Day 65- Hemp Village to Gubeikou Great Wall

Early Saturday morning, we set off with Beijing Hikers to do another section
of the Great Wall.  I was hoping to catch the last of the fall colors here.
We left the Beijing haze...the AQI was already over 200 and climbing.
The air seemed to clear a bit as we arrived at the Hemp Village where
we began our hike.  While some hikers stayed 'masked up' for the hike, I
did not.  I sometimes feel like I cannot get enough air through my mask!
Hemp village is a TINY run down agricultural community.  Still,
children were playing, and farmers were setting about their daily business.
All farming is done by hand, though you occasionally see a donkey helping
with a plow, or carrying the harvest in baskets and bags.

Things are very much done 'the old fashioned way', including the
grinding of wheat or corn into flour- pulled by a donkey.  I saw a
wrinkled old peasant farmer, his skin leathered by the sun.  He had on
his sun hat and was carrying a sythe for cutting down the corn and he
was wearing a big grin on his face.  I hate that I didn't get his picture.
He looked like the typical Chinese peasant worker- humble and happy :)

This was an abandoned old farmhouse, where one half of the
home was stables for the livestock. The baskets in the foreground
were connected by well-worn tree limbs that would have rested
across the donkey's back.  The interior of the 'house' was lined
with newspaper- for insulation.  It was a step back in time.

As we walked through the prairie grass, and headed up the trail, we got
our first glimpse of the day of the Great Wall.  It was a long hike up!

But we made it!

This section of the Gubeiko Great Wall had nine towers
we went through.  Some of them we lingered for
snacks, drinks, pictures, and to catch our breath :)

Other towers were in disrepair, and we had to go around them.

Lots of walking- up and down- 12 km in all on today's hike.

It was Ali and Eric's first trip on the wall, and it was
fun to share the experience with them...

We also enjoyed the traditional Chinese meal that followed after the hike. Jo,
on the left, was one of our trail guides, and the couple next to her were
from England and Poland, respectively. It still strikes me strange when I
hear a Chinese person speak in a British accent, but many of them here
learned English from British instructors, lol. The girl above is a German
teacher at another school here in Beijing.  In fact, she was offered the
position at BNDS, but selected another International School here instead.

It was a gorgeous day for a hike, and there was still a
little fall color left.  I miss the fall colors from back home.

Though it was hazy, it was the last of the warmer weather, so it felt great to be outside :)
It was wonderful to stretch my legs once again, breathe some cleaner air, and
enjoy the last of the sunshine before the winter haze and smog settle in for good.

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G'nite, y'all!