The Great Wall (written Saturday Evening)

Great Wall at Simatai today. Bus departure time was around 8:15;
after about 2 hours drive, plus a bit more for refueling and a
bathroom stop, we got there around 10:30, the landscape changing from
city to rural countryside as we drove. Each person was given 2
bottles of water (and 2 eggs and packaged goods for breakfast, but I
already ate and brought my own water). A few people shopped for hats
at the bottom (myself included; this was my first time I can remember
bargaining for something with a vendor), and at about 11:00 we started
the climb. I originally planned to take the cable car one way, but
instead I walked both up and down. The climb started fairly easy; a
newly-paved path leading to the wall itself, passing by a river with a
few dams. Once we got to the wall itself, there was a path atop the
wall leading up and one leading to the bottom of the valley, then up
again; we took the one up. From here, the climb got more difficult.
It was much steeper on the wall itself (the pictures don't give a
sense of how steep it is, as they were all taken at an angle from
horizontal), and after awhile the square steps (which already were of
notably differing heights) gave way to steps cut into stone, which
were more uneven. If we had gone here when it was raining, it would
certainly have been dangerous. The climb was mostly uphill, with
occasional shaded spots in guard towers. I was among the first to
reach the "top" (the point where climbing further was off-limits, due
to the trail being too dangerous), and those up there took pictures
while we waited for the rest to mass up top.
At 12:30 or so we started down. Both on the way up and down, we
passed salespeople selling water, soda, ice cream, art (medals and
carvings), and t-shirts saying "I Climbed the Great Wall." We also
saw people parasailing nearby. At 1:35, I reached the bottom and went
with the rest of the students around to a nearby restaurant, where the
teachers bought us lunch. We left around 2:30 (most of the rest of
the students sleeping on the way back, or trying to, given the loud
honking) and returned at about 5. According to Mao, I have now
satisfied one of the prerequisites of being a true man (I'm not sure
if he specified any others, though).