Immediately on arrival at Taipei Chiang Kai-Shek International Airport, we were whisked off at 3 p.m. by our Guides Mr Rey Chuang and Mr Hse, fondly known as Bao Ker, in a colourful 25-seater bus to a small town Shih-Cho for an overnight stay. Enroute to Shih-Chor, we made 3 stopovers to answer nature calls, for a sumptuous dinner of 10 dishes in preparation for the following day hike and to buy packed lunches for the next 3 days as well as rain trousers (NT170 a pair). We reached our hotel destination at 9 p.m. and were advised to sleep early as we had to rise early for an hour trip to Shang Dongpu, the starting point for the hike.
As we were late and missed the scheduled minivan, we had to trek 10 minutes uphill from Shang Tungpu to Tataka Squad area. From where we took a 10 minutes minivan ride to the trail head or commonly known as Tatajia Saddle (Elevation: 2600m). Fortunately, we had our porter bags collected and transported to Tatajia Saddle earlier for our 2 porters to organize our food and personal loads (max 30kg per porter).
Starting 8 a.m. and arrived at Paiyun Lodge, 3402m elevation (ala Laban Rata) at 3 p.m. with many photography breaks and a long tea-break along the way. The typical time to trek 8.5 km to Paiyun is 5 hours. Apparently, those who arrived early at Paiyun Lodge had to wait outside in the cold for the check-in time at 2 p.m. The dry stony trail was well marked with milestones and faded billboards pointing out interesting sights and scenes. Overall, the trek was enjoyable and not too strenuous given the cool weather.
After an early dinner, we were told to sleep early to prepare for the following dawn hike of 2.4 km to the Jade Summit. Morning call was at 1.30 a.m. We had congee for breakfast and set out at 2.45 a.m. in the dark. Before that, our Bao Ker did a quick inspection to ensure we were properly attired for the hike. As there were many climbing groups, our Guides insisted that we stayed together as a group. In the dark, we could only feel the stony uphill trail. It became very windy and cold when we approached the Wind Tunnel towards the Main Peak – North Peak intersection. From here, a long iron chain was implanted on the slope surface to guide hikers up to the summit as well as to assist one from slipping down the scree. The ascent could be described as treacherous because of loose rocks and stones coupled with strong icy winds. All of us managed to reach the summit (3952m) before 5.30 a.m. to witness the splendid golden egg yolk sunrise.
The descent was equally challenging and slow given the loose terrain. At the Main Peak-North Peak intersection, we turned right towards North Peak. On approaching the North Peak Saddle, we decided to give North Peak a miss and trekked another 24 km towards Battonguan and thereon to Guangau (Elevation: 2600m) for a night stay before trekking another 18 km the next day to Dongpu (Elevation: 900m). During our trek downhill, we saw a nice reversal in forest vegetation from short entangled shrubs at the North Peak saddle area to broad leaf forest near Dongpu. Except for several collapsed sections of the trail which rendered navigation along the steep hill slopes nerve wrecking, the trek was generally pleasant. Along the way, we crossed crystal clear rivers and waterfalls as well as passed through beautiful alpine forest, mossy forest, and dwarf bamboo plain and grass meadow.
For the photographs, please refer to http://happytrekker.shutterfly.com/pictures/2082.
Next: http://happyotrekker.blogspot.com/2008/04/taiwan-sun-moon-lake-hehuanshan-160408_29.html
