Hiking photos – Big Black Mountain to the Walled Village, 2011/11/20

We started on country trails used to collect all the chestnuts at harvest time.

A few of the persimmon trees we passed still had fruit.

An old chestnut tree.

As we got further along, the trail became more overgrown. There aren’t any orchards of farmland deeper in the hills, and not so many people walk so far up.

We crossed over the ridge at a saddle, and were able to spot the Great Wall in the distance. Later in the hike we’d cross over the wall.

On the other side of the hill are more chestnut orchards.

The trail led down the valley, and all the fallen leaves made a pretty sight.

The sign notes that Yanjing Beer is an official sponsor of the China Lunar Exploration Program. Below the sign are bottles of Chinese liquor, which would make much better rocket fuel than beer.

After walking through the village we took a turn up a valley, heading for the Great Wall.

The Great Wall dipped down on either side of this valley; we climbed up for a look at the towers, and then headed on through a big arch in the wall.

The last part of the hike took us through more orchards.

The harvesting had been completed, but the locals were still busy, collecting enough firewood to see them through winter. Pictured is a wicker basket with straps, loaded with branches and sticks.

After the hike, we visited a local restaurant for some snacks to warm up before returning home.