a valley near the base of the mountain
it was great to get out on the trail. the sounds of honking traffic, and...
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bamboo
there are some really huge bamboo groves on the mountain. some are nearly as...
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a house on the mountain
there are several villages and even more individual dwellings scattered about...
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dinner the first night
we arrived in the afternoon, so our first day of hiking only lasted a...
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where we spent the night
this is the courtyard of the nunnery. we had rooms on the other side of these...
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the bathrooms at the nunnery
this is how many chinese bathrooms in the countryside are set up. this one...
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the beginning of the second day
some classic chinese mountain views. just like an ink wash in a scroll painting.
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a view from a pavillion en route
this is in the shenshui pavilion area.
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characters carved into stone
this is the unsimplified version of chinese. the first character is shen, the...
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more characters carved into the rock
everything here is covered with moss due to the constant mist,...
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the temple with mountain backdrop
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diana makes a friend
this puppy seemed to belong to one of the temple caretakers and was...
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another shot of the puppy
cute little sucker, isn't he she?
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candles and carvings at guangfu temple
there were many monks at this temple. i didn't photograph them, because...
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flowers at guangfu temple
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stairs on the way to qinqyin pavilion
trails at sacred buddhist and taoist mountains usually follow the straightest...
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a village in the world heritage site
little kids with backpacks were bounding past us down the stairs on...
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another view of the village
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steep staircase leading to a temple
i'm not exactly sure if this is zhong feng temple or not. the map...
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the stream flowing past qingyin temple
it's refreshing to see some clean mountain streams in china.
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bamboo leaves above the stream
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a pilgrim worshipping at qingyin temple
qingyin is built on a rock in between two streams. in english the name of the...
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qingyin
this temple was particularly attractive with all of the flowers and pavilions...
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a waterfall near qingyin
here's me in front of the waterfall. this is just up from qingyin...
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more shots of the waterfall...
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a gorge along the way
the trail followed the stream through a gorge on the way to the 'joking...
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plank bridges in the gorge
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the 'joking monkey zone'
these are tibetan makaks, and they can be quite brave. they will approach you...
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monkeys on the trail
the monkeys seem to hang out on the trail waiting for handouts from passing...
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just hangin' out
a little monkey hoodlum just waiting to pounce on some unsuspecting...
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a little monkey hangin' out
probably watching and taking lessons from the others on how to get a...
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laundry drying at hongchunping terrace
i don't know how anything dries here. the humidity is out of control. it...
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the courtyard of hongchunping
hongchunping means 'venerable trees terrace' although this...
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not a job you'd want to have...
most of the trails are so steep that not even mules can climb the steps. that...
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nearing the clouds
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lunch stop
there are little snack stands all along the trail. every time you walk...
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almost in the clouds
another classic chinese mountain view
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climbing
the stairs seem like they will never end and they are STEEP. the common joke...
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xianfeng monastery
through the mist and clouds. the name means magic peak monastery.
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looking out the front door
it was really kind of eerie up here. it was so quiet and still. in...
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candles at xianfeng temple
notice the moss that grows on all of the stone surfaces. it's so...
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xixiangchi monastery
after about 10 hours of brutally steep staircases we arrived at this monastery.
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xixiangchi
the mist seems to muffle all kinds of sounds. the only thing you could...
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the entrance of xixiangchi
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the monastery in a cloud...
at 2,070m (near 6,800 ft) it was so surreal up here. the monastery is...
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from the back of the monastery
xixiangchi is definitely perched on a rock outcrop. there are steep...
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elephants are a big symbol here..
there is a small pool or pond up here. it is said that a boddisattva and...
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more surreal views...
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me...
a not-so-surreal view.
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a view from behind the monastery
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the same view the next morning
the clouds dissapated overnight. we slept in a small guesthouse behind the...
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just before the sunrise
the views were great when it cleared up, but the wind had kicked up...
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looking back down at xixiangchi
the tiny cluster of buildings near the center of the photo is where we...
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more monkeys!
the monkeys are great fun. andy and i spent about 20 minutes playing...
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a monkey eating dirt....
i'm not sure if this is normal for tibetan makaks, but this monkey...
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chewing the dirt...
he doesn't seem to think it tastes bad. hey, you've got a little...
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two other monkeys eating dirt...
now i know where they got the phrase 'monkey see, monkey do.'...
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a baby monkey
this little fella' finally sat still enough for me to get a decent...
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huddled together
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a view through a crag
its a loooong way down.
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another view down a gorge
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repairing a terrace
on the way down the mountain we encountered a temple where a landslide had...
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a building at wannian monastery
this is the oldest surviving temple on the mountain. it was damaged by...
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more shots of wannian...
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incense
sticks this big make the whole temple smell good.
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candles outside the entrance
the practice is to light a candle, use it to light your incense, and say your...
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a monk
walking and practicing martial arts forms.
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another monk
contemplating the turtles maybe?
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another monk...
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more incense...
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the entrance to wannian
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