Description
Tegyn posted:
Tiger Leaping Gorge in Yunnan Province. China. There is some debate about where the trail ends but I turned around at the point most hikers do and where the trail joins the road. That is, I started at Jane's Guesthouse in Qiatou and turned around at Tina's Guesthouse, returning via the Same route. :While the trail continues for a few more days. most hikers appear to turn around at Tina's. That said, these trails are ancient trade routes and Start and Finish points seem no less Arbitrary than the ones that convention suggests.
l researched the trail and gained information from the following sources:
The latter is the only reference I could find re running the trail as a standalone. The Author, Catherine Bowdry, claims 4.5hrs for the route, though specifics are scarce. from reading her piece it would suggest she ran downhill (i.e. the 2nd half of my run) but I couldn't establish where she started or finished.
Finally, this event appears to traverse the trail, but as part of a larger event, and I've been unable to determine whether anyone recorded their time for that section of the course. www.actionasiaevents.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=127:racereportlj12&catid=3:general-stories
Style: Self Supported. That is, I started with food and water and purchased more liquids along the way.
Claim: I completed the Out-and-back run via the aforementioned route in 9hrs 23mins. I recorded the route via two GPS devices (Garmin eTrex30 and Suunto Ambit). I've attached the eTrex GPX file (Ambit is too large given higher interval recording rate). Both devices give different distances/elevations but clearly show the same route and time of recording intervals.
Photos are available online here - scenery and selfies: www.flickr.com/photos/wildplans/sets/72157634909108629/
l also took a heap of video footage which I intend to edit into a short at some point.
Cheers folks
Tegyn / Wildplans
This route on the old FKT site
