Lotus Pond or Bust?

There have just been too many adventures of late to document! Life is incredible every day. What more could one want at the inception of a new year. A year where over half of it will be spent pursuing my dreams and filling the off-time with expeditions.


The reader might remember the post about the Taroko Gorge hot springs. S/he might also remember that after our seven hour soak we went on a few hikes until it became too dark to continue. With sun shining its wonderful face, we decided to complete one of the uncompleted trails of that day to check it off the list. Being one of the most touristy areas in all of Taiwan, there are hundreds of trails, some aboriginal and some made of tourists, and the tourist paths are regularly traveled. Shocking it might be to the reader, we actually decided to hike a spot well traveled. All we knew from the get-go was that the path lead to a mountain lake called Lotus Pond, yet information placards provided additional details as we proceeded.


Before beginning the hike, we sat down to eat some steamed buns at the trail-head. An S.U.V. pulled into the parking lot and a nice couple and their two kids got out of the vehicle and we struck up a conversation with them. They were American (possibly from Oregon but I forgot to ask), living in TaiZhong, Taiwan. The man worked at Nike in some R&D department and his wife stayed at home with the kids. It's been mentioned that we tend to converse better with the local people as compared to tourists. Not previously conveyed is greater information about this phenomenon. I call it a phenomenon because it reared its head during out time in China as well. This lack of gregarious conversation surprisingly isn't from me not wanting to talk with others, it is actually quite the opposite. It seems that most people on vacation want to remain isolated, experiencing a new culture, devoid of interaction with us "common" folk, thus they leave the small talk back home. This does not appear to be the case for most foreign workers/ex-pats/long-term tourists (like me) because Taiwan is a small island with a limited number of foreigners. There is an extremely high chance that you will run into the same people over and over again and it is beneficial to be polite. It is also refreshing to bullshit with someone who can understand a similar language. So far, 10/10 times, if you say  "Hello" to someone and they don't respond, or actively avoid a conversation, then they are tourists. So our conversation with these foreign workers was pleasant and mutually beneficial through information exchange and reflecting on life in Taiwan. As they prepared their kids for a brief excursion on the path, we told them about some of the later conditions in store for them on the trial. After hearing this information, they decided a preview would be enough for the kids, as a three hundred foot drop to certain death would ruin the small vacation. We waved fair-well and began our charge.


At this point I need to mention that these pictures will appear inconsistent. I didn't want to say anything before but I actually didn't document this trip until we reached the viewpoint where the panoramic picture was taken. The tame trail didn't offer much excitement (so I thought) and I didn't want to be try to dazzle the readers with a lame story. Not to say this was an extreme hike, compared to our usual chuckleheaded adventures,  but standing amongst the Gods, I realizing my mistake and attempted to get some pictures as we left the mountain in an attempt to re-create our voyage, to reverse time as it were. A fading sun will easily give away this trick and, once again, as an honest journalist I needed to inform the reader of said reconstruction.

(Once again, please note that by clicking on the image it can be expanded and provide needed detail)

First Bridge

After walking upon broken/mossy concrete as close to the cliff face as possible because broken guard-rails offer no barrier from the ~300 feet fall, one goes through a small tunnel, rounds a corner, and gets the first glimpse of the bridge that s/he is supposed to cross. This is a cable suspension bridge and the cable is roughly ten inches in circumference. If one has never walked over a bridge like this, the experience can be frightening at first. Not only does it undulate while walking, into some kind of oscillation pattern depending on footfall rate, but the wind also swings it to and fro and the boards under toe never feel sturdy enough. (a picture below will demonstrate this).

About to walk across the bridge

Although I described the situation above, regarding bridge and path condition, the reader needs to be aware that this is one of the safest paths we've walked on. It is heavily trafficked and I do not intend to present this portion of our trip as dangerous because this was a fairly tame journey.

As we walked across the bridge, we looked up to notice that the orb weavers, viewed weeks earlier, are still happy and healthy with expansive webs across the cabling. They are rather beautiful if you can forget that you are walking under a spider that is about the size of your hand. 

Condition of the bridge floor

As we walked across the bridge, signs, attached to the mesh rope sides, stated in English and Chinese  "Vehicles Prohibited" . No shit! However, with the mentality that scooter and motorcycles can "go anywhere" including, but by no means an exhaustive list, pedestrian sidewalks, bike paths, night markets, and outdoor markets, this warning is probably necessary. Several motorcycles, covered in plastic sheeting, on the other side of the bridge caused us to suppose they were for maintenance and left on that side permanently.  

Looking down at the river below (from the bridge)

 Is it weird that I thought about jumping in? I put this picture up to specifically worry my mom. Hi Mom!

Second Bridge

After hiking a half a kilometer, over some questionable conditions, the second bridge came into view.

Bridge Selfies?

Pretty standard by now, right?

A non-forested section of the path

Now is when the real hike starts. As the crow flies, one only needs to walk two kilometers to reach the lake. Raising 800+ meters in that time makes me wish I was in better shape. I can climb up a mountain-side with little problem, but stair and steep but gradual slopes cause me to think I am a fat, lazy slob in desperate need of a "Stair Stepper". The path is actually really nice and opens up into some really cool viewpoints as you go. Wild raspberries, for lack of known name, provided us with a small, sweet, wild harvested, snack along the way. 

Natural root staircase

A cool natural staircase leads to the wooden "stairs" that actually make a terrace verse a stair. Perpendicular boards with curved rebar anchors are set into the hillside creating a semi-level area for a person to walk on.
 

Lotus Pond

A quarter kilometer after one reaches the summit the lake is found. As one walks along the path towards the lake, s/he is surrounded on either side by incredibly dark forest which creates an almost night-time feel if ventured into. You cannot see more than twenty or thirty feet into the forest before it becomes too dark to distinguish tree from blackness. Weird! Perhaps the placards should have claimed Mirkwood Forest could be found up here!

Tree-lined path into town

Here is where the story gets interesting. The lake isn't the attraction after all. An abandoned town, nestled in a beautiful mountain valley is the true attraction with a surreptitious and possibly nefarious history. The town is a half a kilometer or so away from the lake and as we walked along the tree-line path, a deer jumped across the path in a blaze of motion. We were not alone!

The first buildings in town

It is not known to me if this mountain valley had previously been explored by the Taroko people before this settlement became established. The various information placards informed the reader that this town was built for and inhabited by retired veterans. Who these vets were and which war referred to is unknown to me at this time. The placards claim the only method in and out of this town involved the use of the bridge system and the steep climb that we followed. This might or might not be completely accurate as I question later; however, for all intents and purposes this village is remote and isolated. Although relatively small, with thirty or so units, there was obviously a significant amount of building material needed to construct such a town. Thus, it causes me to wonder how it all arrived. Perhaps a helicopter? At the beginning of the trail (in the parking lot where we talked with the family from TaiZhong) a crazy looking pulley system exists with a cart hooked onto it about the size of a pick-up truck bed. The suspended lines run across the valley and up a mountain (possibly near where we were?). The distance is so great one cannot see where the huge cable ends up because it blurs out of sight, as if suspended in mid air. There is not any electrical hook-up on the cart, so I am left to wonder how the system works. I propose that some huge motor must reel one of the cable lines onto some gigantic spool while it tugs the cart up. There is electricity in the town (run along the same route as the bridge path), which, once again, causes me to wonder how all this material actually made it up here. Another question is, why! What would the purpose of this isolated town be because I can guarantee it was not an easy undertaking. When I get back to the states, I look forward to discussing various technical details with a high voltage electrician: what kind of code restrictions exist on cable length, possible de-rating needed, and other code related questions. The rumors in school is that they (the power company) don't comply with the NEC and use some alternative code system. It will be interesting to learn more about this unknown part of the electrical world.
 

Jesus On High!

What isolated town would be complete without a church?!?! Especially if the citizens are suffering from P.T.S.D. and easily exploitable?

The town was staged with a lower and upper section of houses. On top of a small stair climb through the center of town, a group of tourists ate lunch on benches over looking the town proper and the glistening lake in the distance. We waved and continued on, destined to find something "unique" in the town. Buildings existed high up the hillside and we decided to take a look. A winding path of trampled grass took us towards the hill-side and a few deer could be seen hopping away from us. The buildings found were nothing more than water collection/retaining tanks yet a path continued. Various flags marked the path and the further and further we walked, the greater elevation we began to climb. Huge timber bamboo (six inch diameter) consisted the first ecological strata yet fell away quickly as we continued to hike through five distinct stratified ecological systems. Markers made of a similar material as caution-tape marked a steadily climbing path. In an attempt to return to civilization, we have started marking our path with yarn as means to located our trail. These flags worked infinitely better.

The Path

The town's elevation was over 1200 meters and, as we climbed, it fell away into obscurity. We have often take such hikes near a town and these steep climbs tend to lead to lattice type transmission tower; however, with no power running anywhere near here, we continued our climb towards an unknown destination. We hiked on the spine of the mountains, up another mountain, and beyond. During the few times I could get a distinct target, I took compass bearings, just to be safe. Once again, besides this town, there is nothing up here. If an alternative town could be found, the chances that we could scale down the mountain and back up again to gain access is unlikely. This path was very remote and beautiful. The slope changed between fairly level, spine of the mountain, type hiking to sheer hill-sides where one has to grab onto roots to pull themselves up. Footing went from good, to slippery conditions in various portions simply because of sun exposure. We were definitely at cloud level and the densely forested areas, where the sun could not touch, were slick from that moisture.  The density of this forest paled at the normal frantic distribution of other hikes and felt more like hiking back home than in a sub-tropic jungle.

Reading over this, one might think this "path" was no different than the one climbed to get here. S/he would then be incorrect. Spotting the distant flag was the name of the game, without the flags, there would be no way to distinguish the majority of the path, especially during the steep climbs. 

 The hike was so quiet that my ears hummed with silence. A small chirp from a bird or a hoot from a distant monkey were the only things to break the stillness outside the occasional insect hum. It was quiet and serene. Possibly one of the quietest times in my life.

Work that ass!

As my figure is rarely featured on this blog, I thought I'd put this picture up for the ladies. :-D

One out of many viewpoints

We took over a hundred pictures during this trip, most were at viewpoints such as this. Cloud haze and a brilliant sun managed to ruin most of the pictures and this is one taken about 3/4 of the way up the mountain.

Viewpoint using a panoramic feature

We reached a climax point of the day. The clock read passed four in the afternoon and we needed to retreat off the mountain before darkness overtook us. Heading down the ~800m we climbed to get here, instilled the desire to return and conquer/complete this adventure. The path continued and lead off towards ... unknown. Does it connect to a small town somewhere? Does it lead to distant transmission towers some absurd distance away? With its "clearly" marked trail, is it a hiking path for those bold enough to stomach the massive drops and rough climb? Is it a red-herring meant to swallow the stupid?

At on point, we could see the tiny snaking road that consists as the "highway" through Taroko Gorge, and our height felt truly remarkable. One feels like a god up here.

We made it down to town and did a quick survey of another (local) path which lead towards another promising adventure. When we return to this abandoned town, this alpine valley of potential, another post will hopefully fill the reader with desires to create a trail on his or her mountain-side and be one of few to explore the divine.

Our cousin in the trees

As dusk descends, animal life abounds. As we walked down the path towards the scooter, a boar, not twenty feet before us, ran into the path, stopped and looked our way, and scampered off again. This was my first sighting of this elusive animal and its beauty makes one question how they are killed for food. Birds swarmed and chirped above us in rich, sweet melodies. Another deer was sighted rummaging through the forest and monkeys hooted reprovingly because we interrupted their dinner. Only this one monkey cooperated with our photographic ambitions.


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But wait, there's more. We had flashlights, swim trunks, and towels which catalyzed the only possible course -- night soak at the hot spring.  With a roaring river, scorching sulfur water, and a womb-like blackness shrouding us, our tough hike melted away into relaxation.