Lyric post by Guanhai66: http://bbs.lvye.cn/thread-798622-1-1.html
Photo post by Big Camel: http://bbs.lvye.cn/thread-798994-1-1.html
They only left me the spot for a plain thread... Alright, to make it easier for others to reference, I won’t get sentimental—just a straightforward, matter-of-fact account.
Time:2013Year6Month9Day, Sunday to2013Year6Month16Day, Sunday, total of Total for Sunday7days8nights
Route: Beijing–Chengdu–Chuanzhusi–Qicanggou–Huanglong Scenic Area–Songpan Ancient Town–Jiezhen Town–Chengdu–Beijing
Participants: Big Camel, Snow Horse, Ice Cube, Guanhai66, Huadanbo, Red Wine A, Pudding, Jing, Little Brother Ma, Peerless Under Heaven, Hero.
Friendly appearances: Please Press OK, Horse Team Guide, Horse...
Mode: Plane–Self-drive–Horseback Riding–Hiking
Overview route map:
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D1 2013-6-9 Beijing–Plane–Chengdu
After landing, Please Press OK and Pudding drove to Shuangliu Airport to pick us up—so touched.
Then led the whole group to1Hi to pick up the car (No. [address], Changshou South Road, Wuhou District2) 400-888-6608 )
After a hotpot and highland barley wine welcome party hosted by Please Press OK, the local host, everyonechecked in at Shulv HotelSince we arrived in Chengdu quite late and were exhausted from the journey, we did nothing much that night..
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D2 2013-6-10 As expected of the capital of mahjong, that morning7our breakfast was enjoyed amidst a sea of mahjong tiles. We set off by car at 8:10, driving halfway around the Second Ring Road to pay tribute to Chengdu before heading north. There was some light traffic. We got on S9 Chengguan Expressway, passed through Dujiangyan, then took the Duwen Expressway over Wenchuan, continued on G213, and had lunch in Mao County where I tried big catfish from the Min River for the first time—absolutely delicious.
In the afternoon around17:00we arrived at Chuanzhusi. Then we continued on, passed Gami Temple, and after another 3 km reached the valley entrance where we met up with the horse team. We parked the cars there to prepare for horseback riding the next day.At 19:00we set up camp at the valley entrance.
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The night sky was full of stars (reserved space for an unparalleled starry sky photo).
To fight the bitter cold and altitude sickness, Xiao Ma led the girls in an all-night battle of Dou Dizhu (a card game) under the lamplight.
Our phones still had signal that night, so I called home to say we were safe before going to bed.
Then, frost formed—it was estimated the temperature was only minus 5 degrees.
Most of our sleeping bags were rated for around 0 degrees. Even with socks on, our feet were freezing cold—and not a single whiff of odor.
A hot pee was too precious to let go, so I held it in like a hot water bottle...
Sleep was scarce—we turned over roughly every two hours. The flimsy gear made things worse, and some didn’t sleep at all.
Afterward, we concluded that in areas around 3,500 meters in altitude, it’s essential to bring sleeping bags rated for below -10 degrees.
We waited and waited, and finally, sunlight came—the temperature rose quickly, but it was also time to hit the road.
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D3 2013-6-11From the valley entrance to Changhaizi Camp. We struggled to wait until 6:00 for sunrise. Though we’d expected to be sluggish from lack of sleep, strangely, everyone perked up and was full of fighting spirit once the sun came out. Looks like we’ve accumulated too much sleep and it’s time to burn some of it off.
At 7:00, we had breakfast and packed the loads on the horses. By 9:00, after each person chose a familiar horse, we started our bumpy ride along mostly flat terrain.
(For photos of the scenery and people along the way, see the main photographer’s amazing shots in the Big Camel post.)
Not long after entering the valley, there was no signal from China Mobile, China Telecom, or China Unicom.
Today’s horseback riding was light.We arrived at the campsite early. Some students with mild altitude sickness rested and took medicine and gradually felt better. For dinner, we had Tibetan food—noodles with a stew of beef. Some chopped wood, some washed their faces, others took care of business. The miserable state of last night was completely gone. In the evening, we even lit a bonfire, sang songs, and had a great time.
Influenced by the first day’s experience, that night’s accommodation was upgraded—we wore two pairs of socks to sleep... But in the second half of the night, we were still freezing. We were so cold we began pondering philosophical questions, international issues, livelihood problems, and I even dozed off and dreamed that Big Camel was holding a press conference announcing we’d exit the valley a day early. I woke up laughing, only to see it was just 3:00 AM... Then I heard a commotion in the tent asking what time it was... Turns out none of us had slept soundly.
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D4 2013-6-12 Changhaizi — Fish Sea — Grass Sea. It was so cold last night that a few horses ran off. Early in the morning, the horse handlers went to look for them, which gave us a bit more rest time.
The water we drank was spring water visible along the way. It was very soft, and once boiled, it tasted basically like mineral-flavored Nongfu Spring.
The effect of washing your face with spring water was amazing—the skin tightened rapidly in the cold, making me feel like I’d gone back to preschool age.
Also, at breakfast, we indeed heard some good news: Big Camel announced we’d exit the valley a day early and stay in a hotel with toilets, showers, and electricity. Was last night not a dream? Anyway, everyone instantly got excited, discussing how soft their beds would be and the temperature of the water—sweeping away two days of discomfort... Turns out happiness is really that simple.
Today’s journey was tougher—we rode horses up to a 4,200-meter mountain pass, and for the descent, out of consideration for the horses, we walked as much as possible.
But the view is also the best—when you finally reach the highest point and suddenly see snow-capped mountains, blue skies, yaks, and white clouds stretching out before you, the awe you feel is beyond what any photo can capture.
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D5 2013-6-13Caohai – Bike to Hongxingyan – Hike to Hongxinghai Lake – Goukou – Drive to Chuanzhusi
What was originally planned as a two-day hike or bike ride was perfectly compressed into one day.
We set off after 8:00 a.m. The horses were already familiar, and the path was flat, so we trotted all the way toward Hongxingyan. Around 10:00 a.m., we dismounted at the foot of the mountain and started hiking. After ascending over 300 meters, we reached Hongxinghai Lake around 11:00 a.m. The sacred lake was stunningly beautiful, the water was sweet, a bit cold, but with a few tiny tadpoles swimming around. In the distance, a waterfall meandered down from the snowy mountain. Seeing this heavenly paradise made all the hardships of the past few days worthwhile. The guides from Hongtu Horse Team even found some Bulbus Fritillariae Cirrhosae—bitter-tasting but excellent for coughs.
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Before 1:00 p.m., we headed back to camp, packed up our belongings, and left the remaining food and medicine for the horse team.
The sky began to cloud over, so we hurried along before the rain, reaching the Gamisi Temple road around 5:00 p.m.
At this point, the civilized world informed us via text message that we had returned to its domain.
We returned the horses, got our car, settled the bill with the horse handlers, and said our goodbyes. The horseback riding activity with the horse caravan was thus successfully completed.
Then we drove straight to Chuanzhusi Grand Hotel (stayed at Huanglong Hotel).
Chuanzhusi is quite commercialized—one dish costs 88... So we drove out of town and found a roadside eatery where we once again enjoyed delicious Minjiang big catfish.
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Then, in a luxurious standard room worth 188, we happily took a shower, did our business, turned on the air conditioner, covered ourselves with a cotton quilt, and went to sleep. But because we weren’t used to it, we were woken up by the cold, so everyone ended up getting up early... These poor suffering kids.
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The first part of this trip was successfully completed.![](\"/pic/20200218/6a6b4741ec74bbf67b8805e6b9f52633.jpg\")
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