It took two months for Paul Salopek to trek through the Hengduan Mountains of Sichuan, a beautiful, rugged mountain chain in China’s southwest. Now, together with walking partner Yang Wendou, he has finally descended to the lowlands.

Their descent means a return to “truck stops, traffic jams, and the novelty of sidewalks.” It has also meant far stricter covid restrictions. As they have made their way through Sichuan they have been getting tested for covid every two days “to ease villagers’ infection concerns.”

Now in the lowlands, they have found that pandemic controls mean that most local restaurants are closed, forcing them to rely on instant noodles and other basics that they can procure.