2010-04-06 Hiking from Wuxiangang

This mountain is located in the Sichuan province of China. It's the highest of the Four Scared Buddhist Mountains. I did this hike a bit backwards, taking the bus to the summit the first day (because I arrived in the afternoon) and doing the rest of the hike up the second day. It's normally done over a course of two to three days, but with very little time in China, I wanted to do it in one. It was quite a challenge!

All I had to work with was a map on a pamphlet I got on the way and a very badly drawn map in the Lonely Planet. There are some distances marked out on these maps, but little in the way of elevation gain. My guess with all the cumulative ups and downs, elevation gain would be somewhere in the 2,000 meter ball park.

I made really good pace, stopping only to take photos along the way and to fight off monkeys. The Tibetan Macaques were aggressive and a hiking pole or a stick to fight them off with is a really good idea. I had two confrontations. The first one I was too hesitant and a lady had to rescue me with her monkey stick as a giant macaque started climbing up my leg and showing me its teeth. The second confrontation I managed to intimidate the monkey before it intimidated me.

I've never hiked up so many steps in my life. It's just step, after step, after step. It was mentally challenging. Near the top I was exhausted and running out of water. There were many places to purchase water, but for eight times the price. I haggled and managed to take them down a bit, but seeing me barely standing gave them some good bargaining power.

It was a really beautiful hike and I could go on about it for quite a while. I have a little more written up on my blog.



More photos here:
http://markostavric.fotki.com/2010/20100406/

2010-04-05 The Golden Summit

Getting up to this summit was quite a treat. The "Sea of Clouds" is an amazing sight. Clouds dancing among the sheer cliffs. The summit is decorated with a giant Bodhisattva Samantabhadra statue and the Golden Temple.

From the closest parking lot, to reach the summit is pretty easy, maybe about 300 meters elevation gain. There are a ton of tourists and some pilgrims too. One monk was doing the entire mountain on all fours! I imagined what sort of spiritual thoughts the giant golden statue would evoke after such an accomplishment.

Many sleep near the summit to see the sunrise. Many of the temples provide beds and shelter, but there is a hotel too. There is a higher summit called the Wanfo summit, but access to it was forbidden at this time.



More photos here:
http://markostavric.fotki.com/2010/20100405/

Exotica, those are real classic shots. They show great beauty and mystery, that a treat ...

Many thanks for posting...

[8D][:X]

k

Wow !!! Stunning photography !!!
Thanks for the sharing...

Thanks! I find these photos are more just about being at the right place, at the right time. Happy to share!

I usually just throw up my favorite ones on here and leave the rest on my site, but I think this one is worth sharing too. It gave me a good laugh because I was not aware of the sign until I got home. I was simply trying to get a photo of the monk.



Be careful of slippery!

That is beautiful,amaisig pictures,amaising place
thanks for posting this report and this beautiful pictures

Alex

Very awesome for you!!![] Amazing to be immersed in such ancient culture!! Your pictures are,again,great!![] Sorry the monkeys are aggressive, but the ones on the roof are SO cute!! Hope you do more reports from your fab adventure!! The great wall pics were also amazing....we want more!!

jealous!

Unreal! That looks amazing!
The sign is great

I checked your site and looked through some of your exif data as I enjoyed the pictures. Which lens(es) were you carrying around for your trip?

Classic Engrish (though far better than my efforts at Chinese).

I find figuring out which lenses to take is one of the hardest things when preparing for these trips. I've always tried to travel light and try and just travel with my 45 litre hiking pack. I brought three lenses with me but only ended up using two of them; the Tokina 11-16 mm and the Nikon 18-200 mm. The latter is so handy for traveling and usually stays on the whole time. The Tokina is great for architecture.