Team Black Dog Does China: Day 5

Waking up today was somewhat bittersweet. Yes we got to take on another spectacular section of the Great Wall but today would be our final encounter with it's wonder, majesty, and all-around awesomeness. Were we really nearing the end already? It had all been moving a bit too fast for our liking.
The bus dropped us in the heart of a small village right at the base of the hill, which looked far more like a mountain. From there we walked upward. And upward. And upward along a skinny paved path that seemed to tilt upward at roughly, say, an 87 degree angle. Little trucks and tractors zoomed by, raising the question of whether or not it would be alright to hop in back and ride up to the wall itself. "No," we said. This is a charity challenge and we are here to kick some great wall butt for Black Dog!
The paved path devolved into an off-road slippery, rocky track that the group had nicknamed "goat tracks." Still, upward we went deep into the fog (or smog, no one can be sure) for a solid 90 minutes before catching our first glimpse of the wall itself. It wasn't a slow and steady appearance either. Instead it was more of a BOOM, there is the bloody Great Wall of China!
We ducked through a small pathway and up onto the wall itself. As Unfazed Beauty (Vicki) turned her head to see the stairs that meandered up and over the ridge ahead she turned to me and said "Kyle, what are you trying to do? Kill me?" Actually, she said something entirely different but I can't reprint it here. In fact, it can probably never be reprinted anywhere ever but you catch my drift.
The rest of the group had begun their upward sojourn of what we would soon count to be just over 1,000 steps in total, climbing from 500 meters to 1,000 meters above sea level! Now let me break this down for you. That is the equivalent of climbing the staircase of a 100-story building. How is THAT for exercising your mood?!

The look of relief, success, and sheer joy on the team's face at the top was incredible. It felt like a serious success and the entire team - Amy, Tracy, Libby, Jules, Geraldine, Hayley, Stef, Sam, Nick, and Vicki all looked so relieved, so happy, and so sweaty. My goodness it was humid! Naturally, Vicki our Unfazed Beauty still looked as if nothing had happened.

From there it was up and over an even higher ridge, down a bend, across a valley, and up to another tower perched at the highest point of this section of the wall. This last spot offered some of the most spectacular views of the Great Wall on our entire trip and it was the perfect place to begin our decent, which was a slip-sliding good time. A recent rain storm had left the track quite slick, which left Libby on her bum more than once. Meanwhile, Stef continued her trend of odd short-term injuries. First it was a mosquito bite on her face. This time around it was a fire ant bite to her right thumb. Don't worry, she recovered just fine! Special shout out to Jules, Libby, Nick, and Geraldine for doing an incredible job of supporting Amy (our Barbie girl scared of heights and descents) all the way to the bottom. We really have become a team and it just feels great!
At this stage we had been walking just under 7 hours. Nearly the entire group opted to continue on another two and a half hours to another section of the wall, where they rock-climbed up and on to a very unrestored and very remote section of the wall before descending back into the valley and into our guesthouse.
Tonight would be our furthest departure from our creature comforts. No hot water, no western toilets, no air conditioning, and no towels (oops, we forgot those too!). Thankfully, the beer flowed freely and we were able to both make and devour our very own egg and chive dumplings!
The evening brought about fantastic discussion about our favorite travel spots, our least favorite travel spots, stories of love and broken hearts, reflections on enduring relationships, wisdom from the more experienced to the less experienced, and reminders of our seemingly never ending stream of inside jokes. This element of familiarity and fast friendship is probably my favorite aspect of our Inspired Adventures. You can take 10 near strangers, chuck them in a foreign land together, and within days they will think like a team, act like a family, and joke like lifelong friends. No doubt there will be plenty of post-trip reunions happening. I believe the first is already set, as Vicki has invited all of us out to her place for the weekend. Get ready John, Alex, and Emma. We are coming!!!

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Kyle Taylor

Location:Fanqi Hwy,Beijing,China

Team Black Dog Does China: Day 4

If I had to pick a theme for the day, it would be stairs. Stairs up, stairs down, just endless stairs. We awoke prepped for a recovery day of 2-3 hours trekking through the core of Jishanling great wall - a section known for it's steep inclines, plunging descents, and incomparable beauty. A big breakfast of tomato, spam, toast, and eggs left us all wanting though the genuine real-deal espresso machine meant there were 10 very happy, very energized Australians fully caffeinated and ready to climb.
It's difficult to describe what slogging up and down the great wall is like. I take that back. It's actually quite easy. Imagine you are on a stair master climbing up and up and up yet feeling as if you are not really getting anywhere. Now make those steps going both up and done at random intervals. Now make them 60 centimeters tall. Now do that for 5 hours. BOOM, you are ready to take on the great wall!
Thankfully, we had two major advantages today. The first was a group (read: army) of Finnish tourists all kitted out with poles, gloves, bladders, hats, wicking shirts, and so forth wandering aimlessly along one tenth the expanse we were covering. They were truly living the saying "all the gear, no idear." They made us feel even more awesome. After all, we had none of the gear and no idear. At least we're honest.
The second was a genuine army of Hubei farmer's wives who fawned, fanned, and in some cases carried us up, over, around, down and through the day's trekking. They. Were. Legendary. Su-li found our Julie and that became a whole thing: " You are Julie? I am Su-li! No way! Giggle giggle giggle." When we came up short, a few of us would share a local. No pair of us got closer that dear Vicki and her lady friend Julong.
Julong spotted Vicki early on, honed in, and spent the next three hours sweet talking dear Vicki with a helping hand, regular fanning, and colorful chatter. By the end she was calling Vicki her zui pengyou, or very best friend. Before long they felt like part of the group; old friends you share a laugh with over a leisurely stroll along China's famed Great Wall.
Our trekking ended before lunch. We quickly showered and packed, ate lunch with the same local family we had dined with the night before, and hopped on the bus to zoom onward. This afternoon we had a few hours of free time, which found the now well-trained group wandering around the hotel aimlessly asking me "Kyle, what do I dooooooo??? I don't know how to plan my own time now. Entertain me Kyle! Entertain me!"
We finished the night with yet another incredible dinner, wonderful conversation, and a game of spoons. Word to the wise: don't play spoons with a group of high-functioning type-A charity challenge participants. It can lead to minor flesh wounds, hurt feelings, and someone laying bum-up on the floor after having been thrown from the circle while searching for a spoon. And that's before the game even starts!
Todays special shout-out goes to Stef, who pushed through despite a very swollen good knee and used a bag of frozen dumplings as an ice pack in the absence of the real deal. Doing it all for Black Dog! Onward to our longest and most intense trek tomorrow. GO TEAM!

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Kyle Taylor

Location:Mutianyu Rd,Beijing,China

Team Black Dog Does China: Day 3

As we entered day three, we knew it was about to get serious. Day 1 Wass Beijing, day 2 was our intro to the wall, and day 3 was the real deal: 16 kilometers, 6 hours, 12 people, and 1 incredibly flavorsome satchel of crackers each.
We began by crisscrossing through corn fields as we wound our way up the steep path leading to the Great Wall. Our trek today began on a less restored (read: barely there) section of the wall that is nearly 500 years old. The off-road hiking was tough, with steep inclines and slippery rocks courtesy of a rain storm the day before.
The gang took it in stride, with Vicki continuing her trend of looking perfect regardless of the intensity of our trek, the temperature, or the humidity levels. Stef and Geraldine stayed close together while Julia, Amy, Tracy, and Libby fleshed out the core portion of the group. Both Hayley and Sam (who somehow managed to misplace her boots in a bout of bijou-induced frolicking the night before) trekked right up with our local guide. Pictures were bountiful though it seemed the intensity of the walk combined with misty weather did encourage a touch more focus on the steps ahead.
While everyone did a fantastic job and stuck together, a special shout out goes to Amy who, with the help of several fellow trekkers conquered her fear of heights and kicked some serious great wall booty today. Her nickname is Barbie and we came up with our own rendition of Barbie Girl in her honor:

I'm a Barbie Girl, in a China World
Conquer the Great Wall, Know That I Won't Fall!

A final shout out goes to Nick (doing his J'amaie from Summer Heights High impression here) who entertained us for hours on the bus with his brilliant iPod-assisted versions of Defying Gravity and Grease Lighting. You sir, are a legend. We are all geared up for tomorrow!

GO TEAM!

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Kyle Taylor

Location:352 Provincial Rd,Chengde,China

Team Black Dog Does China: Volume 2

Our second full day together at Team Black Dog brought loads more memories, laughs and, of course, PICTURES. Naturally, Vicki (aka Unfazed Beauty) showed up to breakfast looking far too put together for someone about to trek across the Great Wall. After taking on the elevator crowds of the Dongfang Hotel (2 elevators, 500 tourists, the same departure time), we slowly pulled away from the curb and out of bustling Beijing.
You can literally watch as high rises melt away to low rises. The low rises disappear into single-story shops which, before long, devolve into rolling fields, dirt roads, and a return to a more traditional take on modern China. The fact that these two elements of the same society coexist mere miles from each other is not only fascinating but a welcome reminder of just how complex China really is.
Our lengthy bus journey was filled with the sounds of snoring (thank you Amy and Libby), eating (Thank you Geraldine and Julia), political commentary (thank you Stef and Sam), and long drawn out rounds of innuendo involving a camel bak bladder, a new hose, and an unlit mouthpiece that just needed to be sucked on a little bit harder (thank you Vicki).
We toured the Qing tombs, we ate a bountiful lunch, and we determined the best formation from which one can take a picture of someone taking a picture of something taking a picture of someone before finally reaching the wall in the early afternoon.
Just as I had experienced with every person I have ever taken to the Great Wall, jaws dropped, eyes widened, and everyone was incredibly overwhelmed. No photo I have ever seen does the Great Wall justice and to this day it remains the most remarkable site I have ever seen.
We proceeded to snake down it's craggy spine deep into the valley then back up again before finishing our several-hour walk at our hotel - a maze like structure nestled in the foothills alongside the wall itself. Our evening finished with a delectable dinner at a very local restaurant just near our hotel. Both on the way there and on the way back, I hid in the shadows of our building and scared the living daylight out of Vicki. Sometimes, it's the little things. More soon!

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Kyle Taylor

Location:305 Provincial Rd,Beijing,China

Two Blogs for Black Dog!

There are two blogs going for Black Dog! You can check the other one too at:

http://blog.blackdog.org.au

Rock on!

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Kyle Taylor

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Read more at kyletaylor.com