Moganshan: Cakewalk

Paul, an avid hiker, wanted to go for a hike.  After talking with the hostel caretakers and some fellow guests, he chose a route illustrated on the most rudimentary of maps provided by the hostel.  “It’s called The Cakewalk,” he explained to me, “because it’s a really easy hike and it ends at a café famous for their cake and cookies.”  I was sold.

Now, had I known that the map was grossly out of scale, that Paul thinks scaling boulders is “really easy” hiking, and that the cake & cookies were actually famously bad, I’m not sure I would have survived the next four-plus hours of what is surely the most intense physical activity I’ve had in the past year.  But ignorance is bliss.  And thus I acquired the following photos and a true sense of accomplishment for conquering our little Cakewalk.

It began as an increasingly steep ascent out the back door of our hostel.

 

 Due to the poorly-drawn map, we got lost a few times.  Luckily, Paul is a geographer.

Occasionally the foliage would part and we'd get a nice vista of the valley.

  
After going over the first mountain and back down a dirt road, we began ascending our second mountain up some stone steps through a serene bamboo forest.

 

  

This led us to our second vista, from a lookout point on a rock outcropping.

Gradually, the bamboo gave way to pines and scrub and what we'd more typically think of as "forest".

Eventually, we reached the little town of Moganshan, and made our way through the streets as they crisscrossed down into the next valley.  This is where we scarfed down our mediocre lunch before taking a taxi back to our hostel . . . a ride that took 30 minutes and was over 20km. 

 

But no complaints!  I loved that after many city-slicker years, Matt & I could once again pay respect to our Colorado roots by getting active outdoors.  TJ was a trouper throughout the day as she took in the sights from her perch on Matt's back.  And with Paul's help, when he wasn't patiently guiding us towards our destination, we even managed to snap a family photo, our first that I can think of since the hospital shoot the day after TJ was born.

Once it was all over, I was glad the hike didn't live up to it's name as a "cakewalk."  I relished the challenge to remind me that I can now reclaim my inner athlete, and between the crisp mountain air and the blood pumping through my legs, I ended the hike feeling more refreshed than fatigued.  Plus, I remembered, I don't even like cake...