Tag: Natural Environment

  • A Dirty Weekend in Hong Kong

    2010 was the Chinese Year of the Mountain Bike, starting it in style on two wheels in Hong Kong, taking in some of Taiwan’s best riding, and ending up recently with a new bike to call my own.  After proving the intra-Asian transport options over new year, I cashed-in some air miles that were burning a hole in my pocket and decided to fly to see Sam, plus Michael and Tanja before their wee one arrives on the scene.

    An ambitious two day itinerary was set for the riding; the Taimoshan trail only being pieced back together after seven months of trying to find it again after new year.  The weather held, and we were left with two lovely days of sunshine, eating, drinking and riding.  Intense, but just the thing to kick off a good Autumn of fun and frolics.  I am now in fact considering a week of mountain biking in New Zealand for Chinese New Year 2011.  Just need to book those flights!

    On the way to the ferry terminal – riding in HK is a different beast to Taiwan; no scooters ironically makes it less bike-friendly, and the boisterous buses were not pleasant riding companions.

    On the ferry out to Lantau island … makes for a pleasant change from riding for 35 minutes through Taipei traffic!

    Stopping for a photo at the infamous ‘Refrigerator’ rock – well framed, don’t you agree!

    The weather on the first day got to all of us – it was bloody hot and humid.  This didn’t seem to effect the fellow mountain bikers on the boat back, who scoffed at our meagre efforts; the higher proportion of bankers in the HK expat population definitely equates to more wankers.  Such is the order of things.

    Very happy to make it to 7-11 at the end of the ride … I have never drunk so much Gatorade for such a sustained period of time.

    Some more waiting around for the guys to finish work on Michael’s bike – some mechanicals that needed to be sorted out (and free replacement brakes, no less!).

    So, the end of Day 1 of riding … day 2 saw zero photos; we were too busy riding!  You can however see the photos from earlier in the year if you want to see what Taimoshan looks like.

    Hanging out with the ladies – was amazing to see Tanja, and Tony’s fiancee was in town to sort out wedding docs.

    Sunset over Kowloon.

    Obligatory shot of wires.

    Good luck next month guys!  It was simply wonderful to see you!

  • Maokong Gondola

    Nikki and I made a run for the city limits, and opted to test-out the newly restarted Maokong Gondola up into the hills.  I had attempted twice before to use the service, but prior to the landslide that began to undermine one of the pylons the crowds were simply too big.  Now?  Well, no-one wants to ride it, which is fine in my book as the queues are close to zero.

    Taipei is closer to nature than pretty much any other city that I can think of, and it’s nice to have access that does not involve hour-long climbs on the mountain bike.  A lovely way to spend a late afternoon, and fantastic to go and throw some hot water on some tea leaves and soak in the lovely sunset.  Wonderful.

    Widescreen.

    Shooting into the sky.

    Pensive, while pouring tea.

    Our sunshine account is running into the red.

    Lovely Bugatti blue seats on the underground back to the city centre.

  • Stonedeer Trail 2

    Stonedeer Trail 2

    Well here it is folks; day three on our Taiwan mountain biking bender … the Stonedeer Trail (also known as Syakaro or 石鹿古道) .  The last time we rode the trail in 2007, it dished up a bewildering series of large landslides, leaving us ragged and exhausted by the end.  This time, we aimed to hit the trailhead early, and get the opening section of the ride cleared, ready for the tiring and dangerous hike-a-bike across the rock fields (and building up credit for the sublime singletrack descending).

    Logistics are the trickiest aspect of riding Stonedeer; you first need to get deep into the mountains of Hsinchu County, and then work out a way to get from there back to your car, or to Taipei (an option I would like to try next time).  Last time, we rented a van for the day to do the dirty work for us, but this year instead found a local willing to drive Mark’s car to the end of the trail.

    Enough with the car.  Kicking off from the trailhead, we slowly made our way up the long climb to the highest point on the trail, some 4km away.  Naturally, our memories all conveniently deleted the climb, and we huffed and puffed our way to the top – we did it in good time, however, and conditions were close to perfect.

    I don’t remember it being like this!

    Please stop taking photos.

    A sight for sore eyes – the saddle.  In my head this was the peak; but sadly there was a little more work to do yet.

    Breaking through the ‘saddle’ of the climb is always is always a good feeling, but in this case the architects that built this trail really knew what they were doing, drowning a gap in the trees in fabulous light, and signalling the start of the (mostly) downhill.  Time to munch on one more energy bar, strap down our shoes, clean our glasses, and hunker down for some of the finest mountain biking this island has to offer.  Yes, kilometres and kilometres of pristine single-track, divinely laid-out for us by the gods of mountain biking.

    You can even see Mark’s grin at speed.

    Pumpin’

    Yes, one more thumbs-up from Carlos, to the trail!

    But once again, we did not have it all our own way.  Time saved on the climb and opening sections were lost when we met the first of the bridges over one of the multiple streams and rivers.  Untreated wood, humidity, rain and the odd rock-fall meant they were in a sorry state of repair, and in stark contrast to the conditions from last time.  Each crossing took a group of us to pass the bikes from one side to the other, but this is the stuff that teams are made for, eh.

    Less than ideal conditions.

    Team building!

    I am sure there is a thumbs-up somewhere in the background.

    Some then whizzed across the scary suspension bridge…

    … and some walked it.  I don’t blame you , Mark.

    But the guys who rode in 2007 knew what was coming.  Landslides – and lots of them.  The condition of the bridges was not boding well, and really we had time to be making up time if we expected to get people to the airport in the evening.  So, with a hearts pumping from the steep drop to the river below, we started the first climb.  Thankfully, new ladders had been installed, which aided climbing to a large degree.  However, I did not really trust the steps when completely new, and I shudder to think of the consequences should the wood break, but never-the-less we made it to the top, bikes slung over our shoulders and eager to press-on.  Phew.

    Yes – that is the river down below!

    Our fears for the integrity of the rest of the trail were well-founded, but the trail-builders had been working hard in the last few years; despite the heavy rain of recent weeks, reasonably navigable tracks had been cut into the landsides, and bridges had been installed in a couple of places.  This made for a far more pleasant preparation to the final kilometres of singletrack!

    Contrast with the last attempt was stark, and welcome.  Last time saw us disassembling the bikes, descending straight down in two trips to gather wheels and frames, straight up the other side twice more, and reassembling the bikes on the other side.

    The final section of trail was as sublime as ever, and Mark locked-on to my back wheel and pushed me to the limit, the speeds getting ever higher.  His attempts to pass me through the (very attractive – but no time for photos this time!) glades of bamboo were repeatedly met with aggressive lines from yours-truly, but I had met my match that day, and an unforced error saw me sliding along the trail as I hit a helpfully-positioned, diagonally-orientated trunk of bamboo lying across the path.  I was exhausted, and Mark disappeared as my legs went into screen-saver mode.  Tired, sweaty, bloody, muddy and numb from nettles, we arrived at the end of the trail, grins on our faces, and triumphant.

    Bikes – intact.

    Bodies – mostly intact.

    Stonedeer, we salute you!

    Information

    Peace & Ride – Stonedeer Trail

    Forestry Information – Stonedeer Trail

    Stonedeer Map

  • Puli Mountain Biking

    Mark works it.

    Day two on our little adventure was supposed to have started by waking up in a tent, halfway up a mountain.  Sadly, that did not quite happen as planned, and instead we found ourselves in the tourist honeypot of Sun Moon Lake (although 日月潭 is actually a reservoir) staying overnight.  There were plenty of good hills in the local area to keep us entertained, so we asked around and made a bee-line for some trails near Shueli and Puli.

    Our fortune during the trip regarding mechanical issues with the bicycles (or the people for that matter) was not matched by the stamina of Mark’s van.  Frustratingly, we blew a tyre on the way out to the trailhead, and wasted a precious hour or two working out the best way to get it fixed.  All I can say is, at least it didn’t happen on the way back the previous day – the puncture’s vicinity to a tyre repair place and helpful policeman saved the day.

    Strike the standard ‘shit I have a puncture’ pose.

    Finding trails in Taiwan at the best of times is hard work, but vague instructions, poor maps and increasingly scary roads as we gained altitude did not really help proceedings.  No matter, we were happy to arrive at the forestry rangers station, and they pointed us up the hill, which seemed to have been marked with hiking association flags, heading off through the trees.  This was going to be a hike-a-bike climb, but some awesome, technical descending.  Our guess was, this was the first time that bikes had ever been on this trail.

    Don’t worry Mum, we didn’t ride down this section.

    Climbing up through the trees, we couldn’t resist spinning the bikes around every once in a while, and attacking the odd set of corners.  The guys that used to live in Taiwan were in there element here; it was like all the best bits from our regular Graveyard and Helens runs, all wrapped up into one run.  The disappointment of the morning was turning into a mild sense of amazement that we had found these trails – and when we couldn’t easily climb any more, we stuffed some food in our mouths, and started a wicked descent.

    So wicked, in fact, that in a moment of super-human skill, I overcooked it through a set of steep, off-camber rooted turns.  I knew several metres before the trail dropped that I needed to shed some speed, and I elegantly locked-up my wheels, sending me sliding across a field of roots and kindly leaving it to my head to do the final speed retardation.  With a tree.  Cracking sounds turned out to be my helmet splitting; my ego a little bruised, I packed up my Superman suit and kept riding.

    The descending begins…

    Observing progress

    Thumbs-up from Carlos!

    Picking lines through the trees.

    Single-track heaven.

    Emerging at the end – mostly unscathed!

    Considering this was his first time mountain biking, he looks like a natural cross-country racer, don’t you think?!

    Team Giant (and one Specialized) give their approval!

    So, day 2 dished up some surprises, but in some ways was the most memorable day (despite the bashed noggin!).  A 30 minute high-speed on-road descent to the bottom certainly did not hurt our moods one little bit, though our disk brakes were certainly screaming in pain.

    Information

    It’s a bit difficult to give much in the way of information, as we barely knew where we were … but here is a map for your viewing pleasure!

    Puli MTB

  • Nenggao Mountain Biking – 能高越嶺古道

    Nenggao Mountain Biking – 能高越嶺古道

    Riding the ridge of mountains that comprise the spine of Taiwan has long been an ambition of the myself and the riding group.  After some significant effort, Mark put together some days of riding; day 1 of the plan was to attack the infamous Nenggao trail system (能高越嶺古道), which was built by the Japanese in an attempt to control the unruly locals.  Comprising a day of climbing, an overnight camp, and a day of blissful high-speed descending, this was set to be an epic one.  We were joined by Taiwan mountain biking alumni, flying in from Shanghai, Hong Kong and – would you believe it – Mexico.  While several of us had bikes, the majority were going to be renting, or buying new rigs; luckily, we found a place north of Taipei run by Giant that was renting pretty decent machinery, and we were good to go.

    Staying overnight in a hot spring hotel near Renai (仁愛) , we mentally prepared by hanging out way past curfew in the hot tub, and quaffing hand-imported PatronAñejo’ Tequila.  As the first results from the football World Cup beamed in Mr. Patron accompanied us, assisting in the respective celebrations and commiserations.

    Perhaps as a result of said Tequila, the day got off to a somewhat more leisurely start than we initially planned, but we were climbing up to the trail-head proper within no time.  The weeks of precipitation, namely the ‘Plum Rain‘, seemed to have receded in time for the ride, and we were climbing in cool, if humid, weather.

    Crossing the bridge one the way to the up, while the weather was still behaving.

    Negotiating one of the waterfalls – you can see how fragile the earth underneath is.

    One of the landside sections – just before we opted to turn around.

    Weeks of rain had clearly taken their toll, however, and large landslides blocked our path on several occasions.  Our steely resolve to press on to the camp ground was tested, when finally the heavens opened, breaking promises of safe conditions, and we opted to get the hell off the hill, as soon as we saw rivulets of water dragging rocks and debris down the landslide area.  It was not worth the significant risk, and we were all shivering insider our rain jackets, soaked in sweat, rain and humidity.

    So, off the mountain we went, and the six of us made a rapid bee-line for the trail-head, some six kilometres in the other direction.  The hours of climbing compressed into minutes of descending, naturally, but we were energised and warmed-up once more; it’s amazing what a little adrenalin can do.

    Greeting each other after a slightly hairy descent!

    Sweat, rain, relief.  In that order.

    Team photo. Thumbs-up from Carlos!

    Reaching the van, and caked in landslide, Craig found a pipe gushing water, and we took it in turns to wash the bikes and ourselves.  He maintains that the pipe was broken when he found it, but we feared a village was missing its evening shower as a result of our group cleansing activities.  One thing is for sure; we will be back in November, when the park officials have had some time to repair the trail, and the weather will hopefully be in our favour.

    Games with the water pipe …


    Information

    Map

    Enjoy!

  • Yilan Hiking

    After our company trip to Yilan, Paul and I opted to stay overnight and do a hike the next day.  It was dead good fun to see Taiwan from a slightly different angle for once, and we built up a nice healthy sweat as we hiked up through the humidity, and into the relative comfort of the cross-island road, connecting Yilan with Taipei; I really need to get my road bike finished and hit the tarmac!

    Looking out towards Turtle Island.

    Shipping containers turned into local cafe in the hills.

    I was going to link through to some hiking trail links, but I both did not find any good ones, and the leads we did have were blown by the taxi driver dropping us off in a completely random location anyway (near Jiaoxi) … none the less, a nice wee trail!

  • Borneo



    “Borneo”

    I have always liked the name of the place, associating it with adventure and danger, with Tintin and mysterious happenings in the jungle. Right up there with Zanzibar, Madagascar, Peru and Tazmania in the adventurous naming competition.

    It comprises territories from Brunei, Indonesia and Borneo, and is wedged into the water between peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines. As is often the case in Asia, my geography is a little off-centre, and the northern tip of Borneo is actually further north than that of the mainland (in more news to me, Wikipedia says it is the third-largest island in the world). Since I had a pile of Air Miles to get ride of before the end of the year, I decided to fly business-class to the capital of Sabah – Kota Kinabalu – taking a night in Kuala Lumpur on the return leg.
    View Larger Map

    Beyond the impeccable branding, I was also drawn by the news that I could bag another peak, in the form of Mount Kinabalu. It bills itself as the highest peak in South-East Asia at 4095m, and a fantastic addition to Yushan, which I climbed just recently (3952m). I was therefore a little miffed to discover, right after I booked flight tickets, several mountains in Indonesia significantly higher. Onwards and upwards, as they say.

    The other major pull to the island was Sipadan; reputedly location for some of the best Scuba diving in the world. When I learnt to dive in 2003, my Swiss instructor eulogised about the place, and I have since heard it mentioned in hushed tones by those in the know. Add jungles, food (and hell, free flights) and it was a pretty easy decision to pack my bags and go.

    Kota Kinabalu

    First leg on my little adventure was Kota Kinabalu – capital of Sabah. A pleasant, if sleepy, little town, it was a good base from which to strike out into the jungle and mountains. Bombed by the Japanese in WWII, it was far from architecturally charming, but it more than made up for it with its vibrant markets and fresh seafood.


    Holy mackerel, Batman.


    These chaps look way better under water.


    Taking a rest.


    Red hot chilli peppers


    Flying south for the winter.


    Loved the market building.


    Rows of tailors with immaculate sewing machines.


    Charming chaps.


    Fascinating to see the obviously incredibly rapid shift to cell phones. Rows of pay phones, and yet only one stool left. How long til they paint over the wear marks on the wall?


    Bright colours abound. I am positive Taiwan has invested a similar amount in the actual buildings, and yet just a splash of paint and a bit of care makes such a difference.


    I want to buy this car and cruise around in it, causing trouble.


    … and onto the next location (this time with Air Asia; such fall from grace!)

    Mt. Kinabalu


    View from the road, prior to the climb.

    So what, it’s not the highest peak in SE Asia: but after my interest was piqued by climbing Yushan in Taiwan, I felt the urge to climb me some more rocks. The overall set-up is not dissimilar to climbing Yushan; you start hiking at about 1800m, hike for 3-4 hours up to the hostel at Laban Rata (3273m), and again get up extremely early to take in the sunrise at the peak at 4095m – about 100m more than the Taiwanese peak.

    Especially after climbing Yushan with associated altitude sickness issues, I was a little more prepared, packing Diamox and Aspirin tablets. The grading was a little steeper than Yushan, with more rocks and roots to clamber up, but in some ways I found this easier than spreading the ascent over a longer incline. Combined with slightly warmer temperatures, and the fact that the hostel provided all food, water and bedding, I reached the lodge in tip-top shape and enjoyed a chilled afternoon watching the clouds float by, fed and watered with provisions that the constant stream of sherpas were bringing up.


    Watching the clouds roll on by.

    Awaking in a shroud of cloud, the ascent was still lit brightly enough by the full-moon that we barely needed head-torches. The most technical sections were laced-up with climbing ropes, but in actuality they were neither as exposed nor as technical as the ones on Yushan; the massif of granite was far more stable than the shale in Taiwan.

    Drugged-up on Diamox (note for future reference: it’s a diuretic) we maintained a pretty good pace. Such a good pace, in fact, that we arrived at the summit with forty minutes to spare until sunrise. Clouds and rain met us at the top, and we spent the remainder of the time shivering in the cold, willing the sun to rise over the horizon and return some warmth to our bones. Rise it did, burning away the cloud cover an
    d affording us fantastic views up the South China Sea and over to the forested interior of the island. Warmed up by the flurry of photographic activity, we lingered a while on the peak, but eventually gave in to the nagging from our obligatory guides to head down.


    5:10am. Cold. Wet. Tired.


    Waiting an eternity for the light to break through.


    The clouds on the horizon seemed to rise at the same rate as the sun!


    Skywalker – admiring the fabulous view.


    4095.2m = Low’s Peak


    Contour lines.


    The scale of the place was amazing – those specks on the edge of the granite shelf are people, and a sign pointing towards the top.


    The granite plateau transition made for some amazing live cloud formations – imagine these rolling by as if over an airplane wing; I could have stayed here for hours.


    Sun blind


    Moonscape


    Ships in the night.


    Life perseveres.


    My Canadian descent-buddies.


    Clouds descend, giving an ominous sign for the return leg.

    We returned to the lodge and all tucked into a hearty breakfast (infinitely better than more pot noodles on Yushan), and began the descent. Sadly, the weather did not quite hold, and we were met with rain for the entire duration, drenches and bedraggled by the time we reached the gates of the park, a long few hours later.

    Next stop … Mount Fuji?

    Garama Wetlands

    Hold your horses, son! After all that exertion, I thought a more relaxing day should be on the cards, so I signed myself up for a trip down to the estuary region of Garama, to meet some of the primates native to the island. What could be nicer?

    Clearly, large groups of elderly Asian ladies feel the same way. It was therefore with a faint sinking sensation that I boarded the bus, and was joined by permed hair from Hong Kong, Korea and Australia. Sat at the front with my iPod blaring, I had a particularly satisfying hour or two of adolescent seat kicking before we arrived and were gently inserted into position on the boats, ready to penetrate the jungle. I was really, honestly, trying my best to hate the whole experience, but they were just so amusing to watch that I could not fail to break into smile.

    After a few minutes of cruising, we came across groups of ‘Big-Nose Monkeys’ (AKA Proboscis Monkeys) that were shy but fascinating to look at, and found only in Borneo; Silver Leaf Monkeys, who are smart enough to wash their hands before they eat; and some other sort of primate that I only remember being called ‘David Beckham Monkey’, because of its fetching Mohawk haircut.

    Top it off with some synchronised fireflies (the smallest in the world, apparently), and my day shuffling along with the geriatric jet-set was far from dull.


    Silver Leaf Monkey awaits dinner.


    Abandoned river houses.


    The Proboscis Monkeys were very shy, and essentially impossible to photograph … on the other hand, groups of boats filled with Chinese people taking photos of shy monkeys is much more fun.


    Reflections.


    We seemed to be in a very great rush to get back … but nothing phased my ladies!


    In the event of an emergency…

    Sipadan & Mabul

    Sipadan is one of the finest dive-spots in the world. Ostensibly to protect the fragile marine environment, the Malaysian government has seen fit to limit access to only 110 people per day, meaning an end to the possibility of staying on this jewel (although the kidnapping of a dozen tourists in 2000 by Filipino pirates surely played a role in this decision). Instead, most visitors stay at one of a number of locations in the vicinity. I opted to stay on Mabul – only slightly less perfect, sporting a much larger bar, and itself one of the best ‘muck diving‘ sites in the world.

    Turtles, normally a special treat on any dive, virtually littered the water. We would see three coming up for air, just suiting-up, in fact, on our night dive, one almost collided with me, and made a bolt for it between my legs. Nudibranchs, sharks, shape-shifting octopi … it had the lot.

    World-class diving was for once matched with world-class company (uninterested or detached dive buddies can ruin a perfectly good dive!), hailing from The States, Spain, The Netherlands and Australia. I was also very excited to be staying next door to Les Stroud and the National Geographic film crew, who were filming a documentary on sea gypsies, who still live in the area. We amused ourselves greatly with this entry in his website;

    “Stroud continues to forge new pathways as a prolific, creative force. He single-handedl
    y created, produced, wrote, filmed, hosted, edited and composed the theme music for the first two original, one-hour pilots for what would eventually become the hit Survivorman TV series.”

    But all eyes were on Sipadan. My ‘package’ included a single-day pass into the park, and I had to keep reminding myself just how lucky I was, just to get in; imagine all the people coming from all over the world, turned away by bad weather at the last moment. It was all worth it. Diving into the mouth of turtle cavern was one of the very best diving experiences of my life. As if from the set of a particularly camp pirate movie, there is a network of caves under the island, and carcasses of lost turtles pay testament to their final journey. I have never seen such clear, still water, and looking back out of the cavern was a spell-binding moment.

    Not my video, but you get the idea:

    [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFKy9mvk1zI]


    Stayin’ alive.


    Sipadan perfection.


    Silhouettes


    Just off the coast of Mabul – a converted oil rig that operates as a dive resort. Fun for about a day, I would imagine.


    Structures … seems to preserve valuable agricultural land, in Borneo the workers live on stilts above the water.


    Local industries.


    Devil in the details.


    Charismatic local kids.


    Messing around.


    Grins all around.


    The sun sets on some great days on Mabul and Sipadan.

    With any luck, I should be getting my hands on some actual pics of me diving soon, which I am looking forward to seeing a great deal!

    Kuala Lumpur

    The trip concluded with a rather hedonistic evening in Kuala Lumpur with photographer friend Fiona. Since it was my first trip, trotting off to check out the twin Petronas Towers was a must; and I found it more complete, both in concept and in execution, than Taipei 101. Drinks at Zouk, some good times at an impromptu ‘rave’, late-night snacks in China Town and staff rates at a suite in The Berjaya … and it looks like I’ll need to head back at some point!


    Petronas Towers (Canon Ixus 100)


    Petronas Towers (iPhone + Tiltshiftgen app) … as a result of this augmentation, my iPhone is now a more interesting creative tool than a ‘real’ camera.


    Out on the town.

  • Climbing Yushan


    Yushan National Park, Taiwan

    It’s easy to get stuck in Taipei, and not make it out to see the rest of the island. Since I am regularly mountain biking in the hills around Taipei, I do make a better job than most at getting into nature; but I have not done a good job at getting into the high mountains of Taiwan.

    Yushan is the highest peak in East Asia, but is obviously beaten out by peaks in the Himalayas and several in SE Asia (see Wikipedia for some more info). In the last few years, I have signed up on a couple of different climbing trips, but was never successful at getting a place in the hut at the base of the final climb, subject as it is to lottery. Luckily (or unluckily) a Scottish friend was leaving Taiwan, and she decided to apply for climbing access, with success. Good news, and a perfect excuse for me to go and buy more hiking equipment.

    Rather than rush straight up on Friday, and begin the hike the next day, we opted to leave a day early and buy some time kicking around the Alishan Town area. At 2274m, it is already at a respectable altitude, and indeed some people on the team did not deal especially well with the lack of air. I could certainly sympathise, but was at least aware of the effects from previous skiing holidays; Val Thorens in France is located at about 2300m altitude.


    Forested Alishan was quiet – no doubt because the train was knocked out by Typhoon Morakot.


    Angles.


    Team Chris & Co.

    With an early-ish start the next day, we bussed it up to the start of the hike at 2595m. The mountains in that part of Taiwan are stunning, and beginning the hike was pure pleasure in the cool air and warm sunlight. Slowly gaining altitude, we passed bamboo forests, thickets of ancient trees (the ones that Japanese didn’t cut down in WWII) and stopped to gaze at ever more dramatic views of pristine forested valleys stretching into the distance.

    Due in no small part to our large ruck-sacks, concerns about how much water and food we needed, and plenty of extra dry clothes and insulation, we probably did over-pack a touch, and it was pretty slow going. We decided to keep it steady, however, and redistribute some of the extra weight between the stronger members of the group. None-the-less, we reached the point where daylight was beginning to fade and decided that an ‘avant-garde’ group should make it to the lodge and return to collect the other members – it was a decision I was not completely happy with, so I was delighted when the final pair of head-torches came bobbing up the hill through the darkness, 10km west of the starting point and 900-odd metres higher, at Paiyun Lodge (3402m).


    Shadows of my former-self.


    Views across the valleys were splendid.


    Granny gearing it up the hill.


    As clouds rolled in, everywhere looked like a scene from a traditional Chinese painting … and frankly the Taiwan I was expecting to see when I arrived a few years ago!


    Old-growth trees were pretty spiritually-uplifting.


    One or two moments of more extreme climbing, but nothing too hazardous.


    More paintings.


    More sunsets.


    You’ll have to check the Flickr feed to get the full effect I think.

    After a not especially hearty meal of instant noodles, freeze-dried rice curry, and chunks of dried fruit, washed down with ginger tea, it was time to hit the sack at about 8:30pm. I had certainly never slept at such elevation before, and sadly spent the night tossing and turning, tormented by an epic headache, mild nausea, a dry throat, and subsequent trips to the toilet to try and expel the water that I was knocking back to counteract it. Altitude sickness.

    Just to see the sunrise, waking at 2:30am therefore seemed like a bad joke. Beginning the hike, my heavy head and bags / luggage under my eyes were slightly relieved by Chris’ thoughtful packing of Diamox to counteract the effects (reading the Wikipedia entry now explains why I was peeing every ten minutes after taking it). It helped, but the pounding returned every time my heart rate went up, and as such climbing was an exercise in restraint, as my legs felt so much stronger than what my pounding head could handle.

    All-in-all, it felt like the final approach to Mordor, surrounded by near-darkness and staring up at pin-pricks of light coming from the head torches of teams of people that had managed to get up a little earlier than us. I was by far the coldest I have ever been in Taiwan; but was wearing just about enough clothes to fend off the shivers.

    Coming up to the final few hundred metres of the peak (sadly lacking a huge, burning, all-seeing eye), we again split up, and I left Tasha and Chris behind to make the final ascent. The rocks surrounding the peak require a bit of a scramble, but I felt pretty confident after the training session in Wales earlier in the year, up Snowdon, which is the highest mountain in Wales, and a lofty 1085m (Ben Nevis in Scotland is 1344m, which puts the whole endeavour in perspective).

    After several hours of climbing in the dark, it was a relief to make it to the top, and the sun duly emerged from behind the clouds to allow some respite from the frosty and sub-zero temperatures – the first encounter in Taiwan, bizarrely. I was expecting to be more ‘in the mood’ to compose more considered pictures, but the cold, blurry head and mild desire to get back down meant I rattled off a bunch of shots; and with the extremely high-contrast between light and dark up there it was not that easy to nail shots I was really happy with.


    Sunrise – finally! – we were immensely lucky with the weather, considering it is mid-November.


    Solitude.


    Conquistador.


    Tasha – yay!


    Tasha and Chris – our heroines of the day.


    In the mist.


    Descending down the initial track was not that straightforward.


    The views were magnificent.

    Beginning the descent, I was delighted to see the purple hood of Tasha and Chris slowly winching themselves up the final climb. Accompanying them to the top, I retraced my steps to the top, and I was glowing with pride to see them reach the top together. Very satisfying.

    Heading back down was harder on the knees, but it did not load the lungs in the same way, so we avoided the nausea and headaches. Noodles, drinks, dried fruit were doled out back at the lodge, and with a mild spring in our step we headed back down the hill, cutting about two hours from the ascent time. Getting back into Taipei, the only thing I could think of was sleep … deserved, I do believe.

    So, I broke my duck on the high mountains, and I am extremely keen to make it back down there at some point to bag some more hills and trails.


    Winding roads.


    More atmospheric forests.


    And one last one.


    Big mountains. Bigger skies.


    Almost there …


    The bus to the final meeting point … and looking a little bedraggled.


    Inexplicably, this was our ride back to the train station in Jiayi – a San Francisco-style tourist bus. We got some strange looks!

    Flickr
    http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=71649

    Google Maps

    View Yushan in a larger map

    A few links if you want to do it yourself:

    Wikitravel – Yushan
    Yushan National Park Protected Area – Application Site
    Everytrail – Yushan – Some GPS maps and tech wizardry

  • Typhoon Morakot


    In the eye of the storm

    The island has been hit by the first proper Typhoon of the year; ‘Morakot’. Well, I say hit, but this was a particularly impotent Typhoon by my standards, barely shaking the windows. The island did shut down on Friday, meaning I was working from home. This is okay, but I do tend to get a dose of cabin fever when stuck inside with the sound of rain outside – frustrating and greasy … but I did manage to complete Mario Kart in Arcade Mode yesterday so all is not lost.

    As ever, jumping on the mountain bike this morning managed to blow out the cobwebs and redeemed the weekend. Great feeling it is; riding in the rain when everyone else is indoors. Been off the wheels for a few weeks now, so it was well overdue.

    Update: While it has been pretty safe in Taipei, the rest of the island has been pretty hard hit … best wishes to all those down south who are facing some pretty tough conditions.

  • Total Eclipse of the Heart

    The longest eclipse of the sun for 300 years, and only my second total eclipse ever … and it was raining!

    Still, lots of fun running outside the China Dell office rattling off a bunch of shots. Thought it was rather amusing to see lights going on in the apartment buildings around the plaza … how inconvenient an eclipse must be when you have things to do.


    Flash. Interesting to see how much video was shot of the sky on cell phones. Those tones of grey and black you will surely be showing your grand children!


    Star gazing.


    Even quicker than it arrived, the rain disappeared and the light returned.


    Time to call your friends and tell them about it!