Another jaunt into the wild woods of Taroko National Park; a new trail, a gorgeous day....fully illegal.
Whatever. Illegal means nothing.
Crystal along the path early in the day, fending off pesky Canadian photographers; Trevor poking around the bamboo for snakes.
Trail map along the way which...after much consideration and analysis...told us nothing.
We started the day out wet - rain and fog and that dreary feel down to the bone. We ended the day with sunlight, lots of heat, beautiful breezes and only one (or three) leeches and one vine to the face (me), both leaving a slightly bleeding memory of a wonderful hike.
We spent almost 10 hours in the woods...reaching two villages (where people still live, if only infrequently, in a manner that is much unchanged for hundreds of years save for the technology of basic engines and cigarettes and the like. We met two elderly men who helped us find our way when we were lost, found cannibalistic caterpillars, new caterpillars a new spider species (for us...). We then spent the early evening swimming alone in the desolately clear aquamarine-blue Shakadang River, to the views of limestone cliffs adorned with green vegetation and to the sounds of chirping bulbuls as the dimly lit sky turned to black.
The trailhead starts at two points - one along the Shakadang Trail (the Shakadang trail ends and merges into the Dali trail) and one right behind the park headquarters. We took the headquarters trailhead allowing us safe scooter parking and, as the first hour or so is up stairs at this section, it got the boring yet necessary stairs out of the way. The rest of the day was sloppy muddy fun!
New caterpillar for us, during a rare (?) cannibalistic rage (left). Bottom dude is munching through the innards of the upper dude. We saw this behaviour twice this day with the same species.
Mating or murder, on the left? On the right another fabulously ornate caterpillar that is new to our eyes.
We spent almost 10 hours in the woods...reaching two villages (where people still live, if only infrequently, in a manner that is much unchanged for hundreds of years save for the technology of basic engines and cigarettes and the like. We met two elderly men who helped us find our way when we were lost, found cannibalistic caterpillars, new caterpillars a new spider species (for us...). We then spent the early evening swimming alone in the desolately clear aquamarine-blue Shakadang River, to the views of limestone cliffs adorned with green vegetation and to the sounds of chirping bulbuls as the dimly lit sky turned to black.
Caterpillars...the biodiversity on this trail was astounding; not just many species, but many new species, that we have never seen before even on trails close by. This trail is much higher than most we hit in this part of the park, so perhaps it is an elevation thing. Perhaps it is a seasonal effect.
The villages in the mountains often have a rig like this to help transport heavy and necessary items like fuel, canned goods, etc. Most people will make the trek down to the river and hike out to catch a bus to town, but many things cannot be brought back up on ones back. These are also survival links during typhoons when trails and roads are cut off or completely washed away. Lifelines in the mountains.
