Showing posts with label pingxi_hikes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pingxi_hikes. Show all posts

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Tombs of the Sky Lanterns and Bamboo Cathedrals

 photo 1012350_10151712784361202_904210022_n.jpg

Not long ago we did a lovely, not-too-challenging hike in Pingxi, taking the Dongshige (東勢格) trail from the bottom end of town (if you come by train - right on the road if you come by bus). We hadn't been hiking in Taiwan in ages because we've both been wary after Brendan's terrible fall, and we were out of commission hike-wise for several months anyway for his recovery. We did do World's End and Horton Plains in Sri Lanka (in lieu of still-not-quite-ready-for-it Adam's Peak) in February, but that's been it since September. So if you've been wondering why I haven't done any hiking posts...that's why.

Oh yeah, and from February to May it rained more or less every weekend in Taipei. Months on end. No good hiking.

Ready to start hiking again and wanting to take advantage of a few weekends of not-terrible weather, but not ready for anything too challenging (gotta recapture that muscle memory, or really, just gotta get back in some form of hiking shape) - and probably never again willing to try anything too risky on a hiking trail - we opted to do this lovely, rambling hike.

 photo 1006245_10151712790741202_493752261_n.jpg

The three key features of Dongshige are the gentle rock scrambles, often around a cool, bubbling creek (all have ropes for balance and none are impossible to navigate for even the most novice hiker), tall copses of bamboo that arc together high above the trail to create the feeling of a verdant, natural cathedral ceiling, and sky lanterns set off from Pingxi town that have fallen in the hills beyond, ending their lives among the trees.

It's quite lovely to walk along in the dappled sunlight under the trees (assuming you get a sunny day, which you should never assume in northern Taiwan, let alone Pingxi) and catch sight of red, blue, pink and striped sky lanterns saying their last goodbyes, either at your feet or in the trees. Some are so new that you can read the wishes on them. Others have been at rest for so long that the paper has long since disintegrated and all you've got are a few tattered remnants of color - if that - and the metal base of the lantern. They're lifted into the sky by hot air/smoke - think very crude hot air balloon technology - so when the sterno-like fire goes out of their base, they fall where they fall.

And they are everywhere in these hills. I wonder if the one we made a few months before our wedding is up here somewhere.

 photo 600305_10151712785966202_1818763559_n.jpg

We accidentally went the wrong way when we started off, and found ourselves on a trail Joseph, our companion, has done before with Richard Saunders - the Stone Candle trail, which from what we've heard is absolutely gorgeous, and also 8+ hours of risky, rocky trails and pure torture if you're not in great shape. (The link above includes photos of our friends Joseph and Emily doing this hike). The first part of the trail is pretty easy, though, and quite lovely as it winds through farmland and up gentle hills to a set of old stone steps (which is where it gets more challenging), so we decided to stay on it for awhile. Then we turned around and hit Dongshige - we didn't complete it, in part because we'd started out too late, in part because we'd spent time on the wrong trail, and finally because my water bottle was not capped properly and I lost my entire water supply in my backpack and down the back of my pants about halfway through.

Oops.

You can get to the start of Stone Candle, Dutiful Son Mountain, Loving Mother Mountain, Dongshige and more from about the same area - from the train to Pingxi, walk down through the town, turn left and walk down some more, and turn left again at the road at the bottom of the old street. Walk for awhile on hot pavement and the trail entrances will eventually start appearing on your left.

 photo 995317_10151712785856202_833973449_n.jpg

From there, grab a smartphone photo of the map (the correct entrance has a map of Dongshige Trail) and head up. If you find yourself on the right side of the creek, walking through farmland and not on a road scooters can drive down, you're headed to Stone Candle. Turn back (or keep going until you're tired, it's a nice walk at first). You should instead be on a road so easy that it is somewhat motorable up to a certain point.. You end up at an old tunnel (on the way you'll pass the "disused house", "disused office" and "disused tunnel" - this area is full of old forest ruins so you'll see a lot of this kind of stuff) - the trail is pretty obvious from here on out (head right just before you reach the house, the bridge between the forks doesn't look stable).



If you instead head up Stone Candle, to the right of the creek, the easy trail terminates at a long set of slippery stone steps to your right. At the top of that are some old man-made shallow caves, which appear to be some sort of shrine-like dedication to Chiang Kai-Shek (eugh!):

I don't really like this one! photo 983957_10151712785901202_1120956244_n.jpg

There's another, harder to read inscription that is more obviously Chiang Kai-shek related, too.

 photo 970855_10151712786671202_1686276632_n.jpg

 photo 998614_10151712787311202_806044355_n.jpg

But assuming you stay on the Dongshige Trail (left of the creek, for awhile), this is where you hit a series of gentle rock scrambles, some near or in the water, some not.

 photo 1011892_10151712784841202_279551049_n.jpg

 photo 999035_10151712787686202_1927008617_n.jpg

 photo 1000418_10151712790216202_635694405_n.jpg

A red sky lantern impaled on bamboo

 photo 1001328_10151712790306202_287456884_n.jpg

The "disused tunnel"

 photo 969454_10151712788206202_1691914817_n.jpg

From the Stone Candle (i.e., wrong) trail

 photo 983573_10151712788456202_683034279_n.jpg

 photo 1000912_10151712784031202_1723420403_n.jpg

 photo 1017066_10151712789216202_1503548147_n.jpg

The trail gently inclines for awhile - nothing too strenuous, but it's not entirely flat going - and is mostly shaded, The rocks and creek (and lack of pavement) keep it cool, so it's a good choice for a very hot day. Just bring more water than we did, and don't screw the cap on wrong like this idiot here.

After some time, on your right you'll hit a signpost and a turn-off to another super-challenging, Richard-Saunders-style hike that we didn't attempt. It cuts a natural, almost imperceptible trail up a steep, rocky, overgrown hillside and disappears into the jungle above. Maybe someday - not now. Keep going on the route that's not kind of scary, along the rock scramble.

 photo 1000906_10151712789861202_671116581_n.jpg

Yes, I am aware that this looks like a giant discarded condom.


 photo 943458_10151712789626202_135486825_n.jpg

 photo 943592_10151712790226202_1516750686_n.jpg

You'll also pass an Earth God shrine (you usually do on these hikes!)

 photo 970219_10151712790611202_1546512608_n.jpg

We never made it to the "natural endpoint" of this hike - some lovely grasslands about another kilometer away - because of the water situation (we also wouldn't have had enough daylight to go to Houtong to see the cats, but realistically we could have done that on another day), but the hike seems to continue to gently ascend from there and could easily be completed without issue had we a bit more water and time.

 photo 1017066_10151712790626202_500493281_n.jpg

On the way back, along the easy motorable trail, you also get some lovely views across the river of Shulong Peak and Stone Bamboo Shoot, which are accessible from Jingtong.

 photo 600571_10151712791051202_1827256055_n.jpg

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Postcards from Pingxi - Pingxi town and Houtong Cat Village

 photo 942023_10151712781586202_188840827_n.jpg

A few weeks ago we did a day hike and a bit of wandering in the Pingxi area (accessible by bus or a small tourist rail line that runs from Ruifang at one end to Jingtong at the other) - it's become increasingly popular in the years since we've been here, but we hadn't explored the area in quite some time (in part because it is so popular now - it's too crowded most weekends).

We've been to Jingtong (an overnight hiking trip taking in Stone Bamboo Mountain and Shulong Peak) as well as Sandiaoling (site of a fantastic waterfall hike) and Shifen for the waterfall and sky lantern festival, Houtong for the Xiaotzukeng hike, and stopped at Dahua as we completed the Sandiaoling hike, and to Pingxi itself for Dutiful Son Mountain, but have avoided the area since the tourists moved in in earnest.

In fact, the above is a pretty great list of solid Pingxi hikes - you'd be wise to save it for future reference.


 photo 1012097_10151712781251202_1179594988_n.jpg

Now I wish we'd spent more time here over the past few years. If you come early enough or choose a hot day when a lot of Taipei day-trippers stay home or go somewhere air-conditioned (I love how Costco is a "fun family day trip" here - and the kids love it!) it's really not that bad, and there's a lot to recommend the area.

Before we set off on the Dongshige Trail (topic of my next post) we spent a little time in Pingxi. After the hike we spent some time in Houtong, which is now famous for being the "cat" village, with hundreds, if not thousands, of cared-for tame-but-semi-stray cats that you can watch, pet, play with and, if the locals allow it, feed.

I thought I'd first post a few photos for your enjoyment before I wrote a second post on our hike.

First, Pingxi, famous for "sky lanterns" (which you've no doubt read about in your guidebook):

 photo 580473_10151712781381202_140392226_n.jpg

 photo 983602_10151712781476202_1002764484_n.jpg

 photo 1011034_10151712781786202_1550734302_n.jpg

 photo 998110_10151712781631202_2100020959_n.jpg

 photo 1011892_10151712781846202_1912112011_n.jpg

 photo 601922_10151712782451202_156514367_n.jpg

 photo 1004038_10151712782571202_1999266472_n.jpg

...this squid place looks pretty good.

 photo 1004747_10151712782581202_1183155161_n.jpg

...so does this Hakka tangyuan place.

 photo 1011918_10151712782691202_544967328_n.jpg

 photo 1010455_10151712782951202_237083550_n.jpg

 photo 947120_10151712782956202_1224996232_n.jpg

 photo 998262_10151712782926202_1252888120_n.jpg

 photo 1001166_10151712783271202_1947940258_n.jpg

I recommend the taro ice cream with cilantro and peanut nougat in a crepe wrap sold here. Especially after a hot and dehydrating hike.

There is also a guabao (meat in a steamed bun with peanut crumble, cilantro and more) stand with lean meat that was great (I love guabao but prefer lean meat) and an aboriginal-run mountain pig kebab stand that I recommend very highly. None of these are the "famous" places with long lines. Who cares - avoid the lines and eat at my recommended spots. You'll be happy you did.

 photo 941132_10151712783336202_733459441_n.jpg

 photo 1010594_10151712783391202_833446883_n.jpg

 photo 600307_10151712783661202_1506581102_n.jpg

 photo 7159_10151712783816202_1406551824_n.jpg

 photo 5545_10151712783861202_306904272_n.jpg

We reached Houtong after the hike as the sun set:

 photo 1004040_10151712793396202_827701455_n.jpg

This Japanese soda is popular here - you shove the glass marble sealing it into the bottle and drink. It's actually pretty good (I hadn't had it in years so I enjoyed a bottle here).

 photo 1000167_10151712793511202_426890170_n.jpg

There weren't as many cats as we'd been led to believe. The soda stand owner said it was partly due to the heat and partly the weekend crowds. Once we'd all left and the weather cooled they'd come out again.

 photo 1001469_10151712793291202_1283587684_n.jpg

 photo 968929_10151712792831202_1438669544_n.jpg

 photo 6318_10151712792796202_147193673_n.jpg

 photo 969655_10151712792706202_2135272464_n.jpg

 photo 936421_10151712792556202_607270422_n.jpg

 photo 7814_10151712792366202_986530195_n.jpg

 photo 1017217_10151712792481202_1547201027_n.jpg

You can buy various cat souvenirs where most of the cats congregate. Proceeds of course profit the family, but also go to care for the cats (seeing as local families do the caregiving). It's worth it to buy something - money for cat food and care needs to come from somewhere.


 photo 379606_10151712792031202_347648579_n.jpg

 photo 972128_10151712791786202_1706875650_n.jpg

 photo 1001636_10151712791736202_1133789012_n.jpg

 photo 1017309_10151712791841202_1359671696_n.jpg

And the ride out to Houtong - not as crowded as you might think!

 photo 8805_10151712791456202_198899255_n.jpg