PPKK Weekly - Friends' Corner

Friends' Corner

« prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 next »

A frog goes hiking: 雪山 (Xue shan) (Day 2)

September 13, 2013
Martin

The second day started with three hours of hiking in the dark. There's an obsession in Taiwan with watching the sunrise on mountain tops that I can't quite comprehend. For me the whole point of hiking is to enjoy the scenery while doing some slightly challenging exercise. Hiking at night takes that most important part away from that. Be that as it may, thanks to a final ten minute sprint we just made it to the top in time to see the red sun rise above the horizon.

Even the rising sun didn't help much with the temperature, though. It was rather cold at the top and I was seriously considering unpacking my down jacket. But the view could almost make you forget about the cold. The three-sixty view at the top is very impressive and you can even spot Taiwan's highest mountain, 玉山 (Yu shan) in the distance.

On the way down it got warm pretty quickly and by the first rest stop it was high time to put on sunscreen again.

Back at the 三六九山莊 (San liu jiu mountain hut) we had an early lunch before we switched the light daypacks for our heavy backpacks again and started heading down. The weather held up very well the entire time and just like on the way up we could see the sea of clouds above the flatlands.

This post covers day 2. Back to day 1.

Overview

The red track is the first day, the green track is the first half of day two before returning along the red track.

(Click the image for a larger version.)

Altitude graph

(Click the image for a larger version.)

GPS track

Hiking log

(As always, the altitudes are approximate.)

0130: Wake up (no, the time is not a typo ...)
0240: Departure from 三六九山莊 (San liu jiu mountain hut), 3140 m
0525: 雪山主峰 (Xue shan main peak), 3886 m
0610: Descent
0855: Back at 三六九山莊 (San liu jiu mountain hut), 3140 m
1005: Departure from 三六九山莊 (San liu jiu mountain hut)
1040: 雪山東峰 (Xue shan east peak), 3201 m
1110: Arrival at 哭坡觀景台 (Ku po view platform), rest break, 2976 m
1150: Departure from 哭坡觀景台 (Ku po view platform)
1300: Arrival at 七卡山莊 (Qi ka mountain hut), break, 2506 m
1320: Departure from 七卡山莊 (Qi ka mountain hut)
1400: Arrival at trail head, 2139 m

Photos

Question: Is this a sunset or sunrise?Answer: Okay, it was a trick question. It's neither. This photo was taken at 2 am and the red light are atmospheric reflections of the city lights. :-)

北稜角 (Bei leng jiao), 雪山's little step brother. It's only a few meters shorter but didn't get the title of 百岳 ...

雪山主峰 (Xue shan main peak), 3886 meters above sea level, just before sunset.

Me at the top of 雪山主峰 (Xue shan main peak), raising my usual 百岳 (Taiwan's 100 highest mountains) flag, wearing my usual frog-colored jacket. :-)

大霸尖山 (Da ba jian shan) in the distance, but still clearer than [local:/blog/2012/06/01/a-frog-goes-hiking-big-failure-mountain-day-2/ when I actually went there last year].

The peak in the middle is 玉山 (Yu shan) and, ironically, also clearer than [local:/blog/2011/05/05/a-frog-goes-hiking-yu-shan-oneday-trip/ when I went there]!

The view towards 大霸尖山 (Da ba jian shan) and 品田山 (Pin tian shan).

This was quite an interesting sight with the mountains casting shadows at sunrise.

The 樂山 (Le shan) radar station near 觀霧 (Guan wu).

About 50 meters away from the main peak somebody built a little stone heap.

(Please read this post online to see the album in its full version.)

A frog goes hiking: 雪山 (Xue shan) (Day 1)

September 13, 2013
Martin

Apparently my 雨神 (rain god) spell has been lifted. This was the second hike in short succession that I had great weather on a multi-day hiking trip! And this wasn't just any mountain - it was 雪山 (Xue shan, or Snow mountain) which had been on my list for quite a while.

After gathering in Taipei on Friday night we drove to 武陵農場 (Wu ling farm) where we stayed in tents for the first night before starting the actual hike the next morning.

This was my first time joining a more organized hiking group. Now, if you know me you know that things can't be too organized for me, but on the mountains that's a whole different story. Hiking single file at snail's pace on a well-established trail isn't exactly exercise, so after a little back and forth with the guide we were finally able to walk at a more natural pace. That has the added benefit of being able to take photos anytime it's worth it without stopping the people behind you dead in their tracks. With the sunny weather and the awesome scenery that was most necessary.

The only goal of day 1 was to get to the 三六九山莊 (San liu jiu mountain hut) where we would spend the night. On the way, however, you can already climb the first 百岳 (a name given to Taiwan's 100 highest mountains), namely 雪山東峰 (Xue shan east peak).

We had to get up super early the next morning (ordinarily I would call it "the same night"), so after dinner I went straight to bed to catch as much sleep as possible. If I've learned anything from the last hike it's that sleep is probably the most important thing while hiking, so I was equipped with my trusted inflatable sleeping mat and earplugs. Even the latter ones worked well this time, and while I didn't sleep quite as well as the first night (I blame the lack of a good pillow), I was comparably well-rested the next day.

This post covers day 1. Day 2 is here.

Overview

The red track is the first day, the green track is the first half of day two before returning along the red track.

(Click the image for a larger version.)

Altitude graph

(Click the image for a larger version.)

GPS track

Hiking log

(As always, the altitudes are approximate.)

0600: Wake up
0715: Departure by bus from 武陵農場 (Wu ling farm) to the trail head, coffee break near the campground
0750: Arrival at trail head
0840: Start hiking at trail head, 2139 m
0945: Arrival at 七卡山莊 (Qi ka mountain hut), 2506 m
1005: Departure from 七卡山莊 (Qi ka mountain hut)
1135: Arrival at 哭坡觀景台 (Ku po view platform), rest break, 2976 m
1205: Departure from 哭坡觀景台 (Ku po view platform)
1245: 雪山東峰 (Xue shan east peak), 3201 m
1435: Arrival at 三六九山莊 (San liu jiu mountain hut), 3140 m

Photos

The night sky over 武陵農場 (Wu ling farm). Well, either that or maybe it's just sensor noise.

Tearing down our night camp in 武陵農場 (Wu ling farm).

Bears welcoming visitors to the 雪霸國家公園 (Xue Ba National Park). In reality you're much more likely to ...

Preparing for the hike in front of the 雪山登山口 (Xue shan trail head) at 2140 m altitude.

The view is already beautiful before you start hiking.

I actually thought this butterfly was fake but was reassured that it's really just asleep - and that it's a moth, not a butterfly.

A water tank right at the trail head. This was previously used for watering the plantations in the area and is now one of the campground's water sources.

It's nice to see the sea of clouds coming in as long as you're on the upper side and not hiking down.

(Please read this post online to see the album in its full version.)

搬家真麻煩

September 1, 2013
Shou #1

部落格2013年12月26日終止服務！

唉！~~~~搬家最麻煩，又不知道要搬到哪裡去！

陳式太極雙刀---世貿、東海場團體表演

August 25, 2013
Shou #1

2013.08.25.台中市潭子區太極拳委員會舉辦「潭子區打造運動島太極拳觀摩活動」。
東海、世貿場團體表演陳式太極雙刀，其中還有馬志傑教練支援演出。
http://youtu.be/5okoSkCBGRc

能高越嶺古道 (Neng gao cross-ridge trail)

August 21, 2013
Martin

What I expected to be the next rainy opportunity to climb one or even two of Taiwan's highest mountains turned out to be quite the opposite; a sunny but sleep-deprived hiking trip with no peaks to bag.

Since my own company apparently mainly employs unhealthy and/or lazy people, and therefore lacks a hiking club, I once again joined another company's hiking trip. The goal was to climb 南華山 (Nan hua shan) after hiking the 能高越嶺古道 (Neng gao cross-ridge trail).

The weather was great and took my experience-based pessimism by surprise. My waterproof pants were overkill and my rain clothes and umbrella went unused. Unfortunately, so did my sleeping bag, unless you deem hours of lying awake at night an appropriate use of a sleeping bag.

With all the money the government spent on rebuilding the mountain hut they could have installed some slightly softer mats, so that bony people like me don't feel sore whichever way they try to lie down. On top of that the snoring of my fellow hikers was so loud that my earplugs failed to do their job. I know I won't leave the house again without my inflatable sleeping mat, no matter what the mountain hut advertises, but I'm still researching ways to beat the snoring. Ideas are welcome!

As a result I didn't exactly feel like getting up at 0330 to climb any peaks and stayed in the hut instead. (I was finally able to catch an hour or two of sleep after figuring out that putting my hands under my buttocks was slightly more comfortable than anything else I had tried up to that point.)

While I was lying awake at two in the morning I was frustratedly contemplating the end of my hiking career. A few hours later in the car back I already made plans for the next hike. And so, these photos are unlikely to be the last hiking photos you'll see from me.