I plan to travel to the Tiger Leaping Gorge in late October or early November.

I don't have exact days (I will travel to places as I go) so I don't know when I will arrive to TLG.

1) Do I need to book a guesthouse in advance or just drop at one?
2) I read that most people hike from Qutou to Tina's Guesthouse and then take a bus back to Lijiang. Is it worthy to continue the lower part and finish the hike at Daju?
2) I do not want to carry my big backpack. If I leave most of my backpack in Qutou and my plan was to leave via Daju. How I can recover it when I finish the hike if I finish my hike in Daju?

Thanks
Arturo