Dakeshan (Mt. Dake)
June 17, 2008I know I’m supposed to be writing about the hike to the waterfall at Wuling, but I just can’t wait to share this one. Yesterday, Nok and I headed up to a little known forest recreation area called Dakeshan. We knew nothing about the place and could find no information about it on the web. But we spotted it on a map we have and knew it was within a 90 minute drive, so on Sunday morning we packed for the day and hit the road.
What we found was a spectacular, incredibly isolated hike up some of the most beautiful mountains I’ve yet seen in Taiwan. At the base, there was a little fish farm with some HUGE fish swimming in the little pools, along with a nice restaurant. There were a handful of cars there, but this wasn’t what interested us. On a map near the entrance, we saw what appeared to be a little hike up Dakeshan (Mt Dake). It didn’t look to be that far, so we headed up an old, narrow and winding road. The road was rocky and pretty much impassable by car in many places, so though it was occasionally paved it was still a nice walk.
After a couple of miles, we saw signs for “Dakeshan II” and “Dakeshan I.” Dakeshan I said only 50 meters, while Dakeshan II said 500 meters. We figured we’d hit both of them, but went for the 500 meter trail first. Well, apparently that sign was completely wrong. After passing through a beautiful, sunny valley surrounded by jagged outcroppings of rock, the old road soon turned into a tiny, largely overgrown trail that went straight up. It was incredibly steep, requiring ropes to get up many of the slippery (from the steady trickle of rain) parts.
Thinking there was only 500 meters to the top, we continued on for about an hour, straight up. Eventually, we topped a ridgeline and found a fork in the trail. Not being able to read Chinese, we headed right towards the sign with a 2. The trail followed the ridgeline through thick, almost impassable jungle. By this time we were also enveloped in a thick fog, and indeed we started to feel a bit concerned about where we were going. We had no map, no idea where the trail was really going or how long it was, and since the trail was so narrow and overgrown, getting lost seemed like a very real possibility.
Then suddenly, after climbing over a two meter tall rock outcropping, we came into a small clearing. The first thing my eyes noticed was the sheer rock wall not more than a few hundred meters across a valley. The next thing I noticed, with some fright, was the incredible drop off just in front of where I stood, with a forest-covered river passing far, far below. I almost lost my balance.
It was foggy at first, but eventually the clouds lifted for a few minutes, allowing us to glimpse a spectacular view of the surrounding mountains. The trail continued on, but having gone on the hike with the expectation of just a quick, 500 meter jaunt, we were by this time not in the mood to hike any further. We did glimpse the peak through the fog, but it would have been at least another hour (on top of the 2.5 hours we’d already done).
To top it off, we were soon shocked to find nasty little leeches crawling all over our feet and legs. We headed down the mountain with a jolt, but not before both of us were bitten by leeches. Still, it was a beautiful place without another soul on the trail, and I’m extremely pleased to know it’s just an hour away.
We saw this friendly lizard at the very start of the hike. He let me get just inches away to take this picture, but when I stuck out my hand to grab he bolted.
There were many waterfalls like this along the old road for the first couple of miles.
And this one.
This little spring had a ceramic pot built into it, indicating that it was safe to drink. Some tin cups on a wire were hung to the left.
Giant caterpillars like this were found all along the trail, probably responsible for the multitude of beautiful butterflies in the area.
After a mile or two, we came out into a pleasant valley with beautiful, rocky ridges on both sides.
From the valley, we also had a beautiful view of the mountains and plains stretching all the way back to the ocean, though it didn’t come out very well in this picture.
Scroggins took a break in this cozy bed of flowers while we stopped for water.
Soon afterwards, the old road ended and we headed into thick jungle on a tiny, overgrown trail. The trail went literally straight up. The big-leafed trees here are wild banana trees. At the entrance to this tiny trail, after 2 miles of hiking, the sign said something about 300 meters. We guessed it meant 300 meters to the top and expected a short hike, but we were in for a tiring surprise.
After a mile or so of climbing straight up, we came across this ancient tree shrouded in old rags. The tree must have been several hundred years old, and its vast, antiquated roots stretched across the mountainside. At this point we were certain we were just a few minutes from the top.
After another mile or so of wandering along a ridgeline through thick, fog-enclosed jungle, I was perplexed when I came into a small clearing and saw this view. It was a sheer vertical mountain wall not more than a few hundred meters away. How was this possible?
Then I looked left and saw this foggy view, though I was still a bit perplexed.
Then I looked down and saw the valley floor far, far below me, at least 1,000 feet away. And I realized that I was standing on the top of a sheer wall of mountain just like the one I’d seen across the valley. The trail was incredibly narrow at this point, and on both sides of the ridgeline the mountainsides plummeted straight down. Taking this in suddenly after coming out of the dark jungle, I had a pang of vertigo.
The fog was shifting steadily, and after a while we were rewarded with some stunning views of the surrounding, absolutely gorgeous mountains.
Though the mountain we were on was high, the mountains beyond were enormous, and greatly surpassed our humble peak.
Eventually the fog lifted enough to see the top of the rock wall across the valley, and we surmised that this was the peak our trail was leading to. However, by this time we’d discovered the leeches so I wasn’t able to get a picture of the peak.
This was the view in the direction from which we’d come.
The hike back to the old road and the beautiful valley was a wet, nasty one with a steady rain and a horde of leeches. But when we finally made it back the sun came out and made for some wonderful views.
One of the most beautiful views I’ve ever seen.
After stopping to pull all of the leeches out of our shoes and socks, we took the opportunity to get some sunny photos of this mountain paradise.
Nok and I make a point of having a campfire every time we go hiking. We soon found this big old rock and set up to cook a late lunch before walking the remaining 2 miles back to the car.
On the walk back, we noticed this waterfall was much bigger than we had thought and was backed by a beautiful rock outcropping.
It was getting dark by the time we reached the car, but this is one hike I won’t soon forget.






















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