The Second Half of The Wall

As I stated in the previous post, by this time in the journey I was starting to feel fatigue (and my age). We had made sure that we brought plenty of fluids (water, green tea, etc.) and snacks (cheese, bread, nuts, salami, fruit, etc.) to make sure we kept our systems properly fueled for the endeavor. Still with my 50th trip around the sun quickly approaching, I was feeling every bit of my age and this challenging terrain!


Here's more photos:









We decided to take a break at the half way mark and take in the view
























We still have a way to go!























Check out the terraced farm land. If I understood correctly the main crop for this area is actually corn.

One last, long up hill climb to go. You can see the strategy planning session in the foreground.

Looks like it's all down hill from here, but that's just an illusion!

A view from the inside of the last guard tower. There were 30 of these towers along our route. They helped by serving as distance markers, a (usually) level spot to rest, and a place in the shade.

It was a beautiful day: clear, sunny, and about 22-23C (mid 70'sF). Never in my wildest dream did I ever think I would actually be living here in China, Much less standing on The Great Wall.

I would describe The Wall as possibly the most insanely, ingenious, failure in the history of the use of engineering for defense purposes. Many, many, many years ago the Emperor had ordered it to be built to prevent the Mongol's, the likes of Ghinges Khan and Kubla Khan (please pardon my spelling) from invading China. I think the process lasted through several Emperor's lifetimes. Their efforts of course failed miserably because building the wall was one thing, but defending it was quite another. As we experienced ourselves, it would have taken too long for any of the troops stationed at one section of the wall to reach another if under attack and in need of reinforcements. Yet, what a legacy they left behind!