The Great Wall

On our last day in Beijing, we hiked the Great Wall. The wall is almost 9,000 kilometers long, so there are a number of different paths tourists can take while hiking. We signed up for a tour through our hostel described as being less touristy and featured more of the older parts of the wall; somewhat of a "backroad." I was completely unprepared for what was to come. First of all, it was totally breathtaking. It seemed like it went on for eternity. Not to mention walking on something with so much history is somewhat overwhelming. Here are some pictures, they definitely do not capture the experience, though.







(Insert awkward tourist picture here)



Another aspect that really took me by surprise was the "hiking" part. I thought that walking the wall consisted of a long, but mostly leisurely, stroll on a path that had some rolling hills. Yeah, no. We began the journey with a climb and I knew I was in for a real treat for the next 6 hours. Many of the parts were almost completely vertical, with stairs coming up to my hips. This is no exaggeration. I was panting and sweating the majority of the time.







Did I mention that I fell? Because I did. I kept thinking that the path was a lawsuit waiting to happen because it was full of loose rocks, divets,steep ups and downs, basically anything conducive to injury. I don't really know if that applies in Communist China though...
I may have acquired permanent knee damage, but hey, at least I got a good glut workout in.