10/7/25
We managed to source a better breakfast. The noodle chef was different and understood the concept of not eating meat. We left at 9:30am. The G549, we had hoped was the quieter road of the two sides of the river. It wasn’t. At least the beginning was mashed with trucks. It was very dusty. The potential of the glorious views was spoiled by extensive amounts of infrastructure. Industry lined the river.
Of course a giant expressway carried on down the river with us. The river was moving very fast and often emanating a deliciously cold wind. It wasn’t quite enough to counter the Sun even though it was only 10am. China has been experiencing extreme weather recently. Floods, heatwaves and typhoons. We had no doubt that this was part of it.
China’s road network is constantly changing. We saw one bridge that was non-existent on our map, then crossed a non-existent bridge ourselves. It saved us going up the valley to cross the river. Then we joined a non-existent road. Moved slightly from its previous location, it had a perfect surface and was intermittently still being finished off. One or two areas had no crash barriers. The raging torrents of the river just an accidental swerve away.
We kept climbing higher and higher until we came across an hydroelectric dam. Water was spraying from a hole in a concrete set of arches. To its side a huge dam blocked the river. Once we were above it we could see the reservoir was a stagnant brown pool. The huge amount of stored energy now a hidden secret.
We rode along the edge of the reservoir for several kilometres. We stopped to have a drink. It was getting very hot as we wiggled steeply up above the reservoir. The garmin was once again showing unusual climbs that were surely tunnels. It was still disturbing to look down and see a 24% gradient for the next 4 km. The mountain side had been entirely concreted and barricaded with concrete to stop landslides. We looked down on the road across the river that was also freshly rebuilt.
The turnoff to the first tunnel could have easily been missed after the preceding sharp descent. A slow uphill culminated in a dusty entrance hole. Masks were a wise precaution. There were lights, but it wasn’t ventilated. We appreciated the mile long, gradual uphill, that relieved us from the Sun. It felt like we were in there for quite a while. Once again we were terrified by the oncoming lorries. We emerged overlooking a valley. Down below, a deep gorge. Between the mountains we could see a large dam. A plume of water was spewing violently out of the hydroelectric outlet.
The next tunnel was 1200m long. This time it was lit and ventilated. Also mostly flat. We emerged again, next to a very uninteresting cement factory. The third, and final tunnel, followed. There was no surface to speak of at the start. It was exceedingly dusty. We went downhill at the end and were glad to escape. We took the left turn to Caoke. We now had a mere 7km of uphill in front of us. It would be a very pleasant place if it wasn’t for the scolding hot temperatures.
The hill was a mix of the steep and flat. We struggled to keep ourselves motivated. The centre line of the road was a tourist enticing rainbow. Construction of landslide barriers was taking place. It was a relief to arrive in Caoke. The town appeared to be dead. It was clearly a winter resort town. We’d taunted ourselves with the idea of a fancy hot spring hotel. There was a palace of a hotel. Alas it was still under construction.
The hotel we thought to be a sure thing, was closed. We learnt from a security guard there had been an earthquake three years ago, in 2022. It had devastated the entire area. The town had been cut off. The shaking had been felt as far afield as Chengdu. Now we understood the reason all the roads had been rebuilt. And the tunnels so variable.
We rolled back down to the town and found one of the smaller, less comfortable hotels: Asbestos Derong. We had to deliberate over a room with air conditioning or a room with a western toilet. We couldn’t have both. The toilet was important to Frankie. After 30 seconds in the heat upstairs we succumbed to the cooled room downstairs. A man arrived who looked a lot like he had been hiking. Soon a big group of hikers arrived at the hotel. Some young teenagers. The man was a guide and he could hopefully furnish us with some information about our upcoming adventure.
Several restaurants were on the main street. We chose one that had tofu visible in the fridge. A filling meal was soon prepared for us. Bean curd bathed in tomatoes, fried aubergine and peppers, and a plate of morning glory arrived. Accompanied of course by a vat of rice. We were soon too full and returned to our room to watch more Ragnarok. Initially nervous about the noisy party of hikers outside, they soon quietened down, much to our delight.
Surly They Won't Make It 