The porter

You pass a steady stream of hikers as you ascend and descend those Taiwanese mountain tracks. They're almost universally cheerful and friendly.

Except this poor chap. He was a porter, taking supplies up to one of the mountain huts, and doing it the hard way, without a motorcycle as used by some of his fellow porters.

He looked straight ahead, ignored all greetings, and plodded on stoically.

Jumping for joy

They appear to be a long way up in the air, these Australian hikers on a Taiwan mountain top. Is it just their amazing level of fitness, or were they assisted by the lower gravity up there?





Photos courtesy of other expeditioners

Taiwan's mountain huts - trials and tribulations for the luxury hiker!

Ours was mainly a hiking trip for softies, with accommodation in very comfortable hotels between our various day walks. But there were  a couple of occasions when we had to spend a night or two up in the mountains, and then you take whatever accommodation is available.

Here's Tianchi Villa, where we spent a couple of nights. Except on the second night there was no room inside, and we were put into tents.


There was only an intermittent water supply there, and the arrangements for feeding the masses were somewhat military in style.

And here's 369 Villa, which houses 150 sleepers in an even more spartan style. In practice it didn't really matter how uncomfortable the sleeping arrangements - you are woken at 1am anyway, when the first shifts rise and are breakfasted, ready for their assault on Xue Mountain.

Someone told me these huts are all run by volunteers. If that's the case, they're doing a rather fine job.

Altitude

Taiwan has 250 peaks above 3000m altitude, and we were due to conquer the second highest, at 3886m. So it paid to build our way up to it over a few days:



Mt Dongmao, 1692m

Mt Malun,  2305m

Mt Nanhua, 3184m

Mt Qilai South, 3358m

Mt Hehuan Main Peak, 3417m

Mt Shimen, 3237m

Mt Hehuan North Peak, 3422m

This chap was receiving oxygen treatment at Songsyue Lodge, probably after climbing one of these peaks without preparation. 

Mt Xue/Syue East Peak, 3200m

Mt Xue / Mt Syue ('Snow Mt'), 3886m

 Some images courtesy other expedition members or guides

Joining a nation of peakbaggers!

Here we are, getting our preliminary briefing in our hotel in Taichung. We're ready for an early start next morning, and we're ready for two very solid weeks of peakbagging, Taiwan style!

The Taiwanese take their hiking seriously. They have lists of the 100 highest, the 100 hardest, the 100 easiest peaks I imagine. There are about 250 of them above 3000m. We did several of them, including the No.2 peak, Xueshan (Snow Mountain / Syue Mountain), which is 3886m.

Some images courtesy of other expedition members or guides

Walking the Cleveland Way

Actually I only walked a little bit of the Cleveland Way. But enough to get a taste of the North York Moors and their coastal clifftop vistas.














Here's the Hayburn Wyke, a popular hikers' inn along the track, on the section between Scarborough and Whitby. I parked here.




The whole thing is about 180km long, and takes seven to ten days.