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Reflections on hiking in Western Sichuan on August 13, 2017
It has been four days since I left Western Sichuan, and those three days were so cruel The journey is unforgettable, and it left me with a lot of insights.
Siguniang Mountain has three scenic spots, namely Shuangqiao Valley, Changping Valley and Haizigou. This trip started from Rilong Town in Siguniang Mountain, took the sightseeing bus from Changpinggou directly to the Lamasery, and started walking. Generally speaking, the difficulty increases day by day. On the first day, half of the journey is on the plank road, and the other half is on the hillside and jungle. On the second day, we basically walk through the jungle all day long. On the third day, we set off early in the morning and climbed directly for 4 hours to reach the fork. Gou Pass, the straight-line altitude distance from the campsite to the pass is 830 meters. After getting off the pass, there was basically no road. We first walked among the rocks for about 3 and a half hours, and then spent another 2 hours walking through a primeval forest before reaching Bipenggou. People are basically exhausted.
Compared to Shuangqiaogou where there are more people, there are fewer people after leaving Changpinggou Plank Road. Especially after setting off from the Mule Camp the next morning, we were the only group moving forward in the entire mountain. The snow-capped mountains in the distance, the jungles and streams around me, and the grazing yaks and horses. People are in the scenery, quiet and peaceful. This feeling is unlike any other scenic spots I have visited before.
I have hiked in several national parks in the United States before. I particularly remember that in Arches Canyon, I followed the instructions on the ground and headed towards Double “O” without bringing any water. The road goes further and further, and I become thirstier and thirstier, but I always feel that I am right ahead and I am unwilling to give up. When I finally stood in front of it after more than an hour, I was actually a little dehydrated. On the way back, I walked with a French girl and chatted happily with each other. She may think I'm interested in her, but what I'm really interested in are the two bottles of water next to her backpack.
The advantage of this hike is that you only need to move forward and don’t need to look back. And because of this, we cannot miss any beautiful scenery. The weather on the plateau is changeable, and it may only take half an hour from clear skies to dark clouds, and the scenery of the snow-capped mountains also changes from time to time as the climate changes. The road on the ground is also extremely dangerous, especially when passing through some swamps. You must constantly use trekking poles to test the softness of the ground and how to pass carefully. When crossing a single-plank bridge or crossing a stream, trekking poles are indispensable. Sometimes, I really wonder if I would never be able to walk again without two hiking poles.
The difficulty of the trip on the third day can be said to be far beyond my imagination. Starting at two o'clock in the morning, we headed directly towards the pass, with a straight-line altitude of 830 meters. The air on the plateau is thin and the slope is extremely steep, which is a test for everyone's physical strength and willpower. What is even more unexpected is that compared to going uphill, the difficulty of going down is more than twice as high. We passed through mountains of rubble, and we had just received news of the Jiuzhaigou earthquake. Every time I look back at those large and small stones, I feel that these stones must have rolled down after an earthquake, and if they shake even slightly now, we may all be doomed. It was impossible to speed up and leave the dangerous situation. The entire hillside was made of rocks and gravel, and the slope was steep. If you are not careful, you will slip and fall. The tragedy is that we walked this way for about 3 hours and still had no end in sight. The despair in our hearts cannot be expressed in words.
During this walk, I thought more than once of the Long March more than 80 years ago. Of course, the Red Army did not take our route, but the difficulty level of Jiajin Mountain, Mengbi Mountain, Xiaxue Mountain, Changde Mountain, Dagu Mountain and the Mauergai Songpan Prairie should be more difficult than our route. And they had no hiking poles, no jackets, no tents and sleeping bags. More importantly, it was impossible for them to establish a base in Sichuan (omitting the 100,000-word thesis research here), and they did not know whether Liu Zhidan, Xie Zichang and Gao Gang who were far away in northern Shaanxi would become another Zhang Guotao and Chen Changhao. Everything is ignorant, and how do they, especially the leaders, have the iron will and optimism to continue going forward. We are far behind!
Finally, I walked down, exhausted. Although exhausted both physically and mentally, this can be considered a small challenge for myself.
During the journey, whenever I feel exhausted, I will look at the snow-capped mountains in the distance or the lake at the foot of the mountain, think about the optimism of that group of young people many years ago, and realize that "life is not just about the things in front of you, but also about poetry and the distance." , and more importantly, we still have HOPE. The hardships we face now will become the beginning of our future lives and something we can brag to our grandchildren when we grow old. As Maugham said in "The Shackles of Life", I won't even think about what will happen in the future. If you think about today and worry about tomorrow all day long, what's the meaning of life? Even if things get as bad as they can get, I think there is always a way out.
Oh, Maugham also said in "The Moon and Sixpence" that in order to make the soul peaceful, a person must do two things he doesn't like every day. The person who said this is a wise man, and I have been following this motto meticulously: because I get up every morning and go to bed every day. Ha ha!
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