one of the coordinators if there would be much more 'UP' hiking today. He said, 'No, today is flat'. WONDERFUL!
Everyone packed up again and headed out for day two. Legs were tight but ready for a nice walk on flat land. Then....there were more stairs. Although these were dry, less crowded, and more stable...they were quite vertical and had no end in sight.
Up we went.
It is hard to complain about the exhaustion from this when you are passed by a 70+ year old person carrying two buckets of something on a bamboo pole draped over their shoulders. Or when a monk bows all the way down every three steps until reaching the top. Or, when a monk bows while going down the stairs (Imagine standing at the top of a set of stairs. Then, imaging falling completely forward and catching your self in an inverted push up position. Now imagine doing this all the way down endless stairs).
Eventually, we made it to the top. Throughout our trip, local children would approach you and say hello. It was evident that they were practicing their English, so we would talk to them and ask basic questions. They would become bashful and then mom and dad would snap a picture of them talking to us, or ask to pose for a picture. Brittney thought this was sweet, and then realized it would be equally sweet if she had a picture too. Soon enough, a woman approached a girl in our group and motioned for permission to take a photo together. She did and the woman was happy.
Then, Brittney swooped in on the woman and and motioned for permission to take a photo together. The woman was shocked and apparently thought it was funny-but she obliged and they both were happy.
@Miller
Soon, we realized what we had to face...what goes up must come down. This time, we had to go down the way we came. Fortunately, there were fewer people and most of us got in a quick rhythm and ran down the stairs. Running down was so much easier then going slowly...and the faster you got there, the more time you could stretch and recover.
Once down the stairs, we had to walk down the mountain. It was a bit strange because we mostly walked down a road that cars were driving on. Sometimes we would cut through the switchbacks. On this journey, we saw a large snake from a distance, then were were all more hesitant to cut through...but we cut through anyway.
A few hours walking down and then out of nowhere, our bus driver appears. We settled in, took off our boots, and passed out for the 7 hour drive back to the concrete jungle. When we got to the Metro station, Brittney was thrilled to discover her favorite treat place from our visits to Bahrain. Stick House. Yes, she got the almond, dipped in dark chocolate, covered in pistachios. Bliss!
Then, we turned the corner and was happy to see an ESCALATOR. However, it was a cruel trick. The escalator was broken!
Once we got home, we ordered food and got things ready for work the next day.
On Monday morning, Brittney's alarm went off. She keeps it far away from the bed so that she actually has to get out of bed to shut it off. Rested, the alarm rings and she jumps out of bed as usual. However, upon her feet touching the floor, she realized that her legs were in so much pain she could barely stand. This was repeated when Phillip's alarm rang. And ALL of this was repeated for the whole week. Everything started to feel normal after about six days.
NOTE: some of these photos were taken from members of our group. After the trip ended, we started sharing photos in a group chat, so I am not sure which ones are ours and which ones aren't. The ones I knew I mentioned Miller or Marcus. Like the one below. Technically not a photograph, but Marcus tracked our journey on GPS and sent us this image afterward.
@Marcus
The trip was lovely and we are excited about going on more adventures like this again.
Until next time,
B and P
PS. Here are random photos we forgot to load...
Walking through a village
You may or may not know that we plan to hike and camp through portions of the Pacific Crest Trail (ideally sections of Yosemite and Tahoe). Accomplishing this requires a level of training and preparation. Training and prep was not a viable option while living in Saudi, so this summer we stocked up on gear and planned to hike as much as possible once we got to China.
Our new colleagues were somewhat skeptical, 'You moved to a concrete jungle, a mega city of 24 million people...to hike will require getting out of Shanghai'.
So, we joined a group appropriately named, 'Get The Hell Out Of Shanghai'...it is run by an global minded adventurous couple (he is Chinese, she is French). We embarked on our first hike on the weekend of September 11.
The hike was up Mount Jiuhua in the Anhui Province. It is also known as the Nine Glorious Mountain, one of the most sacred mountains in Chinese Buddhism and it is scattered with various temples. We were a bit anxious about potential crowds because about a week before the trip we were informed that this weekend was the birthday of someone significant and that many people would come to the temples to celebrate.
In total, we were part of a group of sixteen. Phillip and Brittney left school on Friday, came home for about 40 minutes, put on our packs, hopped in a taxi, squeezed into a metro, and met with the other fourteen at the metro station. From there we loaded a bus and drove into the night for about 7 hours. We arrived at a local guesthouse around 1am. Everyone took a quick snooze and was up for breakfast at 6:30.
Breakfast included spicy green beans with garlic, steamed buns, hard boiled eggs, pickled vegetables, and congee (rice porridge).
After breakfast, we hopped back on the bus for a quick ride to the market where we stocked up on water. From there, two small vans (5 passenger) were arranged to take us to the base of the trail. So basically, with all the gear and 16 adults...we were CRAMMED. Phillip was in one van and Brittney had to be in another. Nice knowing you!
We were like sardines up a windy, bumpy, narrow, and muddy (it was raining pretty good by this point) hill. We finally stopped and everyone started to breathe again. Then...we started walking.
It was misty and everything was wet. We walked over rocks, on grass, through trees and jumped over ditches. On our first little stop...someone found leeches on her shoes. Three total. No one told us about leeches. From here on out we were to check and stomp our feet every five minutes, and check the person in front of you (note to self: don't be the last person).
The first hour was decent, the next two and a half were challenging, but the misty weather was in our favor. Brittney quickly realized the difference between hiking, and hiking with a pack. She instantly regretted NOT weighing it. The walking sticks were actually very helpful. But little did we know...this was not even the challenging part.
After the first three hours, we actually learned the meaning of hiking UP. It was almost vertical for quite a stretch. And then, there were the stairs. Up Up Up. Never ending.
At some point, we knew we made it to a temple because there was a happy monk sitting on top of a tree. Yes...
Sitting
On top of
A tree
From there we witnessed some kind of ceremony where they burned paper and so much incense. Relieved that we made it to the top, we knew we had to be close to our next guesthouse. However, what goes up must come down. The crowds were intense, the stairs were slippery, and the legs were shaking when not in motion. Local people would often stare at us for longer then usual-then we realized we were the only non-Chinese people around.
 |
| @Miller |
At some point, we finally made it all the way down the mountain and to the village where our next guesthouse was located. When we arrived into our village town, Brittney smelled something sweet like biscuits, then she saw several vendors cutting these little squares of something. She was determined to find them later. Most of the group agreed to have the host prepare a Chinese meal and then explore the town afterward. There were enough vegetable options and everything was tasted very very good. Brittney had a warm beer and Phillip had some awful Chinese spirit mixed with tea. Drinks were not the highlight.
 |
| @Miller |
 |
| @Marcus |
We found the biscuits, although, they were not biscuits at all, they were like peanut toffee. They had a few different options, like sesame, peanut, hazelnut, and some other kind that no one could interpret. They were all good.
Happy to have no leeches on us or in our things, we finally fell asleep for the night. Tomorrow was a few more hours of hiking.
Phillip and Brittney explored the town a little bit more, and then joined some people at an outdoor breakfast spot. There were vegetable steam buns, noodles, fried dough, and pickled vegetables. It was all good. Over breakfast, Brittney asked one of the coordinators if there would be much more 'UP' hiking today. He said, 'No, today is flat'. WONDERFUL!
Everyone packed up again and headed out for day two. Legs were tight but ready for a nice walk on flat land. Then....there were more stairs. Although these were dry, less crowded, and more stable...they were quite vertical and had no end in sight.
Up we went.
@Miller
Then, Brittney swooped in on the woman and and motioned for permission to take a photo together. The woman was shocked and apparently thought it was funny-but she obliged and they both were happy.
 |
| @Miller |
Soon, we realized what we had to face...what goes up must come down. This time, we had to go down the way we came. Fortunately, there were fewer people and most of us got in a quick rhythm and ran down the stairs. Running down was so much easier then going slowly...and the faster you got there, the more time you could stretch and recover.
Once down the stairs, we had to walk down the mountain. It was a bit strange because we mostly walked down a road that cars were driving on. Sometimes we would cut through the switchbacks. On this journey, we saw a large snake from a distance, then were were all more hesitant to cut through...but we cut through anyway.
A few hours walking down and then out of nowhere, our bus driver appears. We settled in, took off our boots, and passed out for the 7 hour drive back to the concrete jungle. When we got to the Metro station, Brittney was thrilled to discover her favorite treat place from our visits to Bahrain. Stick House. Yes, she got the almond, dipped in dark chocolate, covered in pistachios. Bliss!
Then, we turned the corner and was happy to see an ESCALATOR. However, it was a cruel trick. The escalator was broken!
 |
| RUDE |
Once we got home, we ordered food and got things ready for work the next day.
On Monday morning, Brittney's alarm went off. She keeps it far away from the bed so that she actually has to get out of bed to shut it off. Rested, the alarm rings and she jumps out of bed as usual. However, upon her feet touching the floor, she realized that her legs were in so much pain she could barely stand. This was repeated when Phillip's alarm rang. And ALL of this was repeated for the whole week. Everything started to feel normal after about six days.
NOTE: some of these photos were taken from members of our group. After the trip ended, we started sharing photos in a group chat, so I am not sure which ones are ours and which ones aren't. The ones I knew I mentioned Miller or Marcus. Like the one below. Technically not a photograph, but Marcus tracked our journey on GPS and sent us this image afterward.
 |
| @Marcus |
The trip was lovely and we are excited about going on more adventures like this again.
Until next time,
B and P
PS. Here are random photos we forgot to load...
Temple near our second guesthouse. On the morning walk before breakfast.
Who doesn't like some steamy buns???
Of course, Brittney makes a new friend.
Started at the bottom now we're here.
The Temple at the top of the stairs on day two.
This is an example of what he monks do all the way up and down the stairs.
Would you believe this is China?
Walking through a village
Much more stunning in person. This giant golden statue appeared out of nowhere, we have no idea what it is called or how to find it, yet...
Quick stop along the long flat road. Loving the green.
Kind of reminds us of Waimea Canyon in Kauai...
Until next time folks...
