Hua Shan Mountains, China (26 July 2014): Holy Mountain Therapy

26 July 2014

West Peak, Hua Shan Mountains, Shanxi Province, China

The steeper the mountain, the better the view - Chinese proverb

The kids are at their quietest. The one who is not asleep is huddled under his quilt not because he’s cold but because that provides the best light for his computer game. To save battery power it is set on its lowest contrast.

Only one of us made it to see the sunrise this morning. The haze on the horizon made it an intimate affair; the orb arose from its terrestrial midst, surely no more than 40 or 50 miles away. I watched from the West Peak, but the real crowd was on the East Peak. You could hear them in the pink light though it was miles away. When the sun first peaked there was a row. The lingering impression is not the sun, but the stone, and the air that surrounds it. To the west of the peak the surface just ends, not to begin again until 1000 meters are gone. Nothing grows on it. Whereever you look other cliffs give the same impression.

These are not the limestone karsts of Halong Bay. They don’t team with jungly life or monkeys. Made of granite they have not eroded. But still they are graceful and, considering the efforts of countless Chinese workmen, are easily accessible to the intrepid and fit. They are somewhat less easily accessible to the well-dressed and timorous: picture hikers in sequins and high heels. That is not a rare occurrence on the trails. The kids were amazed. Carrie wrote about it this way:

Carrie’s Journal: I have noticed lots of “fashion sacrifices” and other things. Climbing up Hua Shan I saw 5 WOMEN WEARING HIGH HEELS!! I laughed later when I saw dad and we discussed the mater. And if you count all the high heeled cute tennis shoes then like 35 women made Huge Fashion sacrifices. I’m just saying! And dresses really when I was walking up I saw a woman in high heeled sandals and a long red silk dress with little blue flowers on it. I was astonished at the stupidity of some of the women. Like Oh my god, I’m going hiking. Hmm what should I wear? Oh I know let’s wear my silk dress imported from France and my best shoes! I just pity the poor women. Also there was a girl wearing 1” flip flops and on the plastic bridge was a whole lot of fake white fur and they were white!

Just so you believe us, this story has a video to go along with it: