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After a few hours hiking along a steadily rising gradient, we reached the infamous "24 Bends," a tortuous sequence of twists and turns that rises almost vertically to a height of 2,660 meters. At the summit, out of breath and with muscles on fire, the gorge appeared in all its majesty. Thankfully, from that point on it was all downhill to our encampment for the night - the Teahorse Trade Guesthouse, an establishment that has possibly the best view (from the roof of the toilet) in China.

The next day, on a path so narrow that at some points we had to walk single file, we made our way to Sean's guesthouse. Treading carefully, so as not to fall on the slippery rocks and slide down into the deep ravine below, our hike lasted four hours. We arrived at the guesthouse and were greeted by Sean (Xia Shan Quan), a Tibetan who has hosted adventurous travelers since 1983. A friendly and hospitable host, he provided me with a very welcome cold beer, and talked to me about the proposed construction of two large dams nearby which would create a 200-kilometer reservoir and turn Tiger Leaping Gorge into a stagnant lake.

This sobering scenario stayed with me the next day as I boarded a minivan that took me back to Qiaotou, and from there, another bus to Dali. More sobering still was the driver's insistence on not using his brakes on a road that, at times, looked like it was only seconds from collapsing into the swirling waters far, far below. On the other hand, by not slowing down for anything, he had us in Dali in just 30 minutes, over the same terrain that had taken us eight hours on foot.

Once a haven for backpackers, in recent years Dali has been "upgraded." It now has an airport, and is connected with the rest of the nation by a network of highways. While it may have lost some of its appeal for the hardcore traveler, the increased accessibility is no doubt appreciated by flag and cap-style tourists, who clog the town's streets.

If nothing else, the hordes of tourists served as a reminder that my adventure was nearing its end. The next day, I boarded a midday bus for Kunming, and from there began my journey back to the big smoke. Still, there was time for a beery night at the Cafe De Camel in the company of local celebrity "Bike Mike" and the local chief of police, but that's another story altogether...

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