It was about 9.30 when I left Janes’s Guesthouse to start my trek. I was looking forward to getting started because it was quite noisy due to the amount of civil engineering work that is taking place. They are blasting a road through the mountains and building a bridge across the gorge to make it easier for the millions that will no doubt come in the future. I heard 2 blasts as I walked up the gorge.

The walk up the main road to the start of the Gorge walk is quite far and you have no choice but to share it with these huge trucks that are fully laden coming down this very steep hill and of course the empty ones are heading up. The dust they kick up is dreadful and so I was quite keen to get onto the path.  But finding the path

was a little bit easier said than done.

I came across the this house with a message on the side and so I asked them and they pointed me in the right direction. I’d been walking up this hill for about 45 mins before I even got to the start of the path.

This was it. It started off quite easy, but I had a very large backpack on which was not particularly heavy at the start but after an hour or so I was beginning to regret bringing my thermals and everything else, but they had predicted cold weather and I was not sure where I would be staying yet.

The path continued up and was not so easy at times and then it began to widen. Underfoot it was dust and gravel and so you still had to be careful. My old boots are two years old and I have been saving them for this trip because they are very comfortable and this of course will be their swansong. The higher you go the better the view of course and also the terrain changes and I come across a goat herder with his goats of having lunch.

His office is quite spectacular. When I reached a small hut I stopped for a breather and also to check on the route because it was not so obvious here. I was joined and then passed by a young couple which made it a little easier as I could follow them, hoping of course they knew the way.

I made it to the Naxi Guest House for lunch, this is where most people will stop. I’d been walking for 3 hours which is quite slow by all accounts. The food was good and the local Yunnan coffee was just what I needed. I went to the loo before leaving and you have to be careful you don’t fall into the trough and end up down the hill somewhere.

After here it was onwards and upwards and the dreaded 28 bends. It was getting steeper and a bit rougher underfoot and then the path began to snake up the hill. I deliberately decide not to count the bends because I did not want to know how much pain I might still have to go through.

Thankfully as you continue along the path you have these signs to guide you. I’d been walking for what seemed an eternity when I came across a small hut and the women was selling food and supplies. The sign on the side of the house, which I forgot to capture, said “fuel up for the 28 bends” I thought Fuck Fuck, really………”I haven’t even started the bends yet” The sun had moved into the gorge by now and was beating down making the experience all that more difficult and tiring. Mind you there was one thing on the menu that might have helped, she was selling Cannabis.

I had bought a bamboo stick from a woman previously and I’m glad I did because this is where it began to come into it’s own. Using both my hands to give me purchase as I slowly made my way up the 28 bends. My legs were beginning to tire and my energy was running low but at least I still had the scenery for inspiration. I stopped many times catching my breath but it didn’t matter when the view is this good. A young couple that had passed me at the start of the bends were telling me they wanted to get to the Halfway Guest House but there was no way I would make that one. My only choice was to make it to the Tea Horse Guest House.

At the top of the 28 bends there is another old woman selling drinks and supplies. She tells me to sit and rest and I don’t need any encouragement, I’m knackered. We have a chat and she tells me that she has to walk 2 hours back to here home every day and this means she has to walk up and down those 28 bends. She doesn’t look it but she must a lot fitter than me. She also tells me that if I want to take a picture of the gorge here I must pay here 10 RMB, which I do because I thought if she has to make this effort every day and there has not been many walkers this day. A lot of the people I spoke to really grudge having to pay these small tolls that you may incur along the way but I thought what an effort just to get here and so I gave her 10 RMB for the view.

I asked her how far I had to go to the Tea Horse and she told me another 90 mins which I was not happy hearing. It was still onwards and upwards and so I got back on me feet and headed off once more. My back pack felt as if someone had stuck a few lead weights in while I wasn’t looking.

It was nearly 5 pm when the Tea Horse came into sight and it was such a relief to see it. I just wanted a hot shower and food. I checked in and at 158 RMB a bit expensive but I guess they can when you are the only place for miles. I paid it and then went for a bowl of Yak meat and rice and a beer.

I met a young French couple and we chatted over dinner until the sun went down. When it did all the heat went too and so we all went our separate ways. I was really looking forward to a hot shower and so I got my kit off and headed for the shower. No hot water, fuck it I’m going to bed. I’ll put on the electric blanket. Fuck it, it’s not working. Thermals on and then sleep.

I woke up in the middle of the night listening to the windows rattle and the door thump. The wind was howling through the gorge. I got up and fixed the door and then back to bed.