January 20, 2007
Vang Vieng:The Crew Goes Hiking
The hike from Maylyn's followed the dirt road for a few kilometers, turned right on a smaller road which passed through a local quarry and quickly merged with a dry riverbed. The riverbed is followed upstream and becomes increasingly more challenging as the boulders get larger and transversal more slow and complicated. This was as much a climb as a hike.
Leslie and I, Quin, Rachel and a young Finn made this hike the next day and our goal was a cave about six miles away. Quin had picked up a topographical map of the area in Vientiane and had a compass, so we felt in good hands as we began our hike. We hiked, climbed and heaved for three hours up the boulderous stream bed until we finally stopped to rest.
Without realizing we were 200 meters from the cave, some Hmong hilltribe rat-trappers told us the way forward was impassable and that we must go around by an impossibly steep trail that eventually was lost in a mess of bamboo mountainside all chopped down and impenetrable. An hour and a half later we were back at the same point on the riverbed and exhausted from pointless exertion.
We three males of the group decided to press on while the female two would wait and rest, gossiping and doing their nails no doubt.
The climbing did indeed get much harder, but we were not daunted and continued the short distance to a most impressive cave. We did not turn from the riverbed, we followed it straight into the solid rock mountain.
The first traverse into the cave was an eight foot ledge tediously ascended by a makeshift stick ladder. Once over this we came to a room with a pool of water that must be either side-traversed or waded carefully. Past this is another deeper pool with a trickier traverse. Then you get to a long stream of clearer running water that once entered, becomes the darkness expected from being in the bowels of a mountain. Headlights on, we continued through the cave another 200 meters to a cathedral ceiling opening to the other side of the mountain. Between us and this exit was a sheer wall about 15 feet high. Leaned against it were two poles and as I came to it, I found Quin struggling to shimmy up this poor excuse for a ladder. Listening to his grunting and heaving, I explored a bit and found that, to the right of Quin's exertions, a vine had been secured from the top of the ledge. I swiftly ascended and a surprised Quin, struggling at the top of the poles. He gave an astonished look to see me above him. Its always funny to hear a tough Aussie curse.
A few days later Leslie and I and the Aussie couple spent a half day rock climbing up 60 meter cliffs. Again we were fortunate to have Quin with us as he works as a rock climbing instructor and we did not need to pay for instruction. This was Leslie's first time rock climbing outdoors and after an initial intimidation she was scaling the walls like a spider.
