A Small Update
It had been quite a while since I last wrote about this plan. Back then, we had agreed to go hiking over the weekend, but it kept raining during the week, so I was honestly a little nervous. I was really afraid the rain would ruin everything, and I even prepared a backup plan just in case.
But! In the end, it did not rain at all, so that backup plan was completely unnecessary, hahaha.
The Short Version
The weather was great. My legs were basically ruined.
When we were coming down the mountain, I imagined there should have been a banner at the exit saying: “Welcome to come again next time!” Of course, that line is totally made up, but luckily the trip itself was still very nice, hahaha.
If I had to summarize the whole day in just two words, it would be: happy!
It really felt like we gained a lot from the trip.
Meeting Up
The two of us had already agreed to meet in the subway on Friday afternoon. But right when we met, I ended up saying something to her again. I really was not trying to be fierce or harsh. Maybe it was because I had been looking forward to the trip for so long, and when I could not find her for a moment, I got a bit anxious inside.
Thankfully, she forgave me once again. I told her that maybe my tone sounded bad, but deep down I really was not scolding her, hehe.
Taking a Didi There
On Saturday at noon, after eating a bowl of liangpi and a roujiamo, we bought some snacks and set off.
At first, we thought about taking a bus, but after doing the math, we gave up on that idea and decided to call a Didi instead. It saved time, and we could chat in the car, rest a little, and then start climbing as soon as we arrived.
The ride took about forty minutes or so. We talked with the driver for quite a while. What I remember most clearly is that he said driving for Didi was actually pretty nice. In the morning, he had taken someone to the Terracotta Warriors, and now he was taking us to Cuihua Mountain, hahaha.
I was thinking, even if the driver did not actually go inside to have fun, he still got to experience a little bit of the joy of being on the road. When you think about it that way, it is actually kind of nice.
Climbing Up
The funny thing is, the two of us did not really look at any maps or guides. After entering the scenic area, we just wandered around randomly. Later, I told my friend that we were actually pretty lucky. Somehow, without really planning it, we ended up on the way up the mountain.
The route we took going up was not bad either. There were places where we could stop and rest. The way down, on the other hand, had almost nowhere to sit, so looking back, we really did choose a decent path by accident.
We talked a lot while walking. I told her that hiking is honestly pretty good, because there are many little things you can understand from it. Climbing a mountain is a bit like studying: you go up one step at a time, and as long as you keep going, you will eventually reach the destination. Here, of course, the destination also means the view at the top.
She is preparing for her junior-college-to-undergraduate exam next year. Maybe to her, that feels a lot like climbing a mountain too — difficult, tiring, and not something that can be finished all at once. But if she takes it slowly, step by step, she will get there eventually.
Actually, I think I was saying that to myself as well.
Coming Down
By the time we started going down, it was already a little after five. We walked slowly, and when we finally reached the entrance of the scenic area, it was after six.
After coming down the mountain, we bought two ice creams. There are photos below. The corn-flavored one was pretty good. I had eaten that flavor when I was little, but now it is rare to see it, so it felt a bit nostalgic.
Photos From the Day
I got my friend’s permission before posting these photos. She is really pretty, just a little lacking in confidence!
I will not list the exact spots where every photo was taken, hehe. These are just here as a memory. The two of us also talked about creating a shared album, only for the two of us to upload photos.
