[quote=“haokaiyang”]Thanks, Muzha Man. My original plan was to stay at the Laonong River campground for the last night after coming down from the main, north and east peaks, but it would probably be a better idea just to leave our extra stuff at Yuanfeng and travel light. I still think it would be fun to camp for a night, though. Surely it won’t get ridiculously cold in June?
Incidentally, I also live in Muzha. :-)[/quote]
I have moved on to the greener pastures of Bitan (shhhh!).
I’m not sure how many days you are planning but you could hike to Yuanfeng the first day, then hike up to Yushan Main Peak with your pack, though leave it at the saddle when you climb to the Main and North and then hike down to Laonong campground. The next day you would have to hike back up to the saddle and all the way down to Tatajia. I’ve done it so it’s not out of the question but all three days would be long.
Day 0: Arrive in Tataka; spend the night.
Day 1: Tataka to Yuanfeng (圓峰), stopping by Qianfeng (玉山前峰) along the way
Day 2: Yuanfeng to Nanyushan (南玉山) and back
Day 3: Yuanfeng to south peak, Dongxiaonanshan (東小南山), Lushan (鹿山) and back (the hardest day)
Day 4: Yuanfeng to main, east and north peaks and back (or camp at Laonong River)
Day 5: Back to Tataka, stay another night somewhere near there, then go home.
The difficulty is rated 4 stars out of 5. I like this itinerary because it hits all 9 Bai Yue peaks in the area. I just hope the weather cooperates.
Oh, and while I’m thinking about it, has anyone hiked the Batongguan trail before? Is it still open after Morakot? That’s another trail I’d like to do sometime.
[quote=“haokaiyang”]Well, I was planning to follow the itinerary suggested in the 上河 map I bought (http://findbook.tw/book/9789867342300/badge/preview), replacing Paiyun with Yuanfeng. It looks like this.
Day 0: Arrive in Tataka; spend the night.
Day 1: Tataka to Yuanfeng (圓峰), stopping by Qianfeng (玉山前峰) along the way
Day 2: Yuanfeng to Nanyushan (南玉山) and back
Day 3: Yuanfeng to south peak, Dongxiaonanshan (東小南山), Lushan (鹿山) and back (the hardest day)
Day 4: Yuanfeng to main, east and north peaks and back (or camp at Laonong River)
Day 5: Back to Tataka, stay another night somewhere near there, then go home.
The difficulty is rated 4 stars out of 5. I like this itinerary because it hits all 9 Bai Yue peaks in the area. I just hope the weather cooperates.[/quote]
That is a nice itinerary. The weather, as you seem to know, will be the biggest variable and possible wrench in the planning.
I have done the Batonguan. But at the moment it isn’t open all the way. Too much damage. Give it another couple years. The sublime Holy Ridge is open and highly recommended.
Those are some excellent blog posts, Mucha Man. Sorry for not telling you so earlier.
I got an interesting email from the park on Monday informing me that my friend and I need to sign a form promising we’ll arrive at Paiyun between noon and 2 pm on the first day of our hike and not seek shelter there. Apparently they’ve been having problems with people not being able to make it all the way up to Yuanfeng in one day, or delaying on purpose, and then wanting to stay at Paiyun for the night. I guess this means we’ll have to make sure we get an early start from Tataka.
Can anyone refer me to any threads on how to pack food for long hikes in Taiwan? Neither of us has ever had to plan a trip like this ourselves, so we could use a little help.
Interestingly, even when I type M-U-C-H-A the system automatically changes it to Muzha. I get that Hanyu Pinyin is what most people recognize, but surreptitiously converting what we type seems a little police-state-ish.
I mostly go for dried pasta or noodles as the base for dinner. Throw in some tomato paste / flavouring, add some dou-gan (or meat if u like). For breakfasts, i take along a couple of fan-tuan / zhong-zi, they normally last a couple of days. Then through the daytime it’s trail mix, raisins, soyjoy bars, chocolate etc etc. Perhaps a loaf of bread in the pack for lunch.
Such threads are easy to find online. I also have a long post on my food at the end of the blog post on the Batongguan.
You will need 4-5,000 calories a day for this hike. Oats, dried fruit, and those wrapped tea eggs from 7-11 are great. Lunch: sandwiches (peanut butter and jam with cheese), died fruit, and dried soup. In between a granolla bar, trail mix and chocolate. Expect 1000 calories a day from snacks.
Dinner: dried tortellini with a can of tuna mixed in. Instant potatoes, instant soup with crackers crumbled in, cheese and crackers, and snacks like pringles.
You can also pick up nice New Zealand dehydrated meals at the camping stores near the train station. Good for the main fare but you still need some soup,crackers, ect.
