An amazing lobster salad, as good as it looks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nissan Mini

I really like the Mini cooper, but this version made by Nissan is even better. If they sold these anywhere else I would love to buy one when we go to America. What a cool car, and we love the chrome.

Down the mountain

After our experience at the peak we knew that we could not keep to our original plan of decending the other side of the mountain. The trail on that side was all ice and we were informed by the rangers that a woman died only two weeks before on that trail, and that she had crampons! So rather than risk a fatal fall we decided to decend that very day all the way to the trail head. it was a push but also a beautiful day. There was little fog and we reached the trailhead just at sunset. Windy even got a ranger to drive our van to the trailhead to pick us up! saving us a 3 Km uphill hike in the dark. We then drove all the way down to 嘉義 ChaiYi to shower and stay at a hotel. What a long day! In the morning we were hiking up the mountain being pelted by hail and at night we were over 130 Km away taking hot showers! We hiked about 3 Km up from the 排雲山莊 PaiYun Lodge to the peak, and then down 12 Km to the trailhead and then drove about 120 Km to 嘉義 ChaiYi. We went to McDonalds and loaded up on the necessary empty calories, and then to the hotel. We were too tired to take pictures of anything after this sunset shot on the mountain. This trip also meant that we were at about 4000 M above sea level and then almost at sea level meaning we traveled from the top to the bottom of Taiwan in one day. Tough drive through fog and swich back roads too.

The unfortunate bridge

This bridge was the victim of a boulder that came crashing down the mountain. Many bridges similar to this one were constructed over dangerous parts of the trail. Ken, being an architect, was impressed not only that so much of the bridge was still sound after the landslide but that these and many other materials must have been airlifted in.

玉山主峰 Jade Mountain Peak

玉山 Jade Mountain is the highest peak in northeast Asia. In 1900, after the annexation of Taiwan by the Japanese, two Japanese anthropologists, Torii Ryūzō and Mori Ushinosuke, became the first people to have been recorded ascending 玉山 Jade mountain. They gave the mountain the name Niitakayama (新高山) literally the "New High Mountain", because it was even higher than Mount Fuji, the highest mountain in Japan.
Mid-morning on our second day we nearly reached the peak when fierce winds and hail made progress very difficult. We met a few other hikers who had given up and advised us to turn back. We did not have crampons for the ice that was on the trail and the last kilometer was very sheer. Ken said "Let's just go as far as we can." Lorie decided to stay put until we came back. In her defence she had already made it up one of the steepest parts of the trail and was less than half a mile from the top. In only a few hundred more meters I suggested to Ken that it was probably getting too dangerous with the ice on the trail and the chain that guides the way to the top, as well as the stinging hail which made it difficult to see. Again he said "Let's just go as far as we can." and I realized that what he meant was "We will make it to the top or perish in the attempt! Damn the ice and hail! Forward and on to glory!" When we saw this sign however, (it reads 玉山主峰 Jade mountain main peak .2 Km) I agreed with him. Really if it was so close I figured we could make it through anything. I actually enjoyed beating the ice off the chain so that we could get a decent grip. Once we had made it to the peak my camera took only this one photo of the peak without us in it before it froze and stopped working. Ken's camera also stopped working. It was very cold and the strong winds were sending the hail straight across the peak at high speeds. It was like being hit with a fully automatic BB gun. There wasn't much for us to see because of the storm, but we were proud that we made it. I joked that the spirit of the mountain must have heard me say what a pleasant and easy hike it had been to climb the mountain, that it was much easier than described by others, and had decided to show us how tough he could be.

Birds

A few of the birds we saw on the trail and actually got pictures of. Truly a scarce sampling but rather cute. One of them was way above the treeline hopping down the trail like a fellow hiker, and passed by us within arms reach!

排雲山莊 PaiYun Lodge

A few more pictures of the facility.

排雲山莊 PaiYun Lodge

The Lodge was a wonderful facility. The original lodge was built by the Japanese for forestry and research. It has a nice kitchen area, water, these shelves for beds, bathrooms, and even electricity! After hiking the trail part of which goes up a log and is rather steep and dangerous I assume almost everything was airlifted in.

The fog lifts

In the afternoon the fog lifted revealing a majestic valley so beautiful I cried. This was also the best place to take a picture of my climbing partners: Ken and Lorie Johnson my father-in-law and step mother-in-law. I wish I could adequately describe the beauty of the clouds moving through the mountains, the sudden awe felt when a cloud opens to reveal a sight hidden from view, and the majesty of the forest. film cannot capture the smooth natural motions of the wind made visible by the silent clouds, nor the sound of the many rushing waterfalls discernible to the eye but too far away for my camera. These clouds moving through the mountains have a special name in Chinese. It is called 嵐 Lan, a combination of the character for mountain 山 Shan, and the character for wind 風 Fong. They are also imbued with a powerful type of 氣 Chi or energy. Seeing them or having them pass over you can be a very auspicious occasion, an occasion that happened many times to us on the trail. I am grateful I had this opportunity and I hope I can share more days like this with more of my friends and family in the future.

Welcome to the Johnny Depp Fansite!

There are abundant examples of poor translations to English in Taiwan but this is ridiculous! The trail was equipped with several special bio-friendly squatters, but when I saw this plaque I had to take a picture. (Click the picture to enlarge so that the text is legible.)Yes, this is a type of outhouse. In fact these squatting toilets are almost as common here as our more familiar western variety. This is a special composting outhouse designed to protect the environment. The wheel you see in the door way helps mix and there are solar and wind power attachments that keep the internal environment right for the special bacteria inside, as well as run the pumps etc. which distill and expel water. Really great technology for a forest trail! I think they went to the trouble and expense because Jade mountain is also called Taiwan's sacred mountain and it is a matter of national pride to keep it clean. There was unfortunately still quite a bit of litter at places on the trail.

The English part of the sign reads: Welcome to the Johnny Depp Fansite! This site is dedicate.

I wonder if I should send a copy to Johnny Depp.

玉山 Jade Mountain

The trail on our first day up 玉山 Jade Mountain was very foggy. It created a mystical atmosphere and a profound quiet. The trail was sheer and narrow. Nearly the entire journey was so narrow that one step off the trail could be fatal. The ancient trees had grown webs of monstrous roots and stout long branches. The trail was vibrant with life and yet as quiet and still as death. Truly a peaceful place.