In reflection, I felt very fortunate that over the last 66 days of living like a wildman in a tent, it was only in the last couple of days that I had to deal with humidity and wet weather which meant waking up damp and sweaty. As I packed up I listened to the soldiers at the bottom of the valley chant their dawn army songs. Walking down the steep road, while not as difficult as up hill was still pretty hard going. The weight of the cart made my heavy footsteps heavier than they should have been and soon that old wobbly jelly sensation crept back into my thighs and hamstrings. Occasionally they would come close to giving out totally, where I had to pause for a moment to give them a break. Thankfully I only had a few kilometers of this until I would pass the village of Da Hai Tuo and be back on the relatively easier roads. All the hills after this (which were many) would now feel ridiculously easy after yesterday and today's walk ( which I have since titled " The Battle of Cul de Sac" !)
By midday I reached a tiny village that sat on a ninety degree bend in the road. At the corner was a group of villagers all gathered to meet the passing fruit’n’veg van. The poor greencrocer was soon abandoned as I approached as the the locals gathered around me all intrigued to check out the crazy guy and his rickshaw. They offered me a spot to sit and rest by them and some food to eat but I was eager to keep moving on so stayed standing as I explained my quest. When I left the village I climbed a small hill to meet another police check point that had at least 11 men stationed at a tiny roadside barracks. The guys at Chicheng had warned me that I had better dispose of any petrol in my possession (for my stove) before approaching the Hebei/Beijing boundary which was where I was now. I had actually decided to hold on to it for a bit longer but I was now regretting the decision as the large group of police officers approached. They turned out to be very supportive and friendly, most of them keen to grab a selfie with me before the the head cop demonstrated his leadership skills by organising us into a large group photo. They too offered me food and water and as I left two of the younger guys offered to help me over the next hill. It turned out the hill was another nasty steep bit of evil tarmac and we were all sweating by the time we reached the top. The two guys both took it in turns to wear the harness as the the remaining guy and I pushed from behind. The guys explained that it was all down hill from here ( that I learned later was a gross understatement.) I said goodbye to the helpful officers and surveyed the scene before me, while another sightseer hopped in for a photo for the laugh.
Since I was still at a high altitude, below me I could see the province of Beijing unfold. I was now in Beijing and so I could technically say I had made it. In reality, it would not be until I arrived in Beijing City that could I finally say I had finished my walk. With just over a 100 km to go, my goal felt delightfully close. I started the descent down hill and while the road was narrow and extremely tiring (holding the cart back and preventing it from running me over took considerable effort and concentration), I enjoyed the stunning views that the winding mountain road gave out to the south. The road itself looked like a scene from a James Bond movie or a an episode of Top Gear, the road meandering down the mountain below me with its mock ‘Great Wall’ barrier preventing only the smallest of cars from careening over the edge to their doom. The road continued to descend for a lot longer than I had expected it too due to my slower cautious pace that I had to take. Occasionally I would take a rest when the road was wide enough to allow me do so but in general I just had to keep going. At one point I rested the cart by uncliping myself from the harness and tipping it backwards as I always do, but before I knew it I was diving down the road after it like a in a Mr Bean movie. The road surface being so steep made the cart start sliding down the road on its ass before purely by graity alone!
The temperature was starting to change the further I descended the mountain. Both the heat and humidity intensified and soon I was feeling like I was in a different tropical country like Laos or Thailand. Pesky fruit flies also started to appear and seemed pretty intent on boosting my protein intake by flying into my mouth, eyes and ears. Fortunately I remembered the gift I received from the father and son yesterday – a Chinese folding fan which did an amazing job of keeping me cool while keeping the flies at bay. It took a little while to get the logistics of fanning myself while stabilizing the cart with my other hand but it worked perfectly. My intention was to make it to the next town 5 kilometers away but I spotted a resort that mentioned a hostel on their signage which sounded like a better plan. Unfortunately the hostel was closed but I was redirected to a nearby hotel. A cold shower and comfy bed were high on my priority after the last two days of struggles and so I needed no persuasion to book into a comfy single room albeit more expensive than any other accommodation I had paid for so far. I was greeted at the hotel entrance by an eager hotel staff member who ushered me in and had me checked in with no trouble. The hotel staff seemed delighted to have such an unusual guest to cater for and kindly allowed me to bring the cart into the hotel and leave it near my room. The hotel facilities now allowed me to charge up the remaining electronics I had that were still working. Unfortunately I was unable to take many photos up to this point due to a low battery and at this stage my solar panel was faulty. By now, both my notebook and kindle had cracked screens, the VPN that allowed me to connect to the internet and bypass the Great Firewall of China to access my Weebly blog and Gmail was not working, and my phone had decided that it no longer wanted to charge. A bag full of useless plastic and electronics. In my research for the trip I learned that travel was always going to be tough on electronics and the wear and tear was definitely starting to take its toll. The only items that were causing me no trouble were my SPOT tracker, my Garmin Etrex20 GPS, and my trusty 7 year old Ipod shuffle that got me through some of the tough days. In hindsight I do regret bringing so much crap with me, but like everything about this trip, it has all been a learning experience which will hopefully stand to me on the next hair-brained adventure I undertake!!