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.

我們又一次遇到交通堵塞。離長城只剩下短短的7公里，而我卻困在這里動彈不得。我可以透過左邊的窗戶看到我的目的地就雄偉地盤坐在山巒間，似乎在嘲笑我，看似唾手可及，卻無能為力。我的心都碎了。時間一分一秒溜走，天也開始下起了雨，我們很可能今天無功而返。“停車場沒有位子了，車太多了。這太不正常了，我從來沒見過這種情況。”司機向我們解釋道。所以，我們只能干坐著，祈禱奇跡出現，但是墨菲定律也在這個時候嘲笑我們。

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.

威廉和我決定減少損失，就此掉頭回北京，我們還能有什么選擇呢？長城近在咫尺，但是卻無法到達。那些小伙子就住在附近的旅館，因為我們要與他們同行，所以我們在中途停車掉頭，向相反的方向駛去。這時，雨點輕輕地敲打在車窗上，那節奏似乎在暗示我：我告訴過你，從某個地方開始，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.

我們駛向長城最具代表性的一段——金山嶺。盡管此時已經快兩點了，我們不能肯定時間是否還來得及，再加上糟糕的天氣，那就更別提了。從車窗望去，我看見瞭望臺在眼前一個個向后退，周圍的片片綠色若隱若現。我想知道自己是否能夠到長城上徒步行走。雨點落到地面后，似乎放慢了急促的腳步，但這只是我一廂情愿的想法。每個人都覺得這是倒霉的一天，感到無比失望，隨后我們開進了旁邊的小路，最后停在了一個停車場。我們終于到了，但是威廉和我不得不面臨一個抉擇：是否要徒步行走這段長城？因為這需要冒雨，而且還有可能錯過最后一班車。這時，我的心被什么東西揪了一下，我必須登上長城，我們決定冒這個險。

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.

盡管我們知道時間有限，但還是毅然買了50元的門票，走過販賣草帽和瓶裝水的紀念品攤位，開始了征程。路面陡然陡峭起來，發現我們正不斷向上行走，走進了一片花叢。我們似乎闖入了一個真正的秘密花園，四處看不到一個人，只有我們兩人，被簇擁在一片姹紫嫣紅中。站在石階上可以看到前方的道路，我們努力攀爬，就在我們要停下稍作休息時，一塊空地出現了：我們達到最高點了。

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.

從最高點望去，不見郁郁蔥蔥的植被，卻見一大片還處在原始狀態的郊外風光，純樸而自然。順著蜿蜒的長城向遠處眺望，似乎看不到盡頭。雨開始停了，一眼望去，沒有一個人。我們的旅行就此開始。