林毓的故事

林治中的故事

17-Feb-2009 -- Fifth in a 10-point hunt. Continued from 35N-107E; followed by 36N-107E.

The road northbound at 8AM was fog-bound and icy, so progress was slow until we crested the ridge over the intervening mountains. Spirits rose at that point seeing how we had a pretty good 2-degree latitude drive ahead of us.

The landscape continued its transition into more desert-like terrain the further north we went. Colors turned to browns and yellows, the mountains became bare of all vegetation and looked like huge, hardened sand dunes, and the ravines became steeper and deeper leading down to dried river bottoms of flat, cracked mud. Cave homes dug into the yellow hillsides became the standard home style, although from time to time there were homes build above the caves in a kind of one-to-one mapping which suggested people were slowly upgrading from the cave below to the new home above.

The more of these cave homes we saw, the more curious I became about them. How big were they inside? How does one dig such a home? Water? TV? Internet? Finally my curiosity got the better of me and I suggested we pull over near a nice looking set of caves and invite ourselves for a visit. As we walked toward the home, the ever-present watch dog started the usual vicious barking, and the lady of the cave came out to quiet the dog with a stick. Clearly the dog understood who was boss, and cowered inside his doghouse as she came near. We explained that we were interested in taking a look at her home if she didn’t mind, and she invited us in.

Each cave in inhabited by one adult generation. The grandfather’s home on one end, the next cave by his grown son, the third by his son, wife and son. Today we met the three youngest generations and they gave us the grand tour. Caves are dug by first carving a flat face to the hillside. Then a meter or so is dug into the hill, making an arched ceiling line and extending the walls out to the side. All the dirt brought out front to form a large patio and garden area. Then more of the hillside is flattened by digging down, and the next lower layer is dug into the hillside. Basically, the cave is dug into the hill stepwise so that no scaffolding is needed with the lower layer forming the platform to continue digging the higher layer. Bricks are laid in the front fascia and a layer of concrete skim-coated on the rest of the cut hillside both for decoration and to prevent rain from eroding the entrance. Makes sense after it’s explained.

I stepped off the interior dimensions of the cave, and estimate it to be about 9 meters deep, 5 meters wide (~450 sq feet) and about 6 meters tall. Satellite TV and internet and electricity, but water is scarce and is taken in buckets from a central well about a mile away.

Back in the car and we continued northwest to the next point. The land up here is barren and eerie. Mile after mile of nothing and, strangely for China, no people. We found a small, washed-out path of sorts headed toward the point off the main highway and I drove it as far as I could, parking it when the path closed to a narrow walkway that looked like it might not hold the weight of the car. From there, the CP was southwest over a ridge. We climbed that ridge but found it was the wrong one, and the ravine too steep to climb down and then back up. So back down the ridge it was until the climb down became gentle enough to manage. The bottom was a strange, dried riverbed with flat cracked mud about 20 meters wide. As we poked around the different corridors of this maze, my only thought was I hoped no flooding was planned for this apparent spillway.

We finally decided which ridge we’d climb and the decision was the correct one, leading us close to the CP which actually lay over the edge of the ridge as it fell off into the next ravine. I edged as close as I dared, but the ground was loose and looked like it fell into the ravine on a regular basis. I cared not to go with it, and so we called it at 36 meters.

The trip down to the car was quick, as it always is, and we found a hotel in Huan Xian. However, due to the general dryness of this part of China, people here apparently do not shower all that often and there was no running hot water for us. So we settled for a foot bath and wipe down using water boiled in the tea kettle. Gotta make do with what’s available.

林毓的故事

17-Feb-2009 -- Jadelynne’s Narrative:

美味的早餐拉开了我们第五天的序幕。在旅店停车库内有一家食堂，干净整洁而且还对外卖餐。为节约时间，乘ERIC在检查车体状况的时间，我走进食堂为我们点餐。玉米粥+烧饼，等早餐送上桌，我们全都下了一跳，原本是每人一碗玉米粥，现在准确的说是每人一大盆玉米糊，那烧饼也是大得象脸盆，早知道只要点一份就够我们三个人吃了。老爸说还是多喝粥吧，烧饼可以带在路上当干粮，有道理，我们埋头喝粥。你别说，那粥真是太好吃了，浓浓的、糯糯的，滑润爽口，我们居然喝了个底朝天，事后算帐才6元钱。真是共产主义待遇啊。

今天到目标点的车程比较远。从陕西陇县出发，经过甘肃华亭县、崇信县、泾川县、宁县、合水县、庆阳县、环县，还有一百多公里就到内蒙古界内了。早上8：00正式出发，下午4：00点赶到甘肃省庆阳市环县一个叫旧城的小镇，8个小时的车程，我们到了目标点近距离范围。

从南往北我们跨越了两个整纬度线，地形地貌越来越有黄土高原的特色。先是土房和砖房，越往北，窑洞就渐渐普遍起来。高原地形与重庆和四川盆地有很大的区别。每前往一个大县城，先是漫长的盘山公路，山体海拔不高，但是连绵几百公里，县道时而在山谷蜿蜒、时而在山腰盘旋，要跨越沟壑纵横的峡谷，要穿过山涧的小河，旋来转去的，要不是GPS导航，我们早就迷失了方向。放眼四周望去，没有绿色的植被，干松的黄土覆盖整个世界，梯田在山体的平坦地域随处可见，整齐次第地排列着，耕过的黄土翻出浅色，稍微增加了些不同的色彩，庄稼有的还没有播种、有的还没有发芽，所以还是黄土一片。我们一直在讨论黄土高原形成的根源，肯定是地造运动的结果。是冰川吗？山谷中我们经常发现冰流从山顶泻到谷地。是水流吗？这么多的沟壑，象是河水穿流出来的，很多谷地还有如同钟乳石，形状各异的黄土丘。是地震吗？很明显的断层和褶皱山系，为修路而凿开的山体如老数根褶皱弯曲。 ERIC说这里的地形地质很象美国的黄石公园，我虽然没有游览过黄石公园，但是看过很多介绍的图片，的确就是这样的感觉，唯一的不同：这里是黄土而美国是黄石，就是“土”和“石”的区别。印象特别深刻的是高原上的平原地区，县城多半都坐落在平原上，但不象重庆是在山下的盆地里，成都是在河水冲积的平原上，这里却是在群山相连的高山顶。所以一望无际，远到地平线，天地相连。平原之大，除了肉眼的感觉之外，现实中我们的车开上两、三个小时才又开始翻山越岭，要在欧洲，我们可能已经过好几个小国界了。但在平原上要特别小心，边界就是黄土高山的悬崖，陡峭得很，非常危险，要是出车货翻车，就肯定没命了。别说开车，我想这里的人骑自行车，走路（特别是走夜路）肯定也是要小心的，否则掉到悬崖深谷里，可就了结一身了。真是不可思意，离重庆才几百公里的邻省，环境地貌却如此相距甚远，象是另外一个国度，我嘲笑自己视野局限如井底之蛙，同时也自豪：自己的国度真是大好河山，疆缘辽阔，包罗万象

在合水县，我们路过一片窑洞村，从来没有亲眼看过窑洞的我，按耐不住参观的欲望。没想到我的建议一呼百应。我们冒昧来到一家窑洞农院，栓着链子的黄狗狂热地跳出来迎接我们，惊动了农家人，大妈赶忙将狗吆喝住，大叔和一个抱着小孩的年轻妇女也各自从不同的窑房里走出来。我向他们解释了来意后，顺便送上一些小礼物（我们随身携带的小吃、牛奶和药品）。他们热情地欢迎我们参观。我们站在四间连排窑房前的坝子上，房前是玉米地和蔬菜地，左边是羊圈，养了十来头绵羊，中间是四间大小高低一致的窑房，中间一间是大叔和大妈的，隔壁一间是儿子和媳妇还有小孙子一家的，当头两间一个是厨房，一个是客房，安排得很周到、体贴。进了其中的一间正房，有9米深、7米高，5米宽，宽敞明亮、冬暖夏凉，室内家具简单清爽，摆饰干净整洁，拱圆的房顶和四壁都是原滋原味的黄土，但做了防水处理，光滑而结实。进门的右手边一张大炕床正对着面朝庭院的窗户，这是北方吃饭睡觉的地方，我被邀请坐在炕上，暖烘烘的，大冷的天我全身都开始发热了。炕床下有个开口是放柴加热的，炕床的墙内侧有一烟囱直接将烟雾排到屋外，科学美观的操作系统，没有空调没有暖气，舒适安逸。主介绍说只用了三个月的时间就“建造”、“挖掘”了这个家院，真是高效。 事后我和ERIC还一直认真讨论是否有可能我们也造个窑洞，举家迁徙到这里再安个家？

下午4：20，我们赶紧上路，环县往北，路况超级好，又是崭新的柏油路，GPS已经没有路标显示，地图是我最近才更新的，如果连GPS地图都没有标识，那肯定是崭新的路。在四周黄土山丘的映衬下，新路蓝得发黑，西边的太阳快要落山，挂在山丘顶上，路笔直地通向蓝天，前面一片天地相结，不知道我们是在天上飞呢，还是在地上跑，路上一辆车都没有， 山丘一座连一座，一座比一座高，想象着坐在法拉力跑车上飞驰，想象着在月球上漫游，一切都那么虚幻，象梦象雾，就是无法现实。只有艰巨的挑战才能把我们拉回现实。离目标点还有一公里，我们驶出“跑道”，往山丘上开，土路因为干燥裂开很厉害，担心承受不住车行，我们开始徒步上山。沿山路我们很快到了山顶一小片开阔的“土原”，本想说“草原”可是没有草，所以就创新一下说“黄土原”，望着四周高耸的山丘，才发现这个山脊真是小巫见大巫，“土原”边缘当然又是陡峭的峡谷，山风从前面的山谷送过来，打在脸上象刀割似的，所以我在这里照的每张照片都只能看到两只眼睛，其它部位都遮盖的严严实实。不幸的是，交点位置明显在200米外的另外一个山丘上。横扫在面前的陡峭悬崖谷地我看了就晕， 没有任何山体连接处，我们只有下到谷地再上对面的山！我们摸索着寻找缓坡山脊下谷地，黄土松滑，有惊无险。到了谷地，干涸深裂的河床在山谷中曲折盘绕，奇形怪状的小土堡象棋盘的棋子散落各处，象溶洞的钟乳石，又象火山口的熔石，怎么都觉得自己是登上了月球。

要上另一座山谈何容易，巡视了一小圈，没有发现山路，只有羊群的足迹，爬吧，没时间浪费了。羊能上，我们也能上，咬咬牙，我们不计后果地攀登“悬崖”了。山土很滑，但习惯了就好，快速小跳比慢慢走更适合爬行，我们经过几天黄土山体攀登的训练，也渐渐适应并找到了窍门，很快我们到了这座山的山顶，又是开阔的“土原”和强劲的“土风”，太阳已经落到山头，我们的倩影高大硕长，在茫茫的黄土高原上，西北风从身边刮过，我们都象“勇敢的心”里面的梅尔.吉普生，英勇强健。没有未完成的任务，我们又夺取了一个点， 每次都有这种英雄感，觉得自己特伟大。能够征服自然，懂得欣赏和尊重自然，自然的力量固然不可抗拒，人的伟大自然也是会用崇敬和妥协予以回报。这是一种“和谐”。

林治中的故事

17-Feb-2009 -- Jerry’s Narrative:

二月十七日,我们到了陕甘宁交界的山城小镇北面一个窑洞村居,这是我们第5个访点,处于黄土高原特色的山谷间,当我们登上一个山头时,发现零点位置在对面一座山下,我们下山进入山谷干涸的河床,然后寻找登山的路径,我沿着一条最危险的坡面小路向上攀登,最后在山脊找到离峡谷零点位置最近的地方,算是我们取得的最后成果.