The actual geological feature that we hiked along last weekend (HuangDi Dian) ended at a town called ShiDing. The town is situated in a valley, beside a river that cuts through this ridge line. This weekend we went back to the same town to continue the ridgeline, this time away from town. We were supposed to be able to hike straight along the ridge to another town of MaoKong, but as is always the case with us and the Taiwanese maps and directions, we ended up in a totally different, yet still magnificent area. We started fresh in the morning, made it to the ridge and spent a hefty 5-ish hours exploring before starting our downward trek off the ridge and to the valley below.
This whole section is astounding, with views and actual trails that make our hearts sing. Perfect weather, perfect hike....and we ended it all with a stop at a tea shop along the walk home and then the obligatory celebratory pizza and pint.
View along the way...
So many choices....trails sprouting off of each other along the way.
The first part of the hike was all uphill, through thick, yet penetrable, tropical brush. I can imagine in teh summer this would be a veritable sweat-fest!
More ropes (and ladders and chains and more ropes) to help people along the cliff sections, and in all honesty these are so needed. We are fine on most stuff in Taiwan, but some of these sections really, especially after a healthy rainfall, need some sort of safety. To the left of this picture is a sheer cliff...we are walking actually on a few roots (of the big tree there) that ran parallel along the rock face and gathered soil throughout the years. So....we are walking on a pseudo-trail with notheing below but air to stop us!
Morning, pre-coffee and pre-cereal, in our Taipei hostel room. Cheap, convenient and clean.
Starting early Saturday morning, we took the right buses, got off at the right stops and made it to the trailhead town of ShiDing in better time than two weeks ago when we tackled HuangDi Dian, also starting/ending in this town.
Coffee, of course, in the courtyard cafe with the lady who apparently remembered us as she gave us a warm welcoe and asked if we wanted the same drink as last time, a stroll along the road and a few questions asked to people walking by and tostore owners got us to the trailhead in good time. Sun on our backs, we took to the trail.
ShiDing, the town with the trailhead! To the left a man takes away the refuse from the tofu shop, dried bean fibre essentially. Cant figure out if they do anything with it, or if it becomes pig feed. What we do know is that it most likely doesn't go to waste...not in Taiwan. On the right, one of the various ways they write the name for the trail - same trail had different chinese characters on the signs along the way to the trailhead...oh, Taiwan, you adorable confusing place!! Also note the sign above which denotes the next place of interest is but 3.8 kilograms away.
Crystal, along the riverside trail/walkway. Such a placid place, ShiDing.
The first section is all uphill, but not too long. It goes pretty much straight up for about half an hour and then it flattens along the ridgeline and undulates its way across the Taiwanese forest.
Early section of the trail, walking through the forest for a short while brought us to an opening and a small farm/garden. This is an aspect of Taiwanese hiking that comforts us so often...the trail meanders along epic ridgelines and perilous valleys of sloppy soil and randomly pops out at a little village or garden or something. The people there are ever so happy to guide us on our way to the continuation of the trail, and in this case the grandfather motioned us along his property and to the corner of his house where the trail began again...smiles and a nod goodbye, he helped us along the way. This plant on the right is a very tastey number that I dont know the name of yet, but always a delight to eat (albeit a little daunting to cook right!).
I learned about 'cauliflory' in Taiwan, and love pointing it out to myself each time I see a tree exhibiting it. So freaking cool! On the right, a typical trail marker in Taiwan.
Crystal takes a pause along the way to adore the view, while two massive mosquitoes do their best to make baby mosquitoes on the exposed root of a tree.
The ridge itself is not a totally exposed rocky cliff as much as the HuangDi Dian trail was, but still offers epic views and a hearty workout. With the sunshine and wind working together, it ended up being one of those perfect days - not too hot, not too cold. And clear views.
Both of us along the ridgeline...it was forested with multiple open areas. Nice view along the entire length.
On top of the world! A peak along the ridge...sunshine and the sky above.
Crystal at lunch. Another delicacy we created for the road - carrots and homemade buns! And a __?__ insect we spotted along the way.
Along the trail...scrambling along roots and up roped sections which were, um, a little messy at times. Best of intents, worst of outcomes?
The trail was nice and dry, with only a few muddy spots along the way. The best part were the rope sections which are made easier by knowing that it was the mountain association that put them in, but always gives us a few scares when we see exactly what trees (or branches or shrubs or ...) the ropes are actually affixed to! Mostly they are secure, but there is that odd one that make us shake our heads. For the longer hauls op the cliff faces or steep sections that we cant see around, we hope for the best.
A final climb along the undulating trail and the last of the ropes. After this the camera went away and we were in "find the way" mode...
We got to the end of the trail, descended back into thicker forest and more wet ground and eventually made it to the road at the bottom. There was apparently supposed to be a trail connection here that would take us to MaoKong, but somewhere along the ridge we took a wrong turn and e weer nowhere near where we were supposed to be. So, we took to the little road, past houses made of old doors and fences made of used fridges, through the poorest of the poor and out to a nice little tea shop and sat down for some black tea in the fading sunshine of the late afternoon. Afterwards we continued our walk, down down down...until finally reaching a main intersection and a beautiful bus stop sign! We figured out where we were, which way to go and set about the inevitable task of waiting for a bus. Twelve songs and a drum session with a bamboo stick later, but 923 came and whisked us away, back to our hostel.
Another Taipei hike, another gem in the mountains discovered!
