Walking the Huashan Plank Path With No Safety Equipment

Yes, this is really the trail..

                                                                                 

Its time for another one of those rebellion posts when I tell about a time I did something that's against the rules, it's also time for another cover my ass disclaimer statement just in case.

I'm not recommending anyone to do this.

And honestly I was willing to go on it the legal way, but I was faced with an ultimatum. 

Anyway, I had arrived in the city of Xian, China..
I soon learned that the hostel I booked online didn't actually exist!
But that's another story.. eventually after much walking I was able to get a place, explore the city a bit and meet a couple people who were also interested in taking a trip to the mountain.. 

A Chinese and A Canadian girl accompanied me to the mountain..

It was at least a couple hours of a bus ride from the city..

Huashan is what they call the mountain and I heard Huashan actually means mountain in Chinese?

The main reason I really wanted to go was for the notorious Plank Path, which I have often read being referred to as the world's most dangerous trail! I'm sure you can see why, would you feel comfortable walking on a wooden pathway attached to the side of a cliff,  and also was made in China! O.o

Of course I would!

Unfortunately, This mountain costs an entrance fee. Paying for nature seems to be pretty common in communist countries.

China: "Hey, here's a part of nature we haven't destroyed yet! So, you better pay up!"

The "trail" however was not very natural, it was mostly stairs.

So climbing this mountain was really climbing a bunch of stairs!

It's So RED!! :O

Those locks you see are traditionally put there by couples, it's very symbolock. hahaha!     

Our Chinese friend was inspired by my hat and brought her own awesome blue hat.  lol

It also happened to get extremely foggy turning this usually scenic look out point into a beautiful view of misty abyss.

Finally, we literally walked out of a cloud and suddenly everything was sunny.

It had gotten a bit foggy again but after walking up stairs for about 6 and a half hours, the moment I had been waiting for finally arrived..  The entrance to the plank path was a bit crowded.

Then we realized, the path was closed off by a door.

 I knew from speaking to other people that it had been open earlier that day.

Normally it would be still have been open, but it was closed without warning. no signs, no information. And lots of people came to the start of that trail to face a barrier blocking off the entrance.

It was the main reason I wanted to come to the mountain and I didn't know when I would ever get another chance to go there.

That Barrier wasn't going to stop me!!

This was the view on the other side. I had climbed around the barrier! which was a bit of a thrill but the real test is still to come. 

Here I am looking down at steep steps leading to the Plank. A ton of people were watching me. I was hesitant and I was alone.

I went back over to the barrier again, the Canadian girl was actually thinking about going with me! 

After a bit of convincing she did. And I pulled out my Gopro and filmed us going on the path.

Normally this is done with safety equipment and also costs a fee.

I avoided both of those things :)

 I didn't actually have any straps or accessories for my GoPro Camera at that time.. So holding it in one hand made this a bit extra scary.  I didn't get the whole walk on film, sorry.  But it is a good thrilling video.

Also Screenshots below..

           

While walking the dangerous path, a Temple Manager?, or something like that. I guess he works at the temple that was close nearby.. He came out and started yelling and screaming in Chinese. Our Chinese friend started yelling at us that he was going to call security. And I ran back as fast as I could without falling off the cliff, and then disappeared into the crowd.

It was a great day. And then we walked down all those stairs again.