Team Youngcare Brave The 38 Degree China Heat

While the USA has the wild west, China has the "wild wall" and boy did we take it on full steam ahead today. Literally full steam, it was that hot! At one point, the thermometer read 38 degrees, in fact. The heat, however, was no match for our brilliant spirit, biting wit, and commitment to kicking some Great Wall butt for Youngcare! A smattering of innuendo here and there helped as well.


 

Our morning bus ride saw us say a fond farewell to our brilliant maze like guest house and even more exuberant "hello, how do you do?" to stage two of our walk - Gubeikou to Jinshanling. In just under six hours we covered 17 kilometers of every type of wall you can imagine. From a crumbling pile of rocks at Gubeikou to a pristine and majestic re-bricked section at Jinshanling, we once again went "a little bit up, a little bit down, a little bit up, a little bit down" for most of the day.

 

We stopped for lunch - ham and vegetable sandwiches, a hot dog stick, and bottled water at a watch tower that marked the highest point of our walk. As we sat there devouring our individually wrapped power packs it felt as if we were literally sitting at the top of the world. The wind rushed through the 24 windows (our "air conditioning," we joked) and the wall stretched as far as the eye could see in every direction, snaking along the hilltops with a lightness and ease that seemed almost peaceful.

 

In the afternoon it was down to the valley floor before rising up yet again to rejoin the Great Wall at Jinshanling. Glenn made a valiant effort to protect Leanne from her fear of heights while Amy powered up the hillside like a wind-up toy spun to full speed.

 

Today we also met Kevin, Chris' alter ego who is kind-of a jerk. He is rude to the ladies, does some very daft things, and never puts safety first. This caricature could not be further from the real Chris, who barnstormed across China today with the Youngcare flag waving behind him like a cape. So not something Kevin would do.

 

To say the group was shattered tonight is a gross understatement. As I write I can assure you there are 11 full tummies (1 vegan and 1 vegetarian) who enjoyed a brilliant supper before doing some brief shopping and sliding right under those big fluffy dunas. Maybe it's 10, as Kevin is probably wreaking havoc somewhere. More wall tomorrow. Stay tuned!

 

GO TEAM!