China! - The Great Bend of the Yangtze
After 2 days of traveling and layovers arriving in China was much like the old adage of having a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. Much to my surprise, all of our kayaks and bags arrived on time as well. Great success!
Our arrival city was Kunming and it was a short 45 minute drive to our destination of Lijang. It is amazing how 12 hours in an airplane can place you into another world. The 3rd world experience before my eyes on the drive to Lijang was well beyond my expectations. The vehicles the farmers drive all have the exact same little 2 stroke engine and frame. The engine is also used for just about anything that requires power so when you pass an engine shop you see the same parts and same gaskets all made for this one engine.
Just as fast as we passed through the farmlands we landed in Lijang which is currently a tourist city that has preserved its historic and cultural roots. On one side of the city "the old town" the streets are very small and made of stone, the shops and restaurants are rustic and rich with Naxi art. A small stream guides the streets through the old town. On the other side of the city you see the modern emerging world with designer stores, supermarkets, banks, stoplights etc. Spending 2 nights here was plenty as we were a ll very anxious to begin our 10 day river trip on the great bend.
First stop on the road to the Yangtze was the Tiger Leaping Gorge. The gorges name evolved from an old legend that a tiger was seen jumping from one side of the gorge to a rock in the middle of the river and then up to the other side of the gorge. After seeing the place of this occurance i find it pretty hard to believe but the legend seems very real in the eyes of the local guides.
After entering the gorge via mini van we arrived at our hostel which was tucked into the walls of the gorge like a baby kangaroo. Eating dinner that evening gave a feeling similar to what u would expect from a bivvy ledge on el capitan. Looking across the table all I could see were the walls of the gorge. The next morning we made the arduous trek down into the gorge following the roar below. Along the way we passed through terraces galore, farms and the "oh so common" Chinese barterer. We paid an initial admission to he gorge but as we escended through the tiny villages we were halted by a man in a suit worth of a salvation army sale rack. These suits are the remaining signs of the formerchinese leader Moa Tse-tung who required all citizens to wear suits. This man requested an additional fee to hike into the gorge becausenhis family maintains the path. We negotiated a fair price and were on our way.
Weaving through the mine shaft size pathwayscut into the limestone walls we arrived at the rivers edge. The power of this section of riclvernis nearly indescribable in words or photos. It rumbles through my body evoking the chills of adrenaline, excitement, fear and serenity all in one. I can only hope to return one day to share this majestic place with others. After spending time absorbing the moments I prepared myself for the stout hike out of the gorge. It was possible to return he way we came but that would be exhausting. The other option was to go vertical up the "sky ladder" which was a homemade ladder system that seemedjusy about strongenough to hold a newborn and had enough gaps in proteciontl that an elephant would find it's way through! Spending on more eve inthe gorge we were on our way to the yangtze. I am going to give my account of the yangtze but I really hope you will get the chance to read what some of the students wrote about their trip for he journalism class. It talks a lot about the current state of affairs on the great bend as well as documentation of some local dialogues on the damming. www.wckaeast2west.blogspot.com
As culture rich as the trip has been to date I was eager to get a taste of thenchina whiteater. The great bend is known for it's stunning scenery, remoteness, history and huge rapids. I was not let down. We put on he river at a current mining site that was new inthe last few months. Travis Winn of Last Descents suggesed of was a mine now by it is probably the making of a future dam. The workers were extremely curious and buthe time we were ready to put on we had a stadium full of Chinese fans observing our launch. Paddling away shore wedrifted past the kinesite as al the machine workers and laborers aborted work to wave us farewell. Apparanty a river trip with Americans is the equivalent to me or u meeting Obama. Paddling around the first bend the gorge began to narrow and tower above our head exiting us from common terrain to that of a new surreal landscape.
Dropping into the first big rapid was a rush to remember. The power ofnthe water between the walls is much more real while passing through in a tiny Tupperware container more commonly known as a freestlye kayak. The day on the water passed with no casualties just loads of big water fun. Pulling into our campsite was quite exciting as well. I did not expect such an enormous gathering of sand but based onthe size of the gorge and it's few outlets for wind it made sense. I quickly found the perfect spot to sleep perched on a rock overlookig the beach and over crew members. The picture describes it better.
The next morning I had the urge to hike to the highest peak around Whig was 2500 feet from the river. Reachin the summit with a view of the river valley below and the towering snow capped peaks Inge distance I felt this was the ideal place for my nana to begin her journey throuh china as well.
The next 7 days were filled with great rapids, evening jam sessions by the sandy fireplaces, cultural and industrial learning experiences, and just pure undistracted peace of mind. Obama inauguration, the Chinese new year, and other major occurances happened while I was tucked away on one of the worlds most enchanted valleys. It makes you wonder if all that jazz is really that important? Kinda reminds me of the question, "if a tree falls in he woods miles away from any person does it still make a sound.?"
I have been blessed win this opportunoty and every minute of this experience is shedding a new light on my perspective of life and my own existence. I think eveyone could use an opportunity like this to just step away from everything familiar and go back to being a kid again. Remember how fun that was?
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