January 16: Sleeping in a Monastery

Map of Emeishan. We took the highlighted route. 

We woke up this morning at 8 to leave by 8:30. I woke up a nervous wreck wondering what I would do if my legs couldn't handle any more steps. Give up and take the bus? Not an option. Once you start the hike, you are committed to the hike. The bus that takes you up and down from the top goes around the mountain. There's no way to get to the road from the stairs. Convenient. Not.

About two hours into the hike I loosened up and got excited. It was becoming a memorable adventure and I knew after the first big monastery that this would be a trip I would never forget. Or maybe it was after the first set of never ending steps? Either way...

I can't tell you how much I prayed this first day. Yes, I prayed for the strength to get me up all the steps and the courage to keep walking and for safety to not fall off the side of the mountain.

The first day goes a little something like this... Hike up about 2,000 steps, look at a monastery, walk a few meters, hike up another set of long and zig zagy steps. The steps like to trick you, you think you're at the end of them and you have a nice break to just walk, or you see a building and you sigh in relief that you'll get a break... The answer was always a let down.

Around 2 we decided we had to stop for lunch. We needed the energy. We stopped at this mans house and asked him if he was willing to make us food. He had a restaurant set up, but lunch is usually around 11 in china. He thankfully said yes and we were thrilled. We didn't tell him what to make us. He just whipped up some amazing vegetables and steamed some rice. It was great.

During lunch we studied the map and decided if we powered through another 5 hours we could get to the Elephant Bathing Pool and then we would only have three long hours tomorrow!

Well, even though the food gave us new energy, by 5 we were both freaking out. Neither of us said anything until later that night. We had hit snow, no one was around us and nothing was in sight. We had no idea what time it was going to get dark.

Did I mention we hit snow... Snow, stairs, steep ascent, Nike tennis shoes= bad news.

Yesterday and today all these old ladies kept running up to us and trying to get us to buy these cramp ons. We both were convinced we wouldn't need them. We hadn't hit snow and it was at least 40 out. Well one lady at the last monastery we hit before we left any sign of civilization behind us, insisted we buy them. And we did. And thank The Lord we did.

I put mine on the second we hit snow and they worked like a charm. I powered through that snow like it was nobody's business. I was also terrified that we would be hiking up stairs, in the snow, in the dark and wouldn't have anywhere to sleep.

By 5:30 we finally hit a monastery. It was tiny and there was one man who was keeping it up. He came out and told us the greatest news ever! 30 minutes until we hit a monastery that would house us for the night. I could have cried I was so happy.

I will never forget the feeling I felt when we finally got to this monastery and it was dead. No one was in sight. Then I saw a TV on and I feel like I sprinted into that room. The man had a huge smile on his face when I asked his wife if we could stay there for the night. She was so sweet. She acted like our mom and took great care of us. She gave us a room with two twin beds, electric blanks, and TWO comforters, gave us the warmest water to drink and cooked us an amazing meal. I can't say I was very hungry. I still had an eerie feeling. I wanted to cry but I knew I couldn't. I couldn't break down. So I prayed, I ate and I drank water.

The monastery we slept at

That night Henry and I talked about what a different life the people keeping up these monasteries on Emeishan live. They have one way down and one way up, walking. If they need something do they walk down? Do they take turns? Do the horses we saw (we saw horses with baskets on our way up) bring them rice and other supplies they need? They have no Internet. Some of them have TV and if they have a cell phone they have service. It is such a different way of life and it amazes me. It brought tears to my eyes. They have very little yet are so happy.

Day one has already been an unforgettable experience, can't wait to see what day two brings!