Home, home, sweet home! Home is sweeter than ever when you come back from a tough trip. I made it back home at 20:00 Sunday, from a two-day adventure excursion to Baisha River, Hongkou, Dujiangyan City.

　　On 21-22 August 2004 I had several outdoor challenges first time in my life - River Tracing, sleeping in a tent in the wilderness, Free-hanging zipline, free-fall Abseil. Besides, I carried a professional 70-liter backpack, a damppoof cushion, a sleeping bag and other must-to-take items for outdoor activities, a load of 25 kilos at least. I had to walk up and down a 2-km mountain trail, and made my way through bushes under which the trail was very wet and slippery. Having been enjoying life for the last 30 years, I really have to admire myself for this tour. It was an invaluable new experience in my life.

　　I appreciate the Chengdu Boondocks Outdoor Exercise Club for their very good arrangement. The two guides, Hao and Tan Ke (tank in English) were excellent instructor and team leaders. I am thankful for all the care and friendship of my team members as well. It was our collective efforts that made this adventure a blast of success.

　　The adventure group was made of the following outstanding people, many of them outdoor veterans:

　　Hao (浩, a common boy''s given name)

　　Tan Ke (坦克, tank)

　　Juan Niao (倦鳥, weary bird)

　　Bu Zui Bu Gui (不醉不歸, No home until drunk)

　　Xiao Co (小CO)

　　鋼兔寶寶(steel rabbit cutie)

　　Qing Feng (清風(fēng), cool breeze)

　　Da Hei (大黑, Heavy black)

　　Xiao Long Nu (小龍女, Little Dragon Maiden )

　　Xiao Wei (小薇, a common girl''s given name)

　　Kong Xin (空心, hollow heart)

　　Xi Xi (西西，Double Xi – a cute girl''s name)

　　Bluebird (藍(lán)鳥，me)

　　Lan Se (藍(lán)色, blue)

　　Chong Er(寵兒，Sweetheart girl)

　　Each of them was committed outdoor adventurers. They were amazingly energetic. In them I saw what is life''s real vitality. I was overwhelmed at their unbelievable vigor - the vigor of youth.

　　I am also thankful for our two drivers for their professionalism. They took good care of the whole team. They drove very safely, which was important for a successful adventure.

　　River Tracing

　　It is easily taken for granted as a piece of cake, but one would be shocked when challenged by the seemingly calm and plain water.

　　A group of 15 people, we made it to Bagemiao ( the 8-angle temple) at noon, had a quick lunch, and climbed down to the Baisha River. The starting point did not have very big torrents. The water was going quite slowly, and I could see that it was pretty shallow as well, rocks of all sizes clearly visible.

　　Too excited, I jumped in front of the group and got into water before everybody else. A sudden surge of freezing cold went through my body. I almost immediately shivered a bit. Nothing would stop me from proving how brave and strong I am! So I moved to the other side where Hao was already waiting. Leader and guide of the group. he did not seem to be hindered by the running water in any way.

　　Soon I was pushed backward. It was just like a person pushing me by the feet, and it was pretty strong. I tried hard to keep balance, and yet was soon knocked over by the persistent force. I failed and disgraced myself very badly.

　　"Damn, this is really no joke! It is never a simple cake. I''ve got to be careful."

　　Having tried more, I got more used to the torrents, and only fell over one more time. Everybody got all wet through, but nobody seemed to be miserable. We did not have good luck of a sunny day, ideal for river tracing. So we had to endure the coldness when cool breezes took heat from our body. All were yelling “cold, cold!”

　　I had to mention the important company of the pretty ladies in our group. Had it not been for their active participation, we could not have had as much fun. They were the most noisy and funny – screaming in the middle of the river, falling over, shouting for help, cursing the men who were flirting and teasing them, getting back on the bank sharing the excitements…they were cute and charming; they made a gorgeous view enlivening the whole river; the running water was singing and rhyming with their laughters; the wind was blowing melodies, just in response to their beautiful voices. And right now in my mind, their pretty images and silvery voices linger.

　　Our hunks Hao, Tank and Juanniao absolutely got the most favors from all ladies. I was jealous, but had to admire their perfect outdoor skills, athletic bodies, and great sense of humor. They were almost like stroking across the river while everybody else tried with their full might and still fell over. They were professional players for sure. I love Hao''s humor. When told "wow, you were almost like a super power standing in the dangerous torrent helping all of us", he put it in a funny way, "oh, that''s what I am good for when I realize that I have grown into a big, fatty."

　　Tank was a committed guide. He ran to where he was most needed, across the river, along the bank through a forest of sharp rocks, across the mountain to set up rope courses…he was the most respected and admired, and also the most yelled at by ladies.

　　"Tank, I know it has to be you. Bad man!" would yell a lady when splashed by a rock that had been tossed into water behind her. Tank played the most tricks on girls. I also did some, true for every other man. Actually, as it turned out, girl flirting and teasing went through the whole trip, and proved to be an important reason for fun. I cannot imagine a trip with only girls or men. There would never have been fun, or as much fun to say the least. God first created a man, then he made a woman for his company, and then the man the woman are happy together. This is God''s will. We all have to follow.

　　"I hate Tank the most"; "Tank is the worst guy in our group"; "My God, Tank was tossing rocks again. he is always doing this today"…all these words were repeatedly said by every lady in the group. Never take it seriously as complaints. They were happy acceptance of flirtation. You can take it this way

　　"I like Tank who is always so funny and so active"; "Tank is the best guy in our group; "come on, Tank, I also need to be splashed. Give me a rock now".

　　Hahaha, that''s life. That''s how we have fun. When the ladies were swimming, a group of men were watching. Some were throwing rocks again; three were down in water behind the ladies; people were teasing; ladies were cursing, but their happy, smiling face betrayed their seeming strong voice. I kept hitting the shutter of my camera to record such magnificent scenes.

　　Tenting by the Riverside

　　Complex jobs often turn out to be easy. Give it a try and get confident.

　　As it was getting dark, we were finishing up the last river tracing. All had been very cold, screaming for a change of dry clothes and a warm tea. We climbed ashore at the foot of the well-known GaoJiaZhuang resort. Having been dipped in cold water and spending too much energy fighting torrents, we were all worn out. I dragged my feet up the 1,000 meter mountain, pulling the last strength out of my exhausted body. When I saw the resort place, I was almost jumping up to cheer.

　　Hao went down the mountain to check out on a camping site. He was always so busy arranging everything for the whole group. When he came up to dinner again, it was already close to darkness.

　　I had thought of the camping site as a lawn or large plot of plain land. But the site Hao had chosen was more of a rock forest than a place where we could sleep overnight! Tank dragged behind him a spade he had borrowed from the resort owner – Lao Gao. He worked with Hao to help everybody set up their tents. The first procedure was to clear rocks off the sandy land. It was heavy labor. Hao did most of it. I only spaded two minutes and got tired.

　　Hao first helped ladies set up tents. While watching, I unpacked mine, and attempted to imitate the way he did it. Soon I was frustrated and gave it up. The first time ever I saw a real tent in front of me, I could not figure out what to do first, and what next. Hao was a very organized person, but a little bossy. He was always giving me (and others) friendly orders of what to do. I followed of course. Once done, I realized how easy it was to set up a tent. But it was never as easy sleeping overnight in a tent.

　　It was very different to live in the wilderness than at home. Lighting was the first problem to solve. We used head lights, but still could barely see things around clearly. Tank lit a candle, which broke through the darkness. We cheered. Soon I saw humps of flying insects coming at my face as I was standing by the candle. They were small insects that I had never seen. I moved away from the candle, and saw them run to the candle fire and died. My face was still hurting from their bumping just now. Their shocking spirit of taking death as going home sent me into deep thoughts.

　　The tent I had borrowed from A Yao was not dry. A handful of sand fell off when I opened it. The three-man tent was one of the biggest among our group, but I felt very depressed sleeping inside. The floor was so rough that I felt pain on my waist. So I had to turn sideway. I also hated the moisture and heat and the suffocating air. Afraid of mosquitoes and all other insects, I kept the tent door shut, and had to bear with it the whole night. It was totally a torture rather than an enjoyment, though the barbecue party was a blast.

　　Hao and Tank set up another huge tent, the so-called kitchen tent. I had to admire their skill to play the enormous, heavy thing at merely pure darkness. They depended on head lights to finish everything. A miracle!

　　We had an unforgettable barbeque party right under the kitchen tent. I was surprised by how wild the ladies became. In contrast, all men seemed to be very quiet. We had beer and toasted each other.

　　Ladies started to challenge men by playing liquor games with them. I only knew one very basic game, but many others knew a whole bunch. Xiao Co taught me an interesting one -- a Pretty girl vs. a Pervert. She said the words like she was singing, and elegantly added to the visual pleasure of the play by her nice gestures. I followed her and soon learned how to play it –

　　On a dark night when nothing could be seen.

　　Pervert, Pervert

　　Pretty Girl, Pretty Girl

　　Hero, Hero

　　Three different persons were called - Pretty Girl, Pervert and Hero - by two players simultaneously. The Pervert beats the Pretty Girl; the Hero beats the Pervert, and the Pretty Girl beats the Hero. Why does a strong, brave hero have to be beaten by a pretty girl? It is based on a well-known Chinese saying that a hero cannot get over the trap set by a pretty girl. So funny!

　　Steel Rabbit Cutie was pretty good at liquor games. She beat many people. When I was to play, I could only use the outdated dinosaur game – tiger, chicken, log and worm. What a shame! Thank goodness. I did not disgrace further and beat many as well.

　　The rabbit was so delicious. I started to have water in my mouth soon, but Tank said that it needs three hours on the fire – first hour to get dry, second hour to get soft, and third hour to be ready to eat. Knowledge lies in everything around outdoor activities. I was learning a lot.

　　Free-hanging Zipline

　　There was a big iron chain hanging across the river. Tank helped us wear a life protection. With simple instruction, we started off in the air. Bu Zui Bu Gui was the first one to go. He was showcasing a nice airs while flying under the chain. I admired him a lot. Girls were fussy. They hesitated a lot before shooting off, and made a lot of screams on the way. They were so cute.

　　What made girls different is that they are easily aroused into passion, horror, temptation and excitements. When they get excited, they blush, talk fast, and scream; they are easily tempted by a game, and yet always have to nonsense a lot before actually doing the game. All of them were saying "Oh, my gosh, no, I cannot do this. I am so frightened." But they always did it anyway. :em22:

　　Men are different. Sometimes they scream out of joy and thrills; most of the time they keep silent. They like challenges and rarely say "I am afraid I cannot do it." They are eager to show off before girls how brave and skillful they are. I am of the same style of course. But the zipline adventure disgraced me. My fellow team members told me that I looked silly and clumsy in the air. Sigh! I did try hard to look cool.:em23:

　　Free-fall Abseil

　　Tank led us to a cliff around 30 meters above our camping site. He tied the rope to two strong trees. We wore the life protection again. Lan Se was the first one to jump off. He did a great job. This game was my favorite. It was not so challenging as the previous ones. I had an easy jump. It was so much fun! But Juanniao told me that I looked silly again in the camera. He was taking a picture of me when I was half way down the cliff. Hell, why do I always look silly? He showed me a picture of Bu Zui Bu Gui. He was indeed quite gracefully sliding down the cliff.

　　Our smallest pretty angel – Xiao Wei also did a good job. Tank teased that nobody would fail a game if Xiao Wei could accomplish it. We all smiled. Xiao Wei was small and pretty and very tender. She was of the type of girls whom you want to protect immediately.

　　"I am so scared of the height. I cannot do it." She kept telling Xiao Co who encouraged her to give it a try. Wearing the life protection, she did not stop telling us how frightened she was. :em24: When she was going down the cliff, she continued saying those words as if she wanted to give up. Haha, an interesting girl. I wonder if she was yelling "get me up" when she got further down.

　　Xiao Co was apparently excited by the free-fall abseil. She tried twice. I took her picture as she had requested. I did not see Little Dragon Maiden in this game. She was enjoying swimming, with a couple of women and men. I regretted not having got near their swimming pool earlier. It was a very exciting scene: Women were teasing each other; men were flirting women, throwing rocks around them; women got "annoyed", and screamed and cursed; men became more amused, and threw more rocks. The whole pool of water seemed to be boiling; I hated that I cannot swim!

　　I could not help but sneak a few Bikini pictures of the women in water. They might have noticed my intention, but pretended not; they were posing their best showcase; they were proud of their beauty and elegance.

　　Messy and Tidy

　　We made a horrible mess around the camping place. We threw napkin paper, plastic bags, fruit skins to the ground; the barbecue party also produced "tons of trash." The peaceful riverside was almost torn and turned upside down.

　　By 4:00 pm Sunday we were still cooking food. Little Dragon Maiden was a skillful cook. She made wonderful patato chips and meize pellets. We were sitting around a big rock enjoying the delicious food. Suddenly Juanniao warned us of a heavy rain. We looked up to see black clouds casting over. Looking at his watch,

　　Juanniao said that the air pressure kept climbing, that a heavy rain was coming soon. I had to admire his experience. In no more than three minutes it started to rain. We had to run under the kitchen tent. It was raining very hard. Everybody got out their raincoats. Now we had a problem -- the messy riverside - what shall we do?

　　Nobody called what to do, but many people went out of the tent, into the rain, and started to pick up trash. I held a big bag in which I put every tiny drop of tissue paper, plastics, fruits residue...all were busy working around, and soon, I saw a clean land again.

　　When we left the riverside, I turned back. The rocks seemed to be more beautiful in the rain. We disturbed this place two days, had a lot of fun, and returned peace and harmony back to the Great Nature. We are blessed, and we want to leave the blessings to new camping groups.