The first day of Chinese New Year.
We had reserved this day as a day for a hike, which we would undertake rain or shine. It rained. As per usual.
We met at the Xindian MRT station, and drove up beyond Wulai, deep into Atayal territory. The Atayal are one of the largest tribes of Aborigines, who were notorious in bygone days as headhunters. They even launched rebellions against the Japanese during the occupation. Most of the Aborigines we've met on our hikes are Atayal, as they are the tribe that lives closest to Taipei. In my experience, despite their reputation as fierce warriors a century ago, today if you meet them, they're more likely to invite you in for a beer and a few laughs (especially if you're not Chinese).
Anyway, we drove through some Aboriginal towns along the Nanshih River...
... until we finally came to the trailhead of the Hapen Trail, outside of Fushan Village. The trail leads to Yilan. The trail itself was relatively easy...wide and with few climbs. We passed through some beautiful Taiwanese jungle:
There were a couple river crossings:
The only serious challenge on the hike was a large landslide that had destroyed part of the trail:
We picnicked at a river crossing, sitting on rocks and chatting as we ate lunch. I discovered a leech crawling on my pant leg! Leeches are quite common in this area. Then decided to head back, because the weather was getting worse. After getting to the cars, we cleaned off, washing the mud off our shoes and pants. I found two more leeches on me, but fortunately they were on my clothes.
We drove back, stopping at a couple places like this waterfall:
You know you're out in the sticks when you see bullet holes in road signs:
Here's something cool I noticed in one of the towns: a sign written in the Atayal language.
After we got back to Wulai, we relaxed in a hot spring and had dinner. In the hot spring, Robert and I helped Kate practice her swimming. She made great progress. Overall, it was a great way to end a good day of hiking adventure.
