Trek China – 18th to30th April 2018

Trek China – 18 to 30 April 2018

A big ‘thank you’ for all your support and words of encouragement to myself and the team throughout our Great Wall of China trek.

Day 1. We arrive in China and complete our first day in glorious sunshine.

This challenging trek takes in stretches both of well-restored wall, as well as ancient unrestored sections in quieter locations, to give a balanced experience of history and culture. The trekking will be tough, the ascents and descents are steep with lots of steps to climb as the wall follows the local topography. Our rewards will panoramic views over the hilly Chinese countryside, a mixture of rocky ridges, terraced farmland, dense forest and open rolling hills.

Day 2. The first challenge was preparing a packed lunch with chopsticks and a spoon. It then became a lot more challenging as we trekked along a less tourist, unreconstructed route in constant rain. After drying off, the evening was spent having a lesson in mahjong.

The Great Wall of China was first started in the C7th BC. Little of that remains, but the majority of what is there was built during the Ming Dynasty in the C14th. While you can’t actually see it from space, contrary to popular myth, it is none-the-less an astonishing feat of human engineering that stretches in total to 13,171 miles if you include all its branches.

Day 3. We take on the very challenging 302 steps of the ‘Stairway to Heaven’. Evening activity was the popular Chinese pastime of paper cutting.

Day 4. Trekking a remote part of the wall away from the tourist areas, hardly a soul in sight. Spectacular views and hairy moments. Laura tried to hitch a lift from a statue but no go there!

Day 5. Trekking very steep terrain, non-stop steps, 30 watch towers, intense heat. This is certainly NOT a relaxing holiday. We’re so proud of our amazing team and they’re still smiling!

Day 6 – WE DID IT!! 6 days, 98 km, 75 watch towers and a few sore feet. Thanks to Laura and her wonderful friends for making this happen and raising a huge amount of money in memory of John. There were parts today so steep some had to come down on their backsides but all in a good cause.

The time now is for celebrations and a few days sightseeing before coming home.

It’s not too late to sponsor the team, please go to https://www.justgiving.com/johnkingbraintumourfoundation