China, 2012

Try to imagine Donnie’s and Barbara’s legs being essentially vertical, and you can sense how steep this section of The Great Wall is, and there were places even more challenging to walk. Just past this point was an area where we just sat down and slid rather than risk standing and falling.

Near the end of our China workshop we had taken the group out to the Wall (not where this photo was taken) along the Mongolian border, a place polished for the tourist trade–gift shops, motor coach parking, well restored Wall. Visually breath-taking, but, even with well maintained stairs and walkways, climbing up and down, and the heat, and the weight of all the camera gear, made it also literally breath-taking. I was impressed in particular with a small Chinese woman who was one of the many vendors hustling the visitors with various wares and refreshments. This woman, maybe 90 pounds, carried a standard sized cooler full of ice and beer up the stairs onto the Wall, and then hawked along the undulating top looking for customers, making it look effortless, and causing those of us huffing and wheezing some chagrin . It may be the best $5 can of beer I’ve ever had.

The day after the workshop Donnie arranged a private motorcycle sidecar tour of Beijing and some countryside. They took us to this place, another Wall section, not rubble, but also showing little benefit from any TLC, and with more challenging trekking. Riding back into Beijing, the smog was bad; the particulates in the air were so thick they stung my face, and I finally had to put on the face shield offered. Not very manly, but when we got back to the hotel I still had facial skin.

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