#1: [09-Apr-02] (incomplete)

20-Nov-2005 --

This confluence visit continues a previous effort on

At the village we found that there were no cars or busses or tractors or horses to take us home. One villager suggested that we go to the local Titanium mine and find a truck going to the town below the mountain. We went to the mine (about 1km easy walk) and Dick found a truck just about to leave to go to the base of the mountain. The truck was one of the old standard issue Chinese blue mining trucks. People living in poorer parts of China will know it! The brake,clutch, accelerator pedals come up from gaping rust holes in the chassis! When the left hand suspension was depressed the gears stick pushed into my leg! Being inside one of these trucks confirmed a theory I've had for a while. That these trucks are made out of separate free-moving parts that rattle freely over each other while the truck moves, like some kind of cheap kit toy that somehow amounts to a working form of transport. For about an hour the truck negotiated the steep mountain pass before getting a flat tire. At this point the driver told us we'd better get out. I think he was concerned for our safety. We then walked back to the base of the mountain where our canoe dropped us off. Before we got there we called the canoe people to send a boat for us. Once again in was an idyllic trip across the lake.

Tired and sore from nearly 6hours hard walking we made our way back to Dali Old Town. Incidently, we climbed Cang Mountain the next day, which is 4097 meters high! That adventure, can be found on my website, along with other adventures, at www.giboryl.net.

Like many of the Yunnan confluences this one is difficult to get to because of mountains and hills breaking up the land. If one took the mountain rode to the South and went as far as one of the villages up the mountain before walking then this confluence could be achieved with relatively little pain. However, a stay by the lake at the bottom of the mountain is well worth it and being rowed across the lake is also a worthwhile trip. Walking off paths is much much more work than walking on paths so its best to try to find some local guidance about the paths that are around the place.

This confluence should only be attempted by experienced confluence hunters, like we were after we did this one! ;)

If you are going to walk among mountain villages in Yunnan you should also be aware that not everyone will be friendly towards you and should therefore be aware of everyone around you and your environment. You can walk through most farms without trouble but shouldn't damage any of the crops.

Rating of this hunt:

Degree of Challenge: 4 - A hard days walking mostly off trail. Snow will soon make this a 5! (1 = very easy - drive to the point; to 5 = a death march - glad it is over)

Scenery: 4 - Large mountains, forest and terraced farms (Scale: 1 = not interesting at all; 5 = take your breath away)

Culture-social factors: 4 - Rural Bai Farmers, Near to Dali Old Town which is similar to World Cultural Heritage Sight - LiJiang old town. (Scale: 1=dull; 5= most stimulating)