Middle TLG Hiking
May 22, 2009
My first hike. No paved roads, no well-defined paths. Soil, sand, dust, rocks, stones and horse shit. Not easy, but scenery along the way was beautiful and our guide was a nice lady who made the whole experience memorable. Major mishaps and accidents ahead.
Most perilous ride of my life. This driver is damn zai. Been driving for 8 years. Each turn he made, I feel like we're going to fly off the cliff bcos he didn't slow down at all. After the ride, I asked him if any vehicles fell off the cliff before he said never. I felt quite relieved after hearing it but he continued and said "very very very seldom".
Tina's is a very popular stopover at Middle TLG.
That's what we see when we open our door
But I strongly do not recommend this hostel. Do not be deceived by "Tasty Western & Chinese meals".
Food is scarce here as we're high up on the mountains. We could only eat at Tina's as there's nothing nearby. We ate our lunch with one hand while swatting flies with the other.
Normal and decent. Don't expect much in remote places.
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Going down was more difficult than climbing up. For me. My knees and toes were sore from trying to avoid slipping and falling. I think it has got to do with my shoes. I developed a huge blister underneath my big toe at the end of the hike.
They earn a living by carrying people who have difficulties going up/down
It's exhausting enough to make your way up by yourself, not to mention carry another heavy burden up. Tough...
张老师家/Teacher Zhang's Guest House
(Maybe you would want to consider staying here instead of Tina's)
Carefreeness
That's what we see when we open our door
But I strongly do not recommend this hostel. Do not be deceived by "Tasty Western & Chinese meals".
Food is scarce here as we're high up on the mountains. We could only eat at Tina's as there's nothing nearby. We ate our lunch with one hand while swatting flies with the other.
Normal and decent. Don't expect much in remote places.
Xiao Luo (nickname 熊大妈) helps out at Tina's and guides people down to the valley for 80 yuan per trip. She's a Miao minority and lives in the village (核桃园) nearby. I think she looks like my rugby coach Ke Hui, especially her smile. She just went down and up in the morning and she's bringing us down for the second time in a day. Damn fit. She would offer to carry your belongings and hold your hand if you need assistance. Not forgetting helping you to take photos.
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There are two routes to choose - up or down. After the gruesome bicycle ride at Xizhou, we decided not to make things too difficult for ourselves so we chose to go down the valley. The part circled in red was the route we took. Looks simple and short but hell no. By the way, there are hardcore backpackers who trek for a few days from the left side of map (Upper TLG) all the way to the right side (Lower TLG).
Going down was more difficult than climbing up. For me. My knees and toes were sore from trying to avoid slipping and falling. I think it has got to do with my shoes. I developed a huge blister underneath my big toe at the end of the hike.
They earn a living by carrying people who have difficulties going up/down
It's exhausting enough to make your way up by yourself, not to mention carry another heavy burden up. Tough...
张老师家/Teacher Zhang's Guest House(Maybe you would want to consider staying here instead of Tina's)
Carefreeness
The map was very accurate. It takes 1hr30mins to reach the bottom. That huge boulder behind me is believed to be the spot where a tiger leaped across the river hence the name Tiger Leaping Gorge.
He kept asking me if he could go fill up a bottle of ice mountain water
I said go ahead but I'm not going to drink it
Roaring rapid water
金沙江/Jinsha River
Deep down in the valley
We look really happy don't we?
We stood waiting for two girls to finish snapping their pictures when 熊大妈 saw three rocks falling down, almost hitting one of them. We didn't notice anything at all and she didn't tell us about it at that point in time and simply instructed us to get ready and walk fast. During the dash, I got a cut from the jutting metal wires I grabbed hold of in order to catch my balance.
Do Re Mi
There are two 90 degree ladders enroute up. One is longer that goes straight up without having to go roundabout. It's compulsory to do the vertical challenge else you can't go back up. The board writes that completing the ascent will bring good luck in career and love.
Bcos of my hand we had to do the shorter ladder. Abit scary but still manageable!
There are two 90 degree ladders enroute up. One is longer that goes straight up without having to go roundabout. It's compulsory to do the vertical challenge else you can't go back up. The board writes that completing the ascent will bring good luck in career and love.
Bcos of my hand we had to do the shorter ladder. Abit scary but still manageable!
The two girls who almost got hit by the falling rocks chose to do the longer ladder. They were scared and asked this guy to go up with them. He's a warrior. Fought in the war before. He told us one of them was shaking very badly while climbing up.
The next accident that happened was I smashed my hair clip into two as I banged into the boulders when 熊大妈 cautioned us to mind our heads just 5 seconds ago.
Such bridges are constructed by the people living here. The paths along the way and signages are managed by the villagers. They don't get any money or subsidy from the govt hence they charge tolls (过路费) on tourists.
Last glance before heading back up
That bridge
is this
That bridge
is this
The most unforgettable part of this hike was sitting in the wilderness, feeling the breeze and listening to 熊大妈's stories. One was about a Korean tourist who got drunk and charged into her house, messed up her place and frightened her family members. She was really very angry and wanted to box him.
In the early 1990s when this place was still relatively undeveloped, backpackers started coming here to hike. She told us that people were very scared of them. "鬼子来了! 他们拿着机关枪来了!" They thought the ang mohs have come to slay them and they mistook their walking sticks as machine guns.
Unfortunately, the day didn't end on a good note. At night, he started feeling very uncomfortable and vommitted 3 times. We reckoned it must be the dinner at Tina cos that's the only food we had here. Helluva night for him and more to come...
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