Final trekking day ready for the off? Just 20 towers to go!!! Will they still be smiling?!!

 

A perfect start to the day with a lovely misty dawn and the temperature set to soar once the sun had burnt it off, a gruelling trek ahead of us including the infamous 'Heaven Steps'!!!

 
 

 
And this is what we were up against!! Miles and miles more wall, hundreds, no thousands of steps, some reasonably even, others very derelict and anything but even!!!!
 
 
 
 

The towers were mostly ruins or part ruined and very occasionally restored. The wall was actually never effective as a fortress against the enemy and new bits were constantly being added as the boundaries between the Provinces changed.
 
Parts of the wall have been restored over the centuries with bricks being used to build over the old stone parts. There are many bits being restore at the present time as well as more and more tourists flock to see it.
 

It was incredible to think of the building of these structures and the sheer volume of materials and the man-power, thousands upon thousands of people died during it's construction.
 

And there it was the 'Heaven Steps' 94 uneven, broken, steep, exhausting steps. When you've already walked, climbed and scrambled for several hours this was not a welcome sight!!! It was about tower 17 if I remember correctly.

Then half way up looking back down!! The heat by then was sweltering and no shade anywhere.

 Our final descent from the wall, one final look back at an amazing construction, an incredible feat of engineering by man with no machinery, just sheer hard graft by thousands, maybe millions of men who blindly did what they were told.

 
Celebration time!! The finish line!!! and it's all soooo surreal I can't even remember what we did the day before. But what an amazing experience, all the aches and pains pail into insignificance by the wonder of it all. I met some amazing people too, many who had themselves beaten Cancer, some still fighting and many others doing it for someone they know or have known.

Finally our home for the next few days. Relative luxury in comparison to the previous nights (although the bed was no softer so still had a bad back). A foot massage booked!! can't wait, Ahhhhh heaven!