Woman’s Bucket-List Camping Trip Turns Into a Horror Movie When She Encounters Hundreds of Hand-Sized Spiders (Exclusive)

Jacki Hodge (left) captures photo of spider while hiking Great Wall of China (right).Credit: Jacki HodgeNEED TO KNOWJacki Hodge, 30, joined her boyfriend on a bucket-list camping trip to an unrestored section of China's Great Wall

The hike took a terrifying turn when she encountered something she never expected

After sharing the experience online, Hodge was surprised by the response from viewers who weighed in on her frightening ordeal

One of Jacki Hodge's biggest nightmares came to life during a recent hike on the Great Wall of China.

The Melbourne, Australia-based travel content creator, 30, was recently visiting China for a two-week trip from Beijing to Shanghai. Her boyfriend joined her for the Beijing leg of the trip to do some sightseeing. Along with visiting popular attractions like the Forbidden City and the hutongs, he wanted to cross off a bucket-list experience: hiking and camping overnight on an unrestored section of the Great Wall of China.

"At first I said 'No, you can do that on your own, I'll stay in the hotel,' " Hodge tells PEOPLE. "But after much thought about pushing myself outside my comfort zone, I said I'd come along."

The plan involved a two-hour drive from central Beijing to Gubeikou Town, followed by a 3.1-mile hike to a watchtower where they would spend the night before returning the next morning. Her boyfriend, an experienced outdoorsman, assured her they would follow a proper path.

Although Hodge researched the area before setting out on her first camping trip, she had no idea what awaited them along the trail. Spiders, she says, were the last thing on her mind.

Jacki Hodge while hiking the Great Wall of China.Credit: Jacki Hodge

As soon as the couple left Gubeikou and entered the forest, Hodge realized they had walked straight into spider territory. Dense trees lined the trail with their branches covered in low-hanging webs, some containing as many as 20 to 30 spiders, she estimates.

"The one word I have to describe it is, terrifying," she recalls, adding, "I have never seen and hopefully will never see that many spiders at once in my life. There were hundreds."

Hodge and her boyfriend researched the spiders and identified them as golden silk orb-weavers.

According to the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, the golden silk orb-weaver spiders are known for their distinctive golden-yellow silk, long legs and expansive webs, which can span up to 6.5-feet in diameter. Despite their intimidating appearance, they are generally not considered dangerous to humans.

The most common orb-weaver native to East Asia is the Joro spider, which is found in China, Japan and Korea, according to research from Penn State University. Females can grow to about 1 inch in body length, with a leg span of up to 4 inches — larger than the average breadth of the human hand. They are identifiable by their yellow and dark blue-gray markings, as well as the red coloring on the underside of their abdomens.

Jacki Hodge snaps photo of hundreds of spiders in China.Credit: Jacki Hodge

Hodge hoped the spiders would thin out as they approached the remains of the Great Wall. The path appeared to widen, giving her reason to believe the worst was behind them.

"But alas, I was very, very wrong," she recounts to PEOPLE.

The spiders disappeared whenever the couple reached one of the watchtowers, only to return when they reentered the forest. By the halfway point, Hodge realized they weren't going away. With darkness approaching, turning back wasn't a realistic option.

"Once I put my mind to something, I don't like to quit," she says. She had already told friends, family and social media followers about her plans to hike and camp on the Great Wall, and she was determined to follow through.

She also had something to look forward to: celebrating their arrival with a glass of Prosecco and a 7-Eleven sandwich.

Eventually, the couple reached their ultimate destination. To Hodge's relief, the campsite was completely spider-free, allowing them to spend the night beneath the stars and wake up to what she describes as one of the most serene sunrises she has ever witnessed.

"Never say never!" she says when asked whether she would do it again. "Besides the spiders it was SUCH an incredible bucket-list experience – sleeping under the stars on the great wall of China and waking up to one of the most serene sunrises I've ever witnessed."

Jacki Hodge while camping on the Great Wall of China.Credit: Jacki Hodge

Hodge later shared footage of the experience on TikTok, never expecting the video to resonate with so many people. But since posting, it's gone viral,, amassing over 4.5 million views and 4,600 comments.

She says she was particularly surprised that viewers overwhelmingly sympathized with her fear rather than accusing her of overreacting. Still, Hodge was saddened to see some viewers say the footage had put them off visiting the Great Wall altogether.

"If you are afraid of spiders, or would just prefer a more relaxed experience head to the Mutiyanyu restorted section of the Great Wall," she says. "There you can see the wall in all its former glory, and feel confident to be in spider free territory."