We finally made it to The Great Wall, despite all of the problems we faced along the way.

That is, until we hit traffic again…gridlock. A measly seven km from the Wall, there I was, dead stopped. I could see my prize out of the left window, majestically sitting on the mountain, taunting me with how close it was, I was heartbroken. It was getting late, and beginning to rain, we had to face the very real possibility that there would be no hiking at all today and our journey would be for nothing. "There is no space in the parking lot, too many cars. This is not normal, I have never seen this," the driver explained to us. So, we sat, we sat and we prayed for a miracle, but all the while Murphy's Law was simply laughing in jest at us, it just wasn't meant to be.

我们又一次遇到交通堵塞。离长城只剩下短短的7公里，而我却困在这里动弹不得。我可以透过左边的窗户看到我的目的地就雄伟地盘坐在山峦间，似乎在嘲笑我，看似唾手可及，却无能为力。我的心都碎了。时间一分一秒溜走，天也开始下起了雨，我们很可能今天无功而返。“停车场没有位子了，车太多了。这太不正常了，我从来没见过这种情况。”司机向我们解释道。所以，我们只能干坐着，祈祷奇迹出现，但是墨菲定律也在这个时候嘲笑我们。

After a brief discussion about logistics William and I decided to cut our losses, we were going to head back to Beijing, realistically what choice did we have in the matter? The Wall was so close I could see it, but that was as close as I was going to get. The boys were all staying in a hotel close by and since we had to ride with them, we pulled a three-point-turn, mid-highway, and headed in the opposite direction. The rain was softly falling on the windshield by this point in a rhythmic pattern that seemed to suggest: I told you so, from some place beyond my earthly control.

威廉和我决定减少损失，就此掉头回北京，我们还能有什么选择呢？长城近在咫尺，但是却无法到达。那些小伙子就住在附近的旅馆，因为我们要与他们同行，所以我们在中途停车掉头，向相反的方向驶去。这时，雨点轻轻地敲打在车窗上，那节奏似乎在暗示我：我告诉过你，从某个地方开始，有些事就不在我的掌握了。

We were heading toward Jinshanling and another shot at the wall, though by now it was almost 2 pm and we were unsure if we could even afford the time, much less the weather. Looking out of my window, I saw the watch towers of the Wall stream past as the surrounding green fell into a blur, I was wondering if I would ever be able to hike it. The rain seemed to slow as he hit the highway, though it could have been attributed to nothing more than my wishful thinking. After everyone exchanged their comments and disappointment about how the day turned out, we pulled into a side road and ended up in a parking lot. We were here, decision time. William and I had to choose whether or not to hike this new section of the Wall and risk more rain and missing the last bus back; there was just something tugging in my heart, I needed to be on this wall, we decided to risk it.

我们驶向长城最具代表性的一段——金山岭。尽管此时已经快两点了，我们不能肯定时间是否还来得及，再加上糟糕的天气，那就更别提了。从车窗望去，我看见瞭望台在眼前一个个向后退，周围的片片绿色若隐若现。我想知道自己是否能够到长城上徒步行走。雨点落到地面后，似乎放慢了急促的脚步，但这只是我一厢情愿的想法。每个人都觉得这是倒霉的一天，感到无比失望，随后我们开进了旁边的小路，最后停在了一个停车场。我们终于到了，但是威廉和我不得不面临一个抉择：是否要徒步行走这段长城？因为这需要冒雨，而且还有可能错过最后一班车。这时，我的心被什么东西揪了一下，我必须登上长城，我们决定冒这个险。

Although we knew our time was limited, we each paid the 50RMB admission ticket and strolled past the several souvenir stands selling rice patty hats and bottles of water. The incline came fast, we soon found ourselves hiking upward and upward still, but amidst a treasure trove of flowers. It seemed like we had stumbled more into a veritable secret garden for just the two of us, there were no other people in sight. A myriad of pinks, purples, and yellows consumed us on our journey upward. The stairs began to give us a sneak peek of what was to come, we earned every step upward, and just when it was time to stop and rest, a clearing showed itself: we were at the top.

尽管我们知道时间有限，但还是毅然买了50元的门票，走过贩卖草帽和瓶装水的纪念品摊位，开始了征程。路面陡然陡峭起来，发现我们正不断向上行走，走进了一片花丛。我们似乎闯入了一个真正的秘密花园，四处看不到一个人，只有我们两人，被簇拥在一片姹紫嫣红中。站在石阶上可以看到前方的道路，我们努力攀爬，就在我们要停下稍作休息时，一块空地出现了：我们达到最高点了。

The lush garden gave way to vast views of the Chinese countryside, so pristine and untouched. It seemed like we could see out into forever, and the great back of the snaking Wall showed us the way. The rain began to break and not a soul was in sight. Our journey had begun.

从最高点望去，不见郁郁葱葱的植被，却见一大片还处在原始状态的郊外风光，纯朴而自然。顺着蜿蜒的长城向远处眺望，似乎看不到尽头。雨开始停了，一眼望去，没有一个人。我们的旅行就此开始。