Walnut Grove to Samba

In the morning, we learned that not only had the road to Qiaotou to the West been blocked by a rock slide, but also the route in from the East that we had taken had also been cut off. We were all chilled to learn that the massive rock slide had occurred only 4 hours after we had ridden in. Looking back, we knew it was dangerous at that spot, because small stones were continuously rolling down the rock face onto the road, but we had no choice but to continue. Additionally, we learned later from Cathy that another group of bicycle riders on their way to Tibet got into a landslide during the time of our trip – and 5 of the 6, including a good friend of hers, were killed. They were only in their late ‘20s/early ‘30s.

Once we ascended out of the gorge, we could all breathe easier, and we all enjoyed a wonderful 25-km climb (up to about 3500 m), passing many small Naxi villages, but nothing else. The Naxi minority (also native to Lijiang) descended from Tibetan nomads and were very friendly whenever we encountered them.

We were happy for the cloudy weather on the long climb. When we passed the summit and began descending into Haba (above), we were treated to an incredible sight of a steeply sloping river valley filled with fresh sediment, creating fertile soil for the farm plots that covered the entire valley as far as we could see. It was really one of the most beautiful sights we saw on the entire trip.

We had a great lunch at a guest house that caters to mountaineering groups that hike and climb in the surrounding mountains, including Mt. Haba and even over into Tiger Leaping Gorge. There were flags and banners from many groups, mainly from China.

Despite the “charmless” guest house in Samba / Baishuitai, we enjoyed the village: Pigs, pool and friendly people would sum it up.

Before heading to bed, we spent about 20 minutes playing with these local kids.