Long Hike
I'm starting to ponder some day, when I can afford to take a year out of my life, to walk the Great Wall. I guess the thoughts started up when I saw a program on tv about Beijing, and it was mentioned that there were actually people who'd walked the whole wall, and that the first one did it in three years. I did some figuring today, and this is what I came up with:
The Wall is 4163 miles long, very steep in some places, with a lot of steps, many of them taller than what most people are used to. This means, it is quite a hike. Now, if I want to really do this in a year, that being 365 days, it would mean walking approx. 11.4 miles a day. The average walkathon is 10k, or around 6 miles. That means I'd be walking almost two walkathons a day, and not on simple flat or slightly hilly ground, but across steps, steep climbs and decents, and with a pack on. I'd be stopping whenever I came to a village, town, or city to stock up on food and water and possibly lodge. It definitely wouldn't be easy, and I certainly couldn't just drop myself there right now and start walking, not in my shape. The average person blisters after ten or twelve miles in a day, which would slow you down even more. However, if one was to train...
The Appalachian trail is 2160 miles, with much the same sort of conditions, maybe even harder. Of course, this would mean taking six months out of my life to do that as well.. But anyway, the Trail is more than half the distance of the Wall, and if I could complete that without seriously hurting myself, within about seven months, it would be a good indication of being able to walk the Wall.
Something else I realized is that I could keep writing while I do it, too. And what a place to write, in the area where Rhia spent much of her earlier days, and continued to come back to time and time again. I wouldn't be carrying a laptop, but notebooks. As I fill a notebook, I mail it home once I get to a city. And if need be, I can buy paper in a city when I reach one. It would really be quite the expedition, and what an accomplishment to add to one's life story. I'm not sure if I'd do it with someone, or if I'd want to do it alone. I guess that will have to wait to see where I am in life when (if) I do decide to do it.
Here's a way to look at it more realistically - I sleep roughly six hours a night, which leaves eighteen hours in the day. Altogether, save about an hour for eating, and an hour or two for rest. That leaves fourteen hours, which in turn leaves approx. an hour and a half for each mile. Thinking about it that way, it doesn't seem all that difficult. The hardest part is walking for fourteen hours straight day after day. Would kind of give you an idea of what the people a long time ago went through, and would give me an idea of what Rhia went through her whole life.
The Wall is 4163 miles long, very steep in some places, with a lot of steps, many of them taller than what most people are used to. This means, it is quite a hike. Now, if I want to really do this in a year, that being 365 days, it would mean walking approx. 11.4 miles a day. The average walkathon is 10k, or around 6 miles. That means I'd be walking almost two walkathons a day, and not on simple flat or slightly hilly ground, but across steps, steep climbs and decents, and with a pack on. I'd be stopping whenever I came to a village, town, or city to stock up on food and water and possibly lodge. It definitely wouldn't be easy, and I certainly couldn't just drop myself there right now and start walking, not in my shape. The average person blisters after ten or twelve miles in a day, which would slow you down even more. However, if one was to train...
The Appalachian trail is 2160 miles, with much the same sort of conditions, maybe even harder. Of course, this would mean taking six months out of my life to do that as well.. But anyway, the Trail is more than half the distance of the Wall, and if I could complete that without seriously hurting myself, within about seven months, it would be a good indication of being able to walk the Wall.
Something else I realized is that I could keep writing while I do it, too. And what a place to write, in the area where Rhia spent much of her earlier days, and continued to come back to time and time again. I wouldn't be carrying a laptop, but notebooks. As I fill a notebook, I mail it home once I get to a city. And if need be, I can buy paper in a city when I reach one. It would really be quite the expedition, and what an accomplishment to add to one's life story. I'm not sure if I'd do it with someone, or if I'd want to do it alone. I guess that will have to wait to see where I am in life when (if) I do decide to do it.
Here's a way to look at it more realistically - I sleep roughly six hours a night, which leaves eighteen hours in the day. Altogether, save about an hour for eating, and an hour or two for rest. That leaves fourteen hours, which in turn leaves approx. an hour and a half for each mile. Thinking about it that way, it doesn't seem all that difficult. The hardest part is walking for fourteen hours straight day after day. Would kind of give you an idea of what the people a long time ago went through, and would give me an idea of what Rhia went through her whole life.
posted by The Author at 18:33
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