Richie Post #4: Da Keng Trail 4

Yesterday we rode our scooters out to the park with the monkeys. It was a pretty ride into the mountains through some winding little roads to a park called Da Keng. We walked trail #4 starting a little before 10:00. The sign at the park entrance says: “Be Careful Monkey”, so we were. At first the trail is one narrow lane of rough patched pavement which continues to meander up on the ridge of a finger.

The forest here is full of 4” diameter bamboo, palms, and a tangle of vegetation that looks like philodendron, and other exotic house plants. At one point there’s a sheer drop to the left into the jungle with a nice view of the valley leading down to the coastal plane. On the right there’s also a steep drop into another valley with a river bed which runs into Taichung. The road leads us down to the right and we notice people coming down the trail from up on the other side of the valley. It looks very high and really steep.

After a while we crossed the mostly dry bed on a big suspension footbridge. On the bridge I got the sensation of being on a gigantic model diorama. The rocks in the riverbed are out of scale so we were getting what looked like a mouse’s eye view of a creek. On the other side the trail starts off with cement steps, and then turns up and onto a heavy narrow wooden walkway. Its made out of 4 to 5 inch diameter logs with railings that have been lag bolted together and worn smooth by traffic. The crossbeam spacing is somewhat irregular and too open to walk on without careful placement of your feet, too close for a proper stride, yet a little too far apart to be comfortable taking two at a time.

It’s very steep, and pretty soon the walkway becomes a ladder for a while, and again from time to time on up the mountainside. Right away we started to realize what a mistake it was to attempt this “trail” without carrying water. The view was great but you needed to stop to look around because of the treacherous footing, and also to take a moment to catch our breath. There were an impressive number of older Taiwanese hikers coming down from the other direction. We were all sweaty and smiling, exchanging the Chinese greeting, “Ni Hao” as we squeezed pass. About half way up we were suffering from thirst, and took a little rest.

Ian wasn’t feeling all that great so I went on ahead thinking it would be another 15 minuets to the top. (Ian note: I think I really needed some water, and my converse sneakers have about as much foot support as a pair of flip flops, so that didn't help. Of course I am also out of shape...) It was getting comical as each time I’d reach the next high area it would reveal the next leg of the climb to be much longer than it looked from below.

Finally I reached the upper ridge, and saw I’d have to go down some before reaching the last climb. I can hear people ahead and see a small covered pavilion perched on the top of the mountain.

The party of locals having tea saw right away that I was in need of a drink, which I gratefully accepted. As I recovered we sat there having a wonderful exchange with my few words of Chinese and their few words of English. I was able to tell them I had to go back, and they gave me some water to take to Ian. Just as I started to leave he arrived, and we sat back down while he had a drink, and talked to them about his time in Taichung. It wasn’t too much easier getting down, and our feet were not happy with the pounding. We never did see any monkeys, but thoroughly enjoyed the hike.