The October hiking season hasn’t been so great weather-wise especially with the North and East Coast being quite cloudy and rainy in the higher altitudes, lacking that consistency necessary for a successful extended high mountain trip. So, last week I decided to target Pingdong County’s only mountain in the hot 100 mountains over 3,000 meters in altitude category.
The weather had been quite sunny and dry, so I decided to take my time and take the longer route from Sandimen and bag the peak a few days hence when the weather forecast seemed to show the weather coming right ie. less cloudy both on Pingdong and Taidong County sides.
Actually, the bus from Pingdong dumped me off on the south side of the river at a place called Maja (across the bridge on the north side is Sandimen proper). The mountain road winds steeply up for about 17 km offering dramatic views of aboriginal farm fields and hamlets and the ridge line behind which is the well-known road to Wutai. A clearing 3 hours into the forest was my first campsite.At 1,400 meters in the thick forest, I could hear barking deer this being their favored elevation and vegetation. An excellent place with a water supply with an excellent view down valley was my reward. A strange sight was a village at the bottom of the valley with a huge landslide at one end; it made me think of how tough aboriginals have it living in or at the foot of the mountains.
The path is lightly tagged and eventually joins the road coming up from Jaiping which is the usual route locals use to get to Bei Da Wu Shan. I met a few hikers, not many, and was shocked to hear that their schedule was to do the whole thing in one day. Drive to the road head at night, hike up by torchlight, hit the summit at say 8 a.m. after hiking 7 or more hours and then descend after a similar amount of time. Madness!
Four hours from the summit is the Mountain Hut which has been repaired recently. The old wooden shingle roof and walls have been overlaid with corrugated plastic sheets to make it rain proof and there is a water source there too. It was a bit of a cold hole, but watching the sun set through the tops of the trees on the steep slope on which it was perched was a great way to unwind while eating my mashed potato and sardines ‘power mix’ dinner. Bats flitting around and later a weasel snooping around in the hut made me realise how much of Taiwan’s wildlife is nocturnal. Being in a Forestry Protected Zone meant a welcome absence of hunters who are active at night in so many other mountain areas on the island.
The vegetation changes higher up, a giant Red Cedar tree being one of the highlights as well as hemlock and juniper and the ubiquitous bamboo grass. The path is supposed to be one of the more difficult peaks to summit, but the Forestry Dept. has a team doing regular maintenance on the path and there are new looking ropes on the steeper sections. Along the way is a great view of Nan Da Wu Shan with a sheer drop roped off.
I didn’t bother getting up at dawn to do the assault by torchlight method preferring to go later at about 6.30 a.m. and arriving at the peak at about 10.30 a.m. It was a lucky day because there were no clouds about the summit and I could see in every direction. North it was possible to see Kuan Shan and behind that Jade Mountain some 40 km away. Epic soundtracks I thought. To the south the ridge line gets steadily lower, this peak being the Central Mountains last hurrah…the last biggie this far south.
After another night in the hut and a repast of instant noodles, a boil in the bag seafood stew, crackers and hot chocolate for afters, I descended back to the road and exited through Jiaping, hitching a ride with a local guy who took me to Wanluang, ‘Pig Foot City’ and treated me to the above-mentioned local delicacy with fern leaves and a bottle of beer.
Result: as well as some unforgettable memories, I didn’t lose much weight!
