Here is a tentative list of events in May, June, July and August
May 29-30 Hike and Yoga trip to paragliding platform outside Dujiangyan
We will leave Chengdu in the morning on Saturday and head out to Dujiangyan to have lunch and then head up to the paragliding platform, about a 45 minute hike. Veronica will host a yoga class if people are interested and we can set up our tents and bbq in the evening. There are also hiking trails around the platform for anyone who is interested. The next day we can pack up and head down to get lunch and then go to a nearby swimming hole before headed back to Chengdu late in the afternoon.
June 5-6 River Gorge Hike and camping near Hongkou
We leave in the morning and head out in the van to the Hongkou area near Dujiangyan to do a river hike. We can hike a few kms into the gorge and camp. The next day we can continue more into the gorge before coming back.
June 7 to June 11 Minya Konka hike (tentative date) If I don’t do this long hike I’ll plan something near Chengdu for that weekend.
Here is a 5 day hike around Mt Gonga near Kangding.
June 12-14 Dragon boat weekend – Waterfall Retreat and Tubbing near Yaan
Here we will go down near Yaan about three hours away to a nice village where there are a couple nice areas to swim and a nice large waterfall. The first day we can head into Liujiang ancient town for lunch and explore and then head over to a waterfall where we can do slip on slide over a large flat rock. In the evening we can have a bbq afterwards at our guesthouse. The second day we can try some tubing in the area and or head to the larger waterfall. The last day we can explore the tea fields nearby before headed back to Chengdu in the afternoon.
June 25th-27th – Jiuding hike (3700m) up to see yellow flowers near Maoxian
We can leave Friday evening to get on the road and probably stay near Maoxian around 10 pm. The next day we can continue a couple more hours to Taiziling/jiuding shan area. We can hike up about 4-5 hours to a huge grassy area that’s usually filled with yellow flowers and is really pretty. Sunday we can hike either to another alpine lake or just down to the our vehicle where we can head back to Chengdu arriving in the evening.
July 5-6th Bike trip to Bailu and Pengzhou area
Here’s a bike trip to a town Bailu (white deer) which is a European looking town in the mountains near pengzhou. The bike ride goes up to a top of a pass before headed down to town. About 35-40 kms the first day. You can see some of the things around town like the ruins from the earthquake and an old French church from the 1800’s. The next day we can continue biking on small roads towards pengzhou before headed back to Chengdu in the afternoon.
July 10th -17th Bike trip to Tibetan plains in north Sichuan (trip is probably full)
Highlights: The first bend of the yellow river九曲黄河第一弯, Ruoergai meadows 若尔盖草原, Langmusi 郎木寺, Songpan 松潘
When Chengdu is super hot in summer it’s a great way to escape the heat and see some of the best of Sichuan on this awesome bike trip to the highlands. Most of the trip is flat with only a few small climbs and the last day is all downhill. The elevation averages 3500 meters, so if you have problems with high elevation then you might not want to consider the trip.
July 23-25 Siguniangshan – Haizi valley hike
Haizi valley is the least touristy of the three hikes and the scenery is a little different. You go up on a ridge and then down into the valley where there is a beautiful Dahaizi lake, which you can get to in about 5 hours. If you really want to get away from the crowds this is probably the best hike. We can leave Chengdu on Friday evening and make it as close as we can to Rilong to acclimate. On Saturday we can begin the hike that takes about 5 hours to get to Dahaizi where we camp. The next day we can hike back and then arrive in Chengdu in the evening.
July 31th to August 3 (4 days) – Alpine lakes hike near Songpan in northern Sichuan
Saturday morning we head off for the 7-8 hour drive to the village where we start the hike that’s around 3,300 meters and stay in a Tibetan homestay. Sunday morning we head up about 6-7 kms to see the first alpine lake and camp below the other two alpine lakes around 4000 meters. Monday we go about 2 kms up to the two alpine lakes (4,300) and then over a 4500 pass to another lake before heading down to the valley about ten kms to camp around 3500 or if we make it far enough we can make it back to where we started. The 4th day we do the last few kms or leave directly from where we started and head back to Chengdu.
August 7th to 10th – Alpine lakes hike near Jiulong
We head out Saturday morning for Jiulong, about an 8-9 hour drive. We can camp or stay at guesthouse near the first scenic lake around 3,500. Sunday we can begin climbing up to the first alpine lake (4,300 m) which takes about 5 hours and is 7 kms. We can then camp below that lake around 4200 meters. Monday we can go up to explore the other 4 lakes that are about 1 km from each other and are 4450 to 4460 kms. When we finish exploring that area we can start heading back down to where we started. Tuesday we can head back to Chengdu.
August 15th – 25 August – Best of Western Sichuan hikes
Yading Daocheng and 3 different Mt Genie hikes (these are tentative dates. I might do a week trip but I’d rather do the full 11 days)
People can take a flight or join me for a long 2 day ride to Yading nature reserve where we will begin our trip. I’ll leave Chengdu on the 13th or people can fly to Daocheng on the 15th. On the 15th we will stay in a hotel in Shangralila town near the park at 3100 meters. On the 16th we can hike into the park and pass the most scenic lakes before headed around the mountain up to a pass around 4700 and camping around 4400 meters (I advise people take altitude sickness meds before). The 17 we go up to another 4700 meter pass before headed down to the entrance of the park. The first day we will do about 12 kms and the second day we will do about 8 kms.
We take the bus back to the entrance and get to Shangralila town in the afternoon and begin to head up to Litang a few hours away for the evening on the 17th. We can see some scenic areas and monasteries along the way. On the 18th we can head over to Mt Genie, the third highest mountain in Sichuan province which is about a four hour drive and has some scenic areas along the way. When we get there in the afternoon we can walk 4 kms to see the old monastery and explore the area a bit and then camp near the van where we started around 3900 meters. On the 19th we can head up about 4 hours to the alpine lake near there. We can head up the river to a rock field to get to the top and then head down on a regular path arriving where started around dinner time and camping again. On the 20th we can head into Litang again and get a rest day and prepare what we need for the longest hike.
On the 21st we begin a 50 kms hike in the northern part of Mt Genie that should take 3 and a half days. We should finish around the afternoon of the 24th. Its not a round trip so we will need to get a ride back to where we started and then we can head back to Litang for our last night. On the 25th we can arrange taxis for people going to the airport or people can take the 9 hour drive with me back to Chengdu.
August 27 – 31st Changpinggou to Bipengou hike
We will leave on the 27th for Rilong town where we can acclimate. On the 28th we begin the hike. The total hiking is 35km in 3 days from 3400m to 4500m and then down to 3600m. We will probably have to get a guide and pack horses which at least helps carry the load but will cost more. We should finish around the 30th and then on the 31st we will get transport back to Chengdu.