Hi Great Wall! I Finally See you!

Hi Great Wall! I Finally See you!
Originally uploaded by triciawang.

So it's Christmas Day and I am sooo proud of myself for signing up with The Beijing Hikers Club. But I had no idea that this climb was a real hike! Come on it's X-mas day! I never thought I would make it up the steep climb.
I've been to different sections of the Great Wall , but never HIKED on the Great Wall. The parts I previously went to within the last 10 years were restored, and even though the steps were steep - they were fully intact. This part of the wall has holes on the pathway and a forest of weeds and branches past your head - so it's not some casual hike - you've got to actively make sure branches don't scratch you in the face and holes don't sprain your ankle. The steps are not very stable and they are very steep and stony. So some parts the incline was so severe that I was on my hands and feet crawling up the wall.

Today, we are near Mutianyu, but we are in very isolated section. We only saw 3 people on the wall. If you go to Badaling, I am told that it is sooo crowded that you can't really see the wall, you can only see a sea of people walking in a single file line on the wall. This reminds me of the last time I was on the wall with my family (mom, father, and brother) and we chose to walk to the difficult section in the rain.

I could only post 10 pics today b.c I didn't bring enough card space on my digital cam- but other hikers will e-mail some pics so there will be more to come!