Eating family style

Eating family style
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

I stayed at Naxi Family Guesthouse for the first night, about two hours from Qiaotao. I met up with a couple other groups of hikers, three Swedes (the Swedish Boy Band) and a couple from Melbourne. We bonded immediately over sunflower seeds, tea, and beer, and stayed together for the next two nights. A few hours later, two tour groups showed up and the proprietor asked if we could eat together. We got 7 dishes and shared them family style for 15 RMB a person.

Confusing arrows

Confusing arrows
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

The trail is marked with arrows pointing you to guesthouses. You can't get lost if you keep your eyes open.

Looking back

Looking back
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

Looking forward

Looking forward
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

Tiger Leaping Gorge

Tiger Leaping Gorge
Originally uploaded by bastchild.

From Lijiang, I took a bus (13 RMB) to Qiaotao, about 80 minutes north, on the other side of the snowy peaks.
Qiaotao serves as the trailhead for the Tiger Leaping Gorge trek, a three to four-day trek along one of the deepest gorges in the world. There are two trails, one low and one high one. I took the high one. I hiked downstream above the Yangtze River. There weren't too many hikers on the trail. The views were breathtaking and the guesthouses on the way were the most genuinely hospitable guesthouses I have encountered in China. There are guesthouses every few kilometers from where you can buy drinks or snacks. It costs 30 RMB to enter the gorge, but a student id card gets you half off. There are several places at the beginning of the trek that have hand-drawn maps to lead you astray, I mean, on your way.