myday #5 - I Climbed The Second Tallest Mountain in China with My Girlfriend and a Camera

I made it to the top!

Welcome to @myday!

Getting to the majestic Yellow Mountains in China was an adventure in itself. To get there Grace and I had to travel on a plane, followed by a long car journey and then a short bus trip. It was totally worth it in the end though!

For those who don't know the Yellow Mountains are always busy with tour groups. It can be quite difficult to find a spot of solitude with hundreds of people around you, but fortunately for us there weren't as many crazy people around at the time we went. A serious typhoon had just gone through the landscape and we knew we were going to get quite wet, but that didn't matter to us. The experience of climbing the mountains was all we wanted.

The never ending ride of the cable car

We were dropped off by a large coach bus at the bottom of the mountain next to the chairlift. Watching the cable car disappear into the clouds was quite exciting. We jumped onboard one of the capsules after purchasing a ticket and sat and observed the view from every direction until it became engulfed in cloud and thick fog.

Approaching the top in the cable car

Lone pines lined the edges of the cliffs

The first site we witnessed when we 'landed' at the top were the beautiful ancient pines dancing in the wind. Their thick roots anchored deep within the rock allowing them to almost leap from the cliff ever time the cold wind blew. Nature on the mountain was certainly graceful. I could really appreciate why Chinese artists had used these mountains in many of their famous paintings - the place was beautiful.

Entering the mountain

Moving on from the confines of the man made structure we started our trek along the neat mountain path. By now the chill of the cold wind was here to stay and fortunately at this point in time no rain had decided to leave the heavens. We had a two and a half hour journey up stairs with our luggage before we got to the hotel perched on a mountain top.

Our first long staircase with many more to come!

Walking with camera, three lenses, enough clothes for three days, wet weather gear, food and water was a bit tough at first, but in the end we got into a good walking rhythm and made some great time. Here a few shots from the walk.

The weathered rails had seen countless storms

The trees looked like they were straight out of a mystery novel

It was hard to see where the trees stopped and where the cliff ended

Arriving at the Jade Screen Hotel we were treated to the nearby site of the Greeting Guests Pine located on the east side of Jade Screen Peak. It was named Greeting Guests Pine because it looked like a host stretching out his arms welcoming people from China and abroad.

The famous Greeting Guests Pine

After unpacking our gear in the hotel and having a quick bite to eat we decided to walk some of the mountain to explore its surroundings. We had a number of days to explore so we decided to climb the tallest peak as we had plenty of energy.

A sign of someones love statement left on the mountain side

A tourist taking a quick shot of the view

At first we walked down hundreds of stairs for around an hour or so before we got to a building where we took a break from the wind. While resting before our next climb we notice a few older men, carrying weighted bags at the end of a bamboo pole on their shoulders. These men were strong - you could tell because their calves were bulging from carrying loads of food and rubbish up and down the mountain. The site of them made us feel weak and very unfit!

The strong porter carrying a heavy load

Climbing the next bit was certainly the most challenging. Fortunately we had a rope to hold on to because it really did feel like we were climbing a ladder vertically into the clouds. Each step was narrow and the designers of the track certainly didn't factor in my size 12 US shoes when they were carving the path. I had to walk like a crab up the side of the mountain for quite a bit so my shoes didn't slip on the slippery surface as falling at this point would have killed me.

While perched not even half way up the biggest elevation I looked back, zoomed in on my camera and took this shot. You can clearly see how far we walked as the hotel we were staying in was tucked away masterfully perched within the peaks of the mountain. It's just mind boggling to think they carried every part of the hotel up here!

A zoomed in look back to our hotel. If you look closely you can see all the stairs

We eventually pushed on and ended up at the highest peak of the Yellow Mountains. Unfortunately there wasn't a view to be seen as the clouds were still around, but that didn't stop me from pulling out my camera to photograph one of the world's most photographed trees.

The top of the mountain

Then we then did what every tourist had done before us and took a few selfies to mark the climbing accomplishment!

Grace

Myself and my girl

We eventually got back to our hotel just before dark and called it a night! The very next day we got up and went in the other direction, but that was another day you will have to wait for....

I'm from Sydney Australia and through @steemit I'm exploring what its like to explore @myday. Not in any particular order, or particular time frame but just parts of @myday through my eyes and sometimes the cameras lens.

If you are interested in reading about myself and my beautiful partner Grace then have a read of myday #0 where everything is explained. If you enjoyed reading this post I welcome you to follow me. Drop me a comment I would love to hear from you.