Meeting Them IX

A crowd of Chinese and one American push violently for space on a bus which can only escort half of them to the mountain. An unusually competent bus driver conveys the lucky half towards their destination. As they approach, the air of anticipation grows. When the bus arrives in the town at the mountain's base, the passengers are directed to a store. Inside, a man barks warnings and thwacks a large map with his old radio antenna. On the side, the shop sells gear for the unprepared. The traveler buys a map, a flashlight, spare food, and a cheap backpack.

Many hikers will choose to rest in the shop for several hours, delaying their departure until midnight. With an estimated hiking time of 6 hours to East Peak, they should arrive in time to see the sunrise. The traveler eats a meal of Mapo Doufu, rice and tea and sets off.
Walking through what seems the main street of town, the street sloping steadily upward, the traveler comes along people selling white gloves for ¥1. They look quite useful and are accordingly acquired. She also comes along another flashlight, not as bright as the first but with a head-strap, and bargains it down to ¥10 from ¥15.

How to begin climbing? There's a plaza in the way, and a group of buildings. Perhaps this creature is lost too. He certainly looks distressed.
Heading Up as a rule of thumb works out well. The traveler claims student discount entrance and proceeds as night falls.
Solitude, stars, and a stream. Silence, save for a few insects' hums.
Most foreign tourists have gone up during the day and settled into their relatively expensive rooms on the mountain, planning to wake in time to see the sunrise. Most of those without the means to buy rooms will leave several hours later to tackle the climb as a group. With an elevation of around 2200 meters (higher than the highest peak of the Appalachians), nighttime temperatures dip near to freezing, even in the middle of the summer.

The traveler, cooped up on trains for so long, takes to the paths at high speed. The movement and exertion feels heavenly. When the edge has been taken off the store of pent up energy, she falls in with a group of 3 moving more steadily, young workers from a nearby city on a weekend adventure together. They are good, though easily winded, company. While the four stop together to rest, they explain the meaning of the white gloves. Their primary use is in gaining a better grip on the metal chains used along the stairs. Using these chains becomes more important as the paths become steeper, and enables one to ascend steeper paths. They are also nice to wear as the air cools. Resting stands lining the path at frequent intervals sell increasingly expensive food and drink. The group stops and eats some small round seeds. The traveler makes yet another friend.
Hairy Woman Cave. As it is said that a lady of Qin Dynasty, in order to avoid being buried with the dead escaped to Mount Hua, eat conifers leaf, drank spring water for a long time, grew green hair, so was called as 'Hairy Woman' the rock cave where she dwelled was called as 'Hairy Woman Cave'.
When Chinese part with each other, a polite thing to say is, 慢走, walk slowly. This group uses the phrase a lot, as in 'take it easy.' Eventually the traveler begins to feel cool due to lack of movement. Coming to a fortuitous splitting of the path, the traveler strikes out alone along the steeper option. Moving alone and quickly once more, she climbs upward, eventually coming to The Immortals' Gathering Plain.
She climbs on and on, following the chains up the mountain, using long exposures to try to capture the beauty around. The mountains' sides shine pure white, soft and chalky in the light of the rising moon. The path steepens, moves through rock.
The North Peak is attained. There is a hostel here, but the traveler moves on. The night is young, and there are paths to explore.
Heavenly Queen Palace, Immortality-Pill Making Furnace, Flying Fish Ridge. This last walk in the dark is the loneliest, shared only with spiders and something that howls. A sign cautions that in this place, there is, "no watching while walking. While walking no watching." The traveler stops walking and watches. The drop is impressive. Moving on through dark woods. Five Clouds Peak and Ox Grinding Stone.

While navigating tangled paths, alone in the dark, the traveler is glad of her map. Eventually she returns to something nearer to a main path. A pack of climbers is rushing past, those in back always urging those in front forward. Faster! Go Faster! All tired, none willing to be slowest. The traveler joins in and they sweep up the path. Taking a brief break, the rest pant as she sips from a bottle of water. Then, onward!

Couples' locks and ribbons cover paths' chains and hang down walls. (Only chains in more remote areas such as Flying Fish Ridge and chains along the steep runs are not adorned with these locks.)
In the dark, the adventurous path is missed, and the first of the pack starts up a set of stairs. Then the traveler's headlamp discovers it; holds cut in rock, a path cutting vertically, past vertically. At places the rock bulges out, making the chains on either side essential. They scale the cliff.

The East Peak is not far now, and the distance quickly covered in their exhilaration. There they settle on cold rock, hours before sunrise, to sleep if they can, and wait for the sun and its warmth. Many others have already arrived; it is Friday night, and the destination is popular among Chinese tourists, even if they cannot afford a hotel room at the top. The traveler wears pants over shorts and wraps a sarong around her shoulders. Using her backpack and the remainder of its contents for a pillow, she sleeps.