Limey's Last Hike: Sunday July 23

The name says it all. Come out and say goodbye to this irregular but illustrious member of the club.

We’re going to Pingxi, about 40 minutes from Muzha MRT station on the bus. We’ll climb the fun crags and then go for a swim in our secret pool. It will be a hot sweaty day for sure but the pool is a delight and will cool everyone down nicely. The pool is perfect for divers and jumpers or paddlers. It’s 15 feet deep in the centre with a low waterfall at the back. It’s shaded and has a nice flat area on the side for relaxing.

The hike will only be a few hours I think. It is not difficult at all though if you wish to ascend to the very top of the crags you need a head for heights. If you don’t have one just stay at the base while others go up. There are supports and metal ladders up to the top so it isn’t rock climbing. Nothing is as challenging as the rope at Wuliao Jian. Young children of 10 or so are often seen up here.

After swimming we may go for dinner at a Japanese era house in the area. The food is fine but the atmosphere is very traditional and pleasant. Meals are only NT200 or so if I remember correctly.

Doesn’t matter much when we leave it will be hot. I will check the bus schedule tonight. I think 9:40 or 10:30 the buses leave Muzha MRT. I like 10:30. We’ll get into Pingxi around 11:30. The first part of the hike is covered. Then we’ll lunch and hit the crags afterwards. If we are lucky it will be a bit cooler as clouds often come in after 12. Then maybe 3 or so we’ll hit the pool.

Who’s in?

Some pics from earlier hikes in the area:

The crags:

The 15 foot deep natural pool:

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In!!

We need to keep an eye on the weather. There is a tropical storm headed this way - I just saw it on CNN.

I’m in.

[quote=“Limey”]We need to keep an eye on the weather. There is a tropical storm headed this way - I just saw it on CNN.

I’m in.[/quote]

You better be in. :wink:

I’m in as well.

I definitely want to hike up to the top of the crags this time. I think I missed out on that in the past somehow.

See you all on Sunday. This time I’ll try to bring more food. The last two times I was absolutely ravenous when I returned home. :hungry:

We’ll meet at 9:30 at Muzha MRT. The bus is around 9:45. The next one is not till 11, which is a bit late I think.

Bring about 2 litres of water as there isn’t much on the crags (a few tiny springs leak from the rocks but I wouldn’t count on it). The hike starts and ends near convenience stores so we can stock up before heading to the swimming hole. I’m bringing my river shoes just cause it will be easier to get down to the pool and also hang out in the channel area.

We could even see about a taxi if there aren’t too many of us. It is 30 minutes to Pingxi so that should be around NT400.

A friend of mine is interested in coming. Kitty may or may not be coming depending on her leg. I’ll be taking it slow on the climbs so as not to stress my knee much.

How long is the MRT ride from the main staition to Muzha?

Allowing two minutes per stop =22
Change at Zhong xiao Fuxing +5

So is 30 mins from the main station enough. Or am I cutting it too fine?

Any news on the tai fong?

I’d add 5 minutes or so for sufficient leeway.

Arghh! Leave my place at 8am…I’m not going to be a pretty sight. :frowning:

Night, night.

How’s the weather looking for tomorrow?

Central weather bureau says cloudy which is perfect. I don’t want it to be too hot. I have a bit of heatstroke.

Limey, a faster way is just to take the MRT line straigh to Qizhang (a couple stops before Xindian) and then a taxi to Muzha MRT (about 10 minutes, NT130). That way you don’t have to change twice.

Chris, don’t tell me Kitty’s leg is still bad from the gash she got at Manyueyuan?

It was a deep puncture wound that has been slow to heal, and though it’s mostly healed now she doesn’t want to risk swimming with it. But she can hike, and now is most likely coming along.

Wow. I had no idea. I thought she was just being lazy these days.

Seriously, I am happy she is better. Avoiding water was probably a good idea. Next time we river trace she should consider wearing shin pads. Man professional river tracers do.

Yes, it looks like the typhoon shouldn’t affect tomorrow’s hike.

I’ll see you guys at 9:30 tomorrow morning.

Thanks again MM for a great hike. It was a thrill to go on all of the different crags. The weather was beautiful today, and the warm temperatures made the swim at the end all the more refreshing.

It was also nice hiking with Limey one last time. Take care of yourself, bud.

Yea, another immensely satisfying day. First an exhilerating hike up the crags (where we learned that Americans can be distinguished from Canadians by their pointier noses), then an entire afternoon splashing about the warm natural pool, and finally a good dinner in an old japanese era wood house. The weather was a bit scorching at first but we weren’t in it for much of the day. In any case, knowing you are going for a swim afterwards can help you endure anything. I feel for the other hiking groups who simply had to get back in their cars afterwards and drive home.

Goodbye to the old limeball. Will miss you buddy. I wish you the best in Melbourne but I won’t be too sad if I see you back here.

Kudos to my wife for braving the natural pool for the first time after only two weeks of swimming pool lessons. Jiayou sweetie.

Just a note for those who may think of goign to this area. Sunday is far busier than Saturday, and we even had two groups of young teenagers join us in the pool. They didn’t stay long but last year we always had the place to ourselves. Still, they were harmless and clean so no big deal.

The bus from Muzha station was already full when it arrived so we decided to take a taxi. It cost about NT450. Not bad at all if you are sharing with 3-4 people. And it’s fast, only 30 minutes compared with 1 hour on the bus.

Interestingly, we were able to get taxis back too as many we returning from the music festival at Fulong.

Anyway, no one wants to read me rambling on so here are the pics. There will be many of Limey, natch.

Unfortunately, the ones of us right on the crag are out of focus. That’s my fault as I never told Kitty not to use the digital zoom. She probably just zoomed in as much as possible not realizing that once you get to digital as opposed to optical zoom the picture quality drops. Oh well.

Just cause we were talking about them - the kitlers:

Fantastic pics! Thanks for uploading those so quickly, MM.

In that sixth picture (where the foreground is showing the stud with the two ladies on his sides), it looks like Gollum is lurking in the background looking for fishes. :wink: