"... raises hopes of euphoria that cannot be met and it’s time to return to reality. Euphoria is available in pharmaceutical form but it’s nothing to base a life on. It tends to lead to stupidity." Prayer flags draped near a rebuilt Buddhist Temple (now degraded to a Chinese Tourist site) give a peek into the old town of Shangri-la, called Gyelthang by the Tibetan majority who reside here. I plan. The Gods conspire. I pack. The Gods laugh. I get up early to depart. The Heavens open and the Gods piss all over my intention in the form of slate clouds overburdened with rain that begin their purge and release wet, wet, wet to the bone. Dealing with various package delivery companies, finding my dependable SF does not deliver to the remote towns of Kham, I finally discover one who will -- for 4x the usual price. Grateful, my resupply provisions are on the way to Bathang. Begrudged, I am not. Pack is ready, my mind is not, my body is impatient. The rains come. I've spent too long in preparation, too long in Shangri-la. I've spent too long moving between doubt and determination. I finally found some route guidance through these mountains in the form of -- unknown to me at that time -- a well-renowned author*. Trek routes and maps are near impossible to find within such a secretive state; search results consist mainly of Chinese tour companies; no published routes are available. One spark in the Google black hole came from a source expert on the Tea Horse Road. When I glanced at his site, quickly noticing his trek through the mountains of Yunnan and along the tea road, I read no further, but simply sent a desperate email, not even expecting a reply. Yet reply he did and quickly, giving me some route ideas. I felt elated and ready, once again. Turns out he has written two books, works with a well-regarded tour company, and has work published in numerous magazines, including NatGeo! When I later read his bio, I was surprised that an IT MAN so famous responded, and felt grateful. I was supposed to leave yesterday, but the whole shipping extravaganza took up so many hours and so much mental energy, that I postponed one more day, berating myself, but relieved that my provisions, clothes, and laptop would make it safely to Bathang. Looking for information on a Tea Horse Caravan Museum of which I had read and planned to visit, Serendipity led me to another site, that of a local expat outfitter and guide** in town. He also responded to my WeChat enquiry so quickly that I was once again taken aback. I received more in the way of explicit instructions on routes leading north from Shangri-la, which was so helpful. After this exchange, my hope rose again and my confidence increased proportionally, even feeling a bit euphoric that I could finally begin. If I hold only a teaspoonful of local mountain knowledge in shaking hands, I feel much more comfortable about upcoming movement into the unknown. I felt I had not wasted another day, my Goddess Serendip coming through for me once again. But some God higher than Serendipity is usurping her authority-- the rain acts like it was invited. If the damn rain stops, I can take action on the advice i received yesterday. I really, really do not want to take a bus north. I really, really want to trek an overland pass through the mountains and reach the Yangtse. And I stubbornly adhere to this plan, delay or not. Conversely, I stubbornly stand firm in my decision not to start this phase of my trek in a downpour. That would create such a dispirited inner attitude that it might cause a landslide in the area around me. If I accept defeat and take a bus north, I will escape the rain. But if I wait one more day, I might be able to begin on a sunny day. And the third damn inner voice reminds me that I will have to begin my research in earnest again of another area. Damnit, I just want to strap on my pack and go. Why don't I? Can't recall the source of this map, but it shows the Tea Horse Road leading north up through Shangri-la and splitting west through Markham in Tibet (it's actually all Tibet, culturally) and heading toward Lhasa. The eastern split leads toward Dartsendo (Dardo), now called Kangding. *Jeff Fuchs of Wild China Tours:
www.tea-and-mountain-journals.com/expedition-shangri-la-to-sacred-shola-pass-begins https://www.wildchina.com/tours/ancient-tea-and-horse-road-with-jeff-fuchs http://www.jefffuchs.com/resume.htm ** Nathan at Turtle Mountain Gear and Outfitters, Shangri-la, Diqing County, Yunnan Province, China https://tmgshangri-la.com/homepage/
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I delayed the start one more day... not feeling mentally ready and continuously undecided about a route to take since arriving to Dali. Starting in Yunnan instead of Kham has thrown me off, because I'm completely unfamiliar with the terrain and towns and people here. In Kham, I would have started started walking across any random field and mountain following a compass course; I've studies the ranges there and that's my comfort zone. My Kham Khomfort Zone! I will start in Eryuan, a village north of Dali, to reach Lijian. I'm following a river course well off main roads. If I left directly from Dali, I would have faced an immediate steep climb up the Changsan range, which hovers over Dali like a Tim Burton nightmare mountain, ascending 2000m over 7km... no thank you! That's too much the first day out! Plus, on the other side of Tim Burton's nightmare is an ugly highway to clump along; I'll say it again: No thank you! Above, you can see the overall Phase I course of my 215km trek (starting at the small lake, and heading west toward blue and white icon). I cover one shallow range that barely reaches 3500m and is only 15km (8mi) wide, heading due west from Eryaun. This is The Beginning of the UltimateKhamTrek2019 and will count as Day One. I expect this portion will lack arduousness as I follow tributaries and ridgelines. There are several backcountry homes on top of ridges along the way. Once I reach the bifurcation of the Heihui River, I'll head northwest. Although I'm not hiking along main roads, I'll pass many small villages along the way. Of course, I reserve the right to change course at anytime, being Invictus, the captain of my fate. My desire is to hike in the mountains, not along roads of drudgery and cars. But, I want to make the first phase very, very, very easy! I will veer as far away from main roads as possible, but I also need to be close to a water source. Since there is a complete lack of emission controls here, I'll be breathing puffs of black truck deisel fumes on main roads, ugh. No thank you! If I want to breathe 100% pure cancer, I'll move back to Chengdu. No thank you! Right now, I'm on the west side of Erhai lake, slightly south of the West Gate of Dali Ancient Town. I leave manana, after taking a week to figure out my route; well to be honest, that and figure out the GaiaGPS app I'm using to map it out. Tomorrow morning, after SF Express picks up my carry-on for shipment to Lijiang , I'll endure a 1 1/2 hour long bus ride to Eryuan, then a taxi west to the non-existent trailhead, otherwise known as Gina's Entry Point Trailhead Mile 0. Most of the range crossing will be at 2500m if I stay in the valleys. Friends and Fam, please remember how entirely safe I am in China, whether in the wilds or the among Beijing's 20-30mil people. I do NOT, I repeat, I do NOT have to worry about being attacked, raped, or murdered. This is not the US where everyone wants to rape and kill people. My biggest fear is being cold at night and the damn popo saying I can't camp somewhere because I'm a helpless foreigner. For the first, I have seriously warm jammies, a silk sleeping bag liner, a -5 to -23C rated down sleeping bag, an inflatable air mattress, a closed-cell foam sleeping pad to go under those, a 3-season tent, and a tent pad. I may actually get too warm! As far as popo, well that's why I want to avoid big towns and main roads. Besides, I didn't come out here to walk on effing roads! I came to traverse mountains. So once I'm in a groove and go my confidence, I will literally take to the hills. Oh, I suppose there's a Number Three: rain. It's monsoon season in Asia, and damnit, I only had a few days of rain last summer, but it is raining HARD every single dang day here in Dali and Kunming! Hard rain, for hours! I have an excellent rain jacket, but I may have to set up tent mid-morning for a few hours and wait it out. I didn't come out here to be miserable 1/4 of each day either. I believe that once I reach Kham, I'll be beyond the daily rain boundary.
So once again, Peeps, I will not be interned in a post-Mao work camp nor will I be attacked by insane Tibetan nomads. The worse they'll do to me is invite me into their yak hair tent and make me drink too much butter tea and eat tsampa. Did I mention how much I LOVE yak butter tea and tsampa!!!! After Phase I, I'll buy some for the next leg of my trip. Oh, the other horrible thing that might happen is that I meet one of these gorgeous, tall Khampa men and we get married and live in the mountains. Darn! Okay, I'll admit, I don't know how to work around the lack of wifi, but with a gorgeous Khampa man, I may not need it. I promise to listen to my instincts and remain safe. I will check in when I am able. Rest assured, I'll be having the time of my life... again! Or I'll be wet, cold, and miserable, having the time of my life... again! Local map of northern Yunnan; my starting point of Dali in the center. Crossing the mountains, heading west from Erhai Lake, I will trek northwest toward the Tibetan border, with stops in Lijiang and Deqen (Shangrila) to resupply. Continuing north into Kham Tibet (Ch. W. Sichuan), I want to summit one of those 5000+ m. peaks so I can reach my elevation goal of 16,000 ft. (5000 m.)!! Maybe I'll do something crazy like border-cross to summit Kawakarpo! The "Bad Beginning" of this trek has not been fun--more like an organizational, logistical, travel non-stop sprint. To be more specific, the pre-trip portion has not been fun, since I haven't actually started the trek. I've been consumed with planning and packing and re-packing and organizing and re-routing and minimizing; freaking out about reducing pack weight and shipping gear and buying gear and finding new boots and creating feasible time schedules. I've been in two amazing new cities, Hong Kong and Kunming, with little time to enjoy them; there's a To Do List every morning. In the evening, I can't fall asleep for the stress of it all and the internal questions that will not stop: What the hell am I doing? Can I do this? Can I carry that pack for days on end? Is this even going to be fun? Filled with doubts, I wonder if this trip is such a grand idea anymore. I still want to do it--I am determined--but my mind is filled with conflict about whether I should have just stuck to day hiking instead of a long-distance trek. In Hong Kong, I focused on getting my visa and trying to organize some of my gear. I also had to deal with getting the last of my gear shipped from Chengdu to Kunming. Now, in Kunming, I've organized the gear that arrived from Chengdu, and forwarded that on to Dali. I've slowly been paring down what I will carry in my pack. The biggest challenge I face is weight and pack space (or perhaps, my own negative self-talk). The plan for this trek I am about to commence was birthed in 2013, when I lived near the Appalachian Trail, and began dreaming of a long-distance trek (and here I am in China, 6 years later, facing the precipice of that goal; about to begin the journey and about to achieve the goal! I want to feel excitement rather than worry!). In all my research about trekking -- which included reading numerous trek blogs-- I learned not to trek while overburdened with a massive pack. Ideally, the pack should not weigh more than 30% of one's body weight. I read story after story of people trekking with 50-70 lbs. of gear... that's insane! That sounds miserable, no matter how fit and strong a person may be. Thus, I am determined to keep my pack weight a maximum of 40 lbs.: 25 lbs. for gear and 10 lbs. for consumables (food and stove fuel). I simply don't want my days filled with drudgery and pain caused by a heavy pack. And to be entirely transparent, I'm not in top form physically at present, and a heavy pack will wear me down physically and discourage me mentally. It's going to take several weeks to one month to regain the strength and endurance I've lost this year. That is one of the reasons I am doing this: to get physically strong, fit, and thin again. I am seriously out of shape and overweight. Click "Read More" to the right! More Doorways of Possibility have opened! An idea tinkled its crystalline wind chime in my mind, catching my attention. I delved further and learned more and voila! New avenues paved in yellow-brick brighten before my eyes; an Emerald City of Opportunity and Adventure beckons! I answer, "Yes!". I shouldn't be surprised at the number of opportunities awaiting me online, but I am. I come across blog and after blog of writers living the life I have vicariously sought out. Then I discover estate management, pet sitting, house sitting ... the hurdle of finding long-term, affordable lodging while I travel and write is bounded over with joy and relief and renewed excitement! There are less than half-a-dozen reputable websites serving as contact exchange between home/pet caretakers and those seeking such service, but they have shown me a very real way to partially fund my writing endeavors! I can choose almost any location in the world for a duration of one weekend or more than several months. I have the option of dog-sitting in Hong Kong to bird-and cat-sitting in Queensland, AUS. I can work as paid employ in estate management or trade my caretaking service for lodging in a luxury villa on a palm tree-lined, white-sand beach. This feeds my hungry dream to focus on writing and publishing. It becomes a simple matter of timing. How and where do I fit this in to my trek? Should I even return to China? (Yes, all of my belongings will be stored here, and yes, I still want to trek through Kham!) The timeline is perplexing me because in between the trek and travels and Chinese tourist visa procurement (atotalbeeyotch of a process), I want to get some freelance copy-editing work. I will also need time to establish an online professional portfolio for estate management and caretaking service. ...And then there's the entire Get Published Universe I am barreling through, with Monetizing My Blog To-Do Lists asteroiding through this I-Need-More-Time-Zero-Gravity-Vacuum while Freelance Opportunity Dwarf Stars expand and contract in their brightness, miniature Galaxies of Copy-editing and Proofing Jobs blur past me beyond the porthole as a Podcast Wormhole leads me toward the Time Suckage Black Hole that is the minutiae of this National Ginagraphic Digital Nomad Start Up. I really need to hire some of this out to a Social Media Tesserac Assistant who can complete the drudgery of photo uploads, SEO activities, and online promotion -- propelling me past the mundane so I can remain grounded on my Authentic Creative Production Effort Planet of Ginaness. The creation of this particular missive is purely to work through the options, rolling them around, testing New Flavors of Serendipity on my tongue. My thoughts flow into The Plan. Phase 1 includes flying to Hong Kong to acquire my tourist visa (2-4 days). From there, Phase 2 begins. I will take a train northwest to Kunming and Dali, hole up for a week to dayhike, relax, and write. Then, remaining mindful of sleeping elevation gains (which affect AMS - altitude sickness), I will make my way north to Bathang and Lithang, to begin my trek. All destinations and times are variable and flexible dependent upon discovery of Yunnan and its trekking options, elevation, and increasing fitness level. Adhering to my budget, one month or so later I will embark upon Phase 3: caretaking/petsitting in some amazing ocean or mountain setting with plenty of time to realize the goals below. The logistics of transporting trekking gear and a small carry-on for Base Camp Activities (holing up at a guesthouse for an extended period to write and work) are still unfolding. The Prep Phase has already begun: packing up the household for storage, planning my trip to Hong Kong, and planning the UltimateKhamTrek2019. The timeline of all the above is flexible since although my school contract ends July 21, I can stay in my apartment through the 31st. Also helpful is the Humanitarian (H) Visa I will get, allowing me to remain in China after my resident permit expires, extending my stay through July 31. I can either wrap everything up in Chengdu the weekend of July 21st, head to Hong Kong and then back into China to begin my trek in Yunnan, or return to Chengdu to finalize packing and depart for Kangding to begin my trek, which has been the original plan all along. I do want to have the household packed and ready by the 14th -- or 19th at the latest, just in case I experience visa issues. Expats in China don't just have to jump hoops to gain entrance into this Communist, tightly government-controlled country, we have to leap talleffingbuildings in a single screaming bound -- while the building is on fire. Yes, that is an apropos metaphor for getting a Chinese visa. As today is June 30, I have a few more weeks until my original work permit expires. It will then be transferred to H visa status, allowing me to remain in China 30 days from application, expiring July 31st. As soon as school ends, I will fly to Hong Kong for a Tourist Visa. Considering that I will have an additional 11 days before I have to leave the country (between work permit expiry and H visa expiry), the dates for my trip to HK may change, depending on what happens over the next few weeks while waiting for the H Visa. I'll have to research and compare the costs of returning to Chengdu and heading west to Kangding, versus going straight to Yunnan from Hong Kong. At least I have options and flexibility when my work permit expires. The school doesn't tell its overseas staff that we even have the option of the H Visa --- most think they have to leave the country immediately upon work permit expiration. I am lucky to have learned about this from a coworker who lived in China previously! Last year, teachers scrambled stressfully to get packed and prepped to leave the country, while still working up to the day of their departure! It's really a horrible game if you don't know the rules; a shame that this legal right of legally-employed expats is kept secret by our school (I have no idea if other employers do the same, but our school is reputed as one of the better and more upstanding schools for whom to work. Some foreigners have gotten completely screwed by their employers, so I guess we are lucky). Back to organizing and packing! I will decide this week when to visit Hong Kong, and start making reservations for Phase 1. As I pack and organize, I will also plan logistics for all the options available to me, and perhaps get a head start on applying to publishing companies for freelance copy-editing positions. Thank you Goddess Serendip! Click "Read More" below the image to discover my goals for both the KhamTrek2019 and career transition to published writer!
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