北大武山(beidawu shan)

Every time I see a mountain covered in lush green forests I wonder what it's like to walk through the trees, to be there looking out instead on gazing at the “scenery” from a distance. I'm not a stranger to mountains, I've hiked my share of (usually easy) trails, I know it's trying, tiring, dirty, and sometimes dangerous, but I just can't seem to fight that feeling, that I should be walking among the trees, that I need to be in the scenery and not admire from afar.

Last weekend I went hiking for my first time in Taiwan. It was amazing. Not only did it satisfy my need to get on the mountain, but I learned more about Taiwan, Taiwanese culture, Taiwanese food, and Taiwanese people in the course of my three days hitchhiking and hiking than I have since I've been here.

The Plan...or lack thereof

It all started on Thursday night, when I decided I wanted to go to 北大武山(beidawu shan). I hastily made plans looking at blogs, then I spoke to my friend Kay and the news spread. The next morning they told me I was free from work and they helped me get headed in the right direction. They tried to arrange for my transportation and sleeping. I didn't inform them yet that I wouldn't need a hotel, nor would I need transportation from the last bus stop to the trail head (a 40 minute car ride).

Getting There

This section deals with transportation to 北大武山. For anyone without a car/scooter, just do what I did. I set out for the 高雄火车站(Kaohsiung train station) and hopped on a train to 屏东(Pingdong). There are trains every 30 minutes or so from 高雄 to 屏东. Then I got on a bus headed to 泰武(taiwu). There are only two buses a day from 屏东 to 泰武. One is in the morning (not sure what time) and one is at 4:45pm. The last stop on the bus was 佳平村(jiaping cun) and it's about 100M from the police station. If you haven't already gotten your permit, you can do it at this police station, they are open 24 hours and very helpful. They give you a model of a completed form and you can basically just copy everything. For this hike they didn't ask me for anything (gps/map/plan), if fact when in came to filling in the parts about my plan, the officer said “don't worry, let me do it.”

With the documents in order (he didn't even make me pay the 10NT fee for permit), the police officer, realizing that I didn't have a car, tried to help me hitch a ride up the mountain. He stopped all three cars that came through, but none were headed up the mountain. If you don't have transportation arranged, this is when it gets tricky. You can either walk up or hitch a ride up...it's all up to luck. By the way, it was at this point that I learned the Chinese word for hitchhike...搭便车(dabianche).

The Mountain Experience – the beginning

After getting a rough idea of how far (14K or so) and how long it would take (3hrs or so), I thanked the policeman and started to walk up. I was losing daylight, and figured I could still try to catch a ride with any passing cars. Just after leaving the station a group of kids with their mother greeted me and asked where I was going. They were surprised that I was walking, and gave me even more specific directions, “you have to turn left at the fork in the road.” Then, they said “let Jesus protect you.” I had never heard that phrase in Chinese. I later found out that the village had a strong Christian influence from early missionaries. After about an hour or two, having been passed by a few cars I had almost given up hope, but stilled waved my arm at the next passing car. (Just a heads up, the thumbs up thing doesn't work here in Taiwan, you have to flair your arm with your wrist limp like a noodle.) The car passed me, I dropped my head in defeat, but then I saw them stop, back up, and after some rearranging (there were 4 people in the car already) I had a ride.

They weren't going to the trail head, they were just out looking for animals at night. So I went with them down a small food path (located about 5K from the trail) towards a small waterfall. Along the 2-3K path we saw some birds, formosa monkey shit, a crab eating another crab in a stream, and they warned me of the mongooses on the mountain that might eat my food. At the waterfall, they helped me set up my tent (my tarptent is a bit hard to set up on rocks, I didn't pull it very tight, if it rained I would have been screwed), and they were amazed at the tent's small size and light weight. I thanked them and we parted ways. The night was beautiful. There were no lights, no people, just me and the gentle sound of the waterfall behind my tent.

The next morning I woke up at day break and tried to make breakfast. I failed. The alcohol that I borrowed from the hospital just wouldn't sustain the flame. I managed to get a burn for less than a minute, and then...nothing. I ate dried instant noodles, sausage, and beef jerkey for breakfast (that was my dinner the night before as well because I was too lazy to get my stove out of my bag). Then I tried to fill my nalgene bottle (remember my camelbak was leaking), only to find that my UV water purifier's batteries had died. I set off towards the trail head, an 8K walk from where I was camping, pondering whether or not I wanted to continue my trip with no prospect of hot food or clean water. I had filled up my nalgene halfway with stream water, in case of emergency.

Before long, I saw my first human figure of the morning. An old man who grows coffee along the road leading up to the trail head. He told me I had about three hours walk ahead of me. Then he tried to help me get a ride with the first passing car we saw. They said they weren't going to the trail head, they we lying. We were standing next to the last house on the road leading to the trail, later I would pass them on my way up the mountain.

I continued walking for another hour, before I had success waving my arm for a ride up to the trail head. I was extremely grateful, for the rest. It took almost 30 minutes by car, and then another 20 minutes walk before I made it to the start of the trail. The man who gave me a ride, told me he'd see me later. I also met a group who told me it was 4.5K to the shelter, and it would take about 3 hrs. They promised to give me some watermelon at the shelter halfway up, I thought they were joking. I left them behind and started walking. I passed maybe 10 people on the way. It was at this point I realized, no one had ever asked me if I could speak Mandarin. They just started talking to me. No one was ever surprised that I responded in Chinese. It was a good feeling.

I made it to the shelter with another group that had stopped to rest just short of the shelter. I wanted to continue to the peak, but they convinced me to stay for lunch. I told them my stove didn't work, and that all I had was dried food. I explained to them my story, walking and hitchhiking my way to the mountain and camping by the waterfall. They said I was like a “苦行者,” which literally translates to “an ascetic.” It was interesting to see how I was perceived in their eyes, as a kid with an adventurous spirit, “脚长” (long feet-meaning I walk fast) that doesn't worry about comfort, or planing ahead. Only the part about not planning ahead is accurate.

I told everyone I like to travel light, and accused them of bringing too much stuff. They responded by saying they like to eat well, even on the mountain. Most of them were only going to the halfway point anyway, so they weren't carrying things long before consuming them and walking back down with empty packs and full stomachs. I was still surprised that everyone brought up fresh vegetables and fruit. The group I met at the trail head actually did bring up a watermelon! And shared it with everyone. Part of the hiking culture in Taiwan is that everyone shares. I ate 3 meals for lunch because everyone brought up way too much stuff, and they felt bad that I didn't have any “good” food with me.

My Mountain Education

The day passed, getting colder and colder. The day trippers all went home (after leaving me with a honeydew melon, apples, oranges, another fruit I don't know the of, and an assortment of crackers and candy). I saw the man who drove me up the last leg of the journey towards the trail, and before he left he helped me arrange a ride back to 高雄(Kaohsiung) with two other hikers who would hike to the peak the following morning before returning home. It turns out that he hikes the trail about once a week, and he knows a lot of the people who frequent the trail. I was beginning to understand at this point that on the mountain everyone is a friend. It doesn't matter what you do or where you're from 山下-off the mountain, on the mountain everyone is together.

Later in the day two Canadians came up the trail. They were English teachers in 高雄(Kaohsiung), they said I was the talk of the trail as they passed all the day hikers that were heading down. I was happy that I could leave a good impression on everyone even after bumming their food and drinking their expensive tea. I spoke with the Canadians for a bit, but they soon retired to a campsite on the far side of the shelter. I continued to talk, with my new friends, my Taiwanese culture instructors.

It wasn't until talking with everyone at the shelter that the mystery of Taiwan began to unfold before me. I had not been impressed with Taiwanese food, until they told me what the Taiwanese value in cuisine. Fresh and light food. Not too greasy, not too salty, not to spicy. Just enough seasoning to enhance the natural flavors of the food. They also educated me on the variety of vegetables regional mountain vegetables that can only enjoyed in certain places. If they had not taught me to appreciate the beauty, the art of simple flavorful Taiwanese cuisine, I'm afraid I would have spent the rest of my time here searching for the “greasy, salty, and spicy,” dishes of the mainland, not understanding these are not prized qualities in Taiwanese eyes (or stomachs).

I also learned the meaning of 好茶! – good tea! A phrase used to describe the delicate flavor of a great tea. It's an all encompassing phrase which, said with feeling and passion, can describe all the subtle, fragile flavors of goodt tea. Tea unadulterated with sugar, tapioca pears, milk, strange jellies, or ice cubes. Tea sipped in small cups, not gulped through a straw. Tea shared among friends.

I talked with everyone over dinner, more fresh vegetables, rice, rice porridge, soups, and noodles. As I had come to expect, everyone shared everything. Finally after more tea, conversations on the cultural differences between China and Taiwan, getting information on the next places I should visit, and a round of red wine carried up in a plastic bottle, it was time for bed. Morning call would be at 1am to begin the hike to the peak.

I Conquer the Mountain and The Mountain Conquers Me

The next morning, after a light breakfast of rice porridge, I set off with a group of 4 other hikers for the peak. It was dark, we walked slowly using our headlamps. The path from the shelter to the peak was more difficult, but anyone in decent physical condition can do it. I went with the group slowly until the two Canadians past us. At that point something came over me, I had to make it to the peak before sunrise, and I definitely couldn't let the Canadians get to the top before me. I practically sprinted the last 2K to the summit, quickly overtaking the Canadians, only briefly stopping to snap a few photos. Reaching the summit I waited for nearly 40 minutes for the Canadians to catch up, they left and I took a nap, waiting another 1.5 hrs for my group to stumble up to meet me.

I will not even attempt to describe the feeling from 三角点(the peak of beidawu shan), but looking out on the 中央山脉(central mountain range) I had the sudden urge to walk along the ridge lines, never descending back to flat land. I suppose that's a mission for another day. Please see all the pictures from my trip here...the pictures cannot to justice to the landscape nor the experience.

The rest of the day went quickly, first descending (once again ahead of the group) to the shelter to collect my sleeping bag, and tent, then heading back to the trail head. As we left we met the wife of a man who had summited the mountain more than 500 times. She said, “you're so handsome” and asked if I had a girlfriend. As we left she yelled “it's a pity you already have a girlfriend!”

I started towards the trail with the group, but they told me to go on ahead. At the same time, an old man past us heading down the mountain. He was moving fast. Almost running, but he was confident in his step. I decided I would follow him down, studying his movement. He didn't have a walking stick, and he never used rocks or roots for support. He trusted his legs, his skill. It started to rain and I was stumbling and slipping on everything trying to keep up. His footing was sure, he never even slipped. I, on the other hand, took a nasty spill, scrapping up my legs a bit. It was at this point that I realized I had to follow his feet exactly if wanted to keep up with him, and avoid more pain and embarrassment. We did the 4.5K down the mountain in the rain in about 45 minutes. I thanked him for letting me follow him, and he told me he had a lot of hiking experience, and that I did pretty well keeping up with up him. I felt satisfied. He changed into shorts at the trail head, I saw his calves and knew had told me the truth.

After waiting 2 more hours for my ride to make it down the mountain, we got in the car and headed to 高雄(Kaohsiung), stopping for a dinner of pig's feet and local vegetables along the way. It was delicious. I was home by 8, and tired. I took a shower, and reflected on my experience, my good luck, and everything I'd learned. I made many friends, but have no contacts. I've taken only pictures and memories. The experience was incredible, and with a better understanding of Taiwanese values and culture, I think the rest of my time here will be far more meaningful.