Sifenwei Mountain- 四分尾山

Gong De Sheng, one of the many, many temples in this area.

Nothing major to report today, I took advantage of the sunny (but hazy) weather this morning to go out and hike up Dajian Mountain again.  I figured since I wouldn't be taking a detour to see Xiufeng Waterfall I'd be able to go further down the trail.  That and I knew where I was going this time.

Man, was it just me or was I seriously out of shape?  I felt way more winded than I did last time, and I was running up the slope last time...it had to be the humidity.  Grimacing at the thought that it wasn't even deep into summer yet, I labored up the stairs, bathed in sweat.  Actually, things weren't as bad as I imagined, it just took my body longer to get warmed up, and then I got in the swing of things.
 

That same moss as last time with the full spectrum of autumn colors

Lots more petals strewn across my path this time

There was no magnificent coastal view, or even city view- everything was covered in a bright haziness, blurring the outlines of the buildings below, even as close as Xizhi.

Past the part where I stopped last time, on the way to Sifenwei Mountain, the stone steps disappeared and I found myself on a more traditional hiking trail.  My Nike's skidded over moss covered stone and large tracts of mud.  Up the steeper inclines rope was strung from the tree trunks to prevent hikers from eating shit on the clay-like natural steps.  I, being a stout bad-ass, decided to ignore them, and ran up the hills.  

I didn't ignore them on the way down.  That would just be foolishness.

When the stone steps end...

...the real fun begins!

Didn't go along the Qiedong Ancient Footpath, had no idea where it lead to.  None of these 'walking times' they list are ever accurate.  It says Dajian Mountain is 50 min. away but I remember it being under a half hour.  Looks like the times were listed in metric too.

There was a path that branched off to the left going towards Monk Head Mountain, and I was going to check it out, but at the beginning of the obviously seldom-traveled path I was assaulted by about three spider webs.  Yeah, fuck that.  Oh, what I'm a pussy?  Yeah, have you seen the spiders in Taiwan?  Oh what, you've never been there and you're reading this to experience it vicariously? Ok.  Anyway, the swarm of midges flying around my face were bad enough.  It got so bad I started jogging just to get away from them.

Monk's Head Mountain?  Ah yah, dat's a purdy nice trail, but I wouldn't take it.

Up at the top of Sifenwei Mountain I enjoyed a strong, cool breeze, and an open meadow-like area.  What I didn't enjoy was the view, but I've gotten used to that reality in Taiwan.  Actually, if you like to see mist shrouded mountains without being that high up, then it's still pretty cool. 

That fucking smudge in the middle bothers me.  That's why I look so pissed in this picture.

I could've kept going down the path, and having brought my cellphone I was able to keep track of time.  I was tempted, especially since there were supposed to be multiple waterfalls in the area, but I decided to play it safe just in case something came up with my classes later.  That's the problem with my schedule for Hess, I can't just go out and enjoy the day with reckless abandon.  Still, I got it a helluva lot easier than others.

There's only one problem with hiking alone, it's kind of boring to enjoy the view at the top.  Unless conditions are perfect, or it's really a one-of-a-kind vista, I get eager to get moving again after a brief rest.  I sat on the benches up at the top of Sifenwei breathing in the sweetly scented air and feeling the cool breeze, but after fiddling around with my camera I got restless and started to jog back down.  It's a lot harder to do that on slick clay, even with ropes around.

On the way down there were an array of interesting sounds, not just the subdued orchestra one hears on any hike, the faint rustling of the leaves, the unceasing chatter of birds.  This gentleman was hula-hooping with a giant Buddhist rosary (I don't know what it was).  I tried discreetly to take a photo of him, in case his exercise had some deeper, religious significance to it, but he just turned at my footsteps and smiled beatifically.

Squirrels here are bulkier and darker than the ones at home. 

Right after the pavilion, I started to hear a sharp, rhythmic knocking sound.  It sounded too well timed to be animal or human so I assumed it was some machine in the distance.  Turns out it's this guy clapping in front of him and behind him as he takes the steps down, kind of like a human metronome.  I assume he's doing it as some sort of exercise, but really it could be anything.  I've seen other old people doing similar kinds of routines while they hike, but I'd never seen this before.  My steps started to fall in line with his clapping, my feet punctuating staccato eight-notes to his steady quarter notes.  It's an old habit of mine from marching band- if I hear any kind of beat or rhythm I have to move my footsteps in sync.  It doesn't work when I'm dancing because I'm a shitty dancer, but I was pretty good at marching band.  I started to throw in some sixteenth notes and and amuse myself while still trying to keep in time as his claps faded in the distance.

By the time I got back home and took a shower the sky was already darkening.  Weather here is as fickle as it is in Seattle.