Day One
After bumming around Lijiang for a couple days, we were ready to leave the theme park and go back to China. We took a bus to the tiny town of Qiatou, the start of the Tiger Leaping Gorge trail. The Gorge is where the Jinsha Jiang (headwaters of the Yangtze River) cuts between two massive mountain ranges. On either side of the river are 15,000+ peaks and the trail winds about 3.000 feet above the river. We got a bit of a late start that day, following the often nonsensical signs in Chinese that pointed out the way. We didn't get too far down the trail before we met a friendly Irish couple. We got to chatting and stopped at a small guesthouse for a couple beers, which turned into multiple beers, dinner, great conversation, an impromptu guitar concert, and gazing at the brilliant stars atop a pile of corn before falling asleep.
Day Two
The four of us managed to get an early start the next morning,
despite the carnage of beer bottles and empty packs of horrible Chinese cigarettes that we left in our wake. The trail was brutally uphill for a couple hours, but then we turned a corner, and the view of the gorge, mountains, and valley below were worth every bit of the effort. We again intended to put in a full day of hiking, but mid-afternoon we stopped at a guesthouse for a drink and snack, and found the views so incredible that we were reluctant to leave. There was a rooftop patio from which you could practically touch Jade Dragon Snow mountain. Even the toilets had beautiful views! We booked a room where we had a gorgeous mountain view from our bed and celebrated with a glass of wine on the roof patio. Many other hikers arrived that night and we had a great time getting to know a few new friends.Day Three
The next morning we slept in a bit and left the guesthouse after most of our new friends. The last part of the trail was very steep. At one point, a huge waterfall cascaded right onto the trail and we carefully had to pick our way through the pool, trying not to look at the 1000 or so feet that we would fall if we followed the water. The trail ended too so
on, and before we knew it we were reunited with our friends at the end of the trail. We decided to continue the adventure and hike down the very steep and treacherous trail to the elevation of the river. The trip down was harrowing, especially the parts where we had to lower ourselves down the cliff face on rickety ladders. At one point the path bifurcated and a sign let us know we could take our choice of "Safe Path" or "Dangerous Ladder". The roar of the river, squished between two mountain ranges, was deafening and certainly certain death to anyone who ventured in for a dip. After hauling ourselves back up 3,000 vertical feet out of the gorge, our sweaty, grubby group got our egos bruised slightly when we saw spotless Chinese women coming up the same trail we had just climbed, decked out in Gucci clothes and very non-sensible shoes.
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