It's the climb

Just look at all that greatness!

You know when there is something on your bucket list that is really cool that you think is pretty much too cool to ever accomplish? Like, you know it can be done, but it just seems unattainable for you? For me, that’s what the Great Wall of China has been. Thinking about going to the Great Wall was like thinking about going to the moon, but just a hair less difficult. But then, we found ourselves in China, and we did it.

So great. And the other tourists look like ants from over here!

We were told that some sections of the Great wall were too packed with tourists to be enjoyable. And then we heard about the Mutianyu section. Still touristy, but since it’s located slightly further from Beijing than other sections, many tourists bypass this option.

Sweatpants are all that fit me right now.

Happy to be tourists today

After a healthy dose of haggling with a vendor for ticket prices the previous day, we settled on the amount we would pay for this trip. Carrying our liter-sized water bottles and tourist-worthy camera, we were loaded onto a bus of other tourists and a local tour guide who instructed us to call her “Cactus.” Then, off to the races!

It only got steeper from there

The Great Wall was unquestionably our favorite part of our China vacation. Sure, it’s the cliché thing in China. But believe me, it is definitely worth the hype. And believe this too – seeing pictures of the wall and being there to hike it are two completely different experiences. It is tall, wide, steep, mostly in direct sunlight, and has more steps than actual smooth walking sections than we had ever imagined.

Basically, it’s kind of a big deal and we got a little snap-happy with the camera that day. But now we can say that we hiked the Great Wall of China and we think that makes us just a little bit cooler than we were before.

Staring off at the other 3,000 miles of wall

Exploring some of the unrestored sections

This place got rustic, fast.