Great Wall

The Great Wall


The Great Wall is something Toriann and I have been talking about for a few years now. We always said that one day we would make there and hike the Great Wall together. When we both decided to teach in Korea we naturally assumed this would be the time to go to the Great Wall. We began planning our trip to China a few months ago and quickly realized we might not actually get to go together to the Great Wall. I was flying to Shanghai first with my cousin and Toriann was meeting Mark in Beijing. Mark and Torainn were planning on going to a guest house near the Great Wall for two nights, and it was not the part of the Wall the tour buses traveled to. Before leaving Shanghai to go Beijing Beth, Casey and I had decided we would join a tour group and head to the Great Wall on Thursday. When we got to Beijing and begun talking to Toriann and Mark they informed us their plans had changed a bit and thought it would be a good idea for us all to head to the Great Wall together and have lunch with them at their guest house. This idea made both Toriann and I very excited, it meant we were going to experience the Great Wall together after all the years of talking about it. The driver came got us at 8 am and Casey was supposed to meet us, but due to some complications she ended up not coming and it was just the four of us. We were a little unsure exactly where we were going to be dropped off once we got to the Great Wall and how much we were actually going to want to hike of it since it was so ridiculously hot! After about a 3 1/2 hour drive we arrived at the guest house. We stepped out of the van and the first thing I saw was the Great Wall. The weather turned out not to be quiet as hot as excepted and we were excited for the hike in front of us. We all decided where our final destination should be when hiking; it was the highest watch tower we could spot from the guest house. Since we were beginning the hike from the guest house, this meant there was so no one else around. The section of the Great Wall is not usually too crowded to start off with, but it is closed right now to the public unless you are staying at the guest house. They are doing some repairs to that section of the Wall, which at first made me a little nervous, but once on the Wall I realized it was just fine. The first part of the hike was probably the worst part; It had the steepest inclines of that section of the Wall. Once we finally got past this section we were drenched in sweat from head to toe, but there was a cool breeze, so it made the hike bearable. We hiked about 2 hours to get to our final spot, stopping numerous times to take pictures and just take in what we were seeing. Once we reached our final destination, we celebrated with our Oreo cookies we bought at the hostel earlier in the morning. The hike on the Great Wall was probably one of the greatest traveling moments of my life. I feel so blessed to have been able to share that moment with Toriann and my cousin. I could not have asked for better people to hike the wall with or a better experience. Before going to China I imagined I would be on some tour with 1,000s of other people trying to cram for a spot to take a picture on the Great Wall. Instead, I was able to hike the Wall without seeing another person the entire time.
After our hike we went back to the guest house where we had the best Chinese food I have ever tasted in my life. It was the perfect way to end our perfect experience on the Great Wall. Beth and I left after lunch and returned back to Beijing. On our drive back we reflected again on how surreal the whole day was and just how fortunate we were to share this moment together.