Evan's Reeducation -- Dominating Dali

Lexi and I returned to Kunming last night after spending four days in and around the city of Dali. We journeyed north on a 4-5 hour bus ride on Monday evening, setting the stage for a true test of how I could handle the Chinese wilderness. The week included a day-long bike ride through endless fields of crops and an array of tiny villages, mostly ridden on terrain not meant for bicycles. In addition, my rented bike was more broken than Lexi's NCAA Tournament Bracket (0 for 8 among the elite 8 for Lexi Rae). But despite the challenges of the grueling ride, it was a very rewarding experience.

The basic plan was to bike around the lake, Erhai Lake, supposedly the 7th largest freshwater lake in China. It was not a small body of water, yet we were determined. Unfortunately, we did not really know where we were going, and in China, asking for multi-step directions, according to Lexi, is entirely unacceptable (more on this ridiculously inefficient cultural method and my other issues with China in another post). So anyway, despite the fact that there was something wrong with my bicycle (mainly, but not limited to, the fact that peddling did not necessarily move the vehicle), we began to traverse absurd obstacles in our quest to venture around this lake. We carried our bikes over rock piles, down steps in villagers' backyards, and during stretches where the "path"--interpret that term loosely-- was no more than a foot wide and veering inches left or right may have meant a 5-6 foot leap into a cliff of crops. We drove past hundreds of farmers working on their land, some who waved as we passed by. We sped past elephant-size piles of manure accompanied by ungodly swarms of flies who seem to like poop a lot more than I do. We would arrive at a dead-end and try something else. It was the ultimate exploration ride, with the caveat that we were mainly trying to go around this lake. And although we felt like roaming nomads at times, we almost always had the view of the city in the distance, probably no more than 3-5 kilometers away at all times. We eventually decided to turn towards the city, as we had been enduring for about 5 hours and were tired and hungry. We found some food, explored some more, and searched for a hotel to spend the night. We ended up staying at a place that was way too nice for us, but we were tired and felt we had earned it.

The following day, we had planned on riding our bikes on the road back to where we rented them from (probably 25-30 kilometers away), but it was not meant to be. After about 5 minutes, I declared that I had had enough of my crappy bicycle. Right around that same moment, Lexi tried to break. It broke, but not in a slowing down the bike kind of way. It was more of a dropping a glass plate from a rooftop onto pavement breakage. And just like that, her bike was semi-unrideable as well. Fortunately, we did find a taxi that put both pieces of junk in the trunk so we could get our substantial deposit back from the orginal rental place.

Back in Old Dali, where we stayed the first night, we walked around a bunch, found some fantastic western pizza for lunch (The establishment was called "Bad Monkey" and the sign out front red "the most pimped out pizza in China"-- Yes, there is photographic evidence of said sign and slogan), and began our trek into the mountainess wilderness. Friends of Lexi's had recommended a place called the HigherLand Inn, which is a very small place for hikers to stay on a nearby mountain. To get to the Inn, we hiked about 90 minutes up a fairly steep trail in the late afternoon (it was still scorching hot), and we discovered this incredibly awesome place (Link for anyone interested: http://www.higherland.com/eabout%20us/index.htm) I think there are only seven rooms available, yet there is basic electricity and a shower and bathroom. Everyone kinda ate together in the main cabin, where the food was almost always very tasty. At our first dinner, we shared some great conversations with travelers from all over the world. During our two days there, we had enjoyable chats with folks from Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, France, Quebec, Scotland, and England.

After a peaceful night's rest snuggled in a few different blankets to stay warm during the chilly conditions, we embarked on, quite possibly, the greatest hike that either of us have ever experienced. In majestic terms, this was not close to the Grand Canyon or Bryce Canyon or perhaps even some of the magnificent climbs we've conquered in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. However, never before had we started a climb at 2,600 meters, with a goal of ascending to a peak of 4,100 meters, or over 12,000 feet. Acting as our own sherpas, we began our journey a little before 9am. Despite encountering steep challenges, snow/ice covered sections of the trail, gargantuan winds near the peaks that nearly blew us away, and somewhat excruciating headaches due in large part to the elevation/lack of oxygen, we returned to the HigherLand Inn around 7:20PM. We were victorious. We summitted two separate peaks higher than 12,000 feet during our approximately 10.5 hour trek. It was an exhaustingly satisfying accomplishment, and we both slept around 11 hours the ensuing night.

The next morning, nearly afternoon following our late sleep, we descended back down the mountain and said farewell to the HigherLand Inn. With sore legs, we strolled the few kilometers back to the main town where we'd be able to find a bus ticket back to Kunming. I doubt many reading this blog will ever have the chance to bike around Erhai Lake or summit the nearby mountains that overlook it. But the entire adventure was a pretty crazy experience.

The legs are still sore. But that's ok.