Australian adventurer Mark Scholinz is setting off on an arduous six month solo trek from Jiayuguan to Shanhaiguan along the Great Wall of China, covering some 4,000 kilometres and in the process helping to raise funds for struggling communities in the developing world.
Read Mark’s posts as he walks below | More about the trek
The happy dance!
Posted by Mark on Tuesday December 18, 2007
I’ve made it! Old Dragons Head, Shanhaiguan. Damn! I’ve just completed the ‘happy dance’, or in my case the ‘happy shuffle’ to the tune of ‘Little Green Bag’ (Reservoir Dogs soundtrack) echoing in my head. Amazingly, I have ‘Old Dragons Head’ to myself. There isn’t a single person on the ‘peninsula’ with me. To make things even better it’s a stunning day.
It’s been a bloody long haul… 4800km and 9 months of trekking. I can hardly believe that I’m here. It’s actually quite overwhelming. Not sure how I feel at the moment. It all seems a bit surreal. I guess...
Just a quick note.
Posted by Mark on Monday December 17, 2007
Just wanted to let everyone know that I’m not going to make ‘Old Dragons Head’‘ Shanhaiguan today. But tomorrow is a definite. I’ll try to make a more detailed journal update tonight. Well… Best get crack’n!
Door bangers
Posted by Mark on Saturday December 15, 2007
Today I got a glimpse of the wall that I detoured around. Pretty serious stuff. It may have been possible for a team of mountaineers to cross but I think I would have had zero chance, even in good weather.
Tomorrow I’ll be on the wall again. If I move fast there is a slim chance that I will be in Shanhaiguan in two days time. I’m not too concerned though if it takes longer. After all, what’s a day or two in the scheme of things… especially after nine months.
Tonight I found a basic guest house to stay in. It’s...
Can't smell the ocean just yet.
Posted by Mark on Friday December 14, 2007
The snow and ice has made things difficult, especially when going down hill. But at the same time it has made a nice change to the scenery. One thing I can say, I’m a bit reluctant to crawl out of my sleeping bag in the morning. Yesterday it was still only -4C at 10am!
Ahead of me is an obstacle. A bloody big and steep mountain. After a bit of deliberation I decided to detour around the base of the mountain. It would have been extremely challenging to cross in summer conditions. The snow and ice would have made it near...
My first adventure.
Posted by Mark on Tuesday December 11, 2007
Yesterday was a bugger of a day. It was freezing cold and it snowed for the entire day. Visibility was often less then 100m and I was forced to make my way along a road. Today however was a beauty. It was still unbelievably cold but the sun was out and the snow gave the countryside a fairy tale look.
I decided to make camp early today. This has been only the second time during this trek that I’ve cut a walking day short. I had come to a tower perched high on a mountain and the scenery around me was...
276
days on the trail
4780
kms trekked
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