Nangang High-Speed Rail Station

Hsinchu High-Speed Rail Station

The first Taiwan Tourist Shuttle to Guanwu departs at 07:10 from Hsinchu High-Speed Rail Station, while the earliest train from Taipei to Hsinchu arrives at 07:00. This ten-minute difference made me decide to take the 13:10 shuttle to Guanwu, as the margin for error was too small. After arriving at Hsinchu Station at 11:45, I first checked the platform for the Guanwu line, then had a Subway sandwich and waited for the bus.

Taiwan Tourist Shuttle Guanwu Line

I finally relaxed after boarding, as the transportation issues were mostly resolved. Now, I just needed to reach Guanwu to head to Dalu Forest Road. Using an EasyCard for the Guanwu line gives a 50% discount. I guess the card reader can only set one fare, so Taiwan Tourist Shuttle refunds the deposit and then uses the EasyCard for the ride. I received a 100 NTD deposit refund for both the ascent and descent. Perhaps because it was a Wednesday, there weren't many passengers, and only four people went up the mountain. The driver even suggested one passenger buy an EasyCard at a convenience store, as the first ride would be half-price, enough to buy a new card. The winding mountain road made my stomach uncomfortable, but we took a ten-minute break at Wufeng Qingshui. During the break, I wandered around, although the map showed the Xiakelo Historic Trail, it seemed to be some distance away. Before reaching Sheipa Leisure Farm, there seemed to be fallen trees on the road, so the driver stopped to wait for workers to clear them.

Guanwu Mountain Villa

I was the only one to reach Guanwu Mountain Villa and checked in directly. Tonight, I stayed in the male backpacker room, which can accommodate twelve people. The environment was nice, and the price of 1,500 NTD, including breakfast and dinner, was quite reasonable. In the end, I had the whole room to myself. The staff said someone canceled, and not all rooms are listed online, so although there were only two spots left when I booked, it became a private room. Before dinner, I walked to the entrance of the Dalu Forest Road East Line to study the checkpoint and confirm the entry procedure for the next day. In the middle of the night, my left eye felt uncomfortable, possibly due to the pressure not dropping quickly enough at high altitude. It hurt so much that I couldn't sleep, so I remembered my ophthalmologist's advice that warm compresses could help. I started looking for hot water. Initially, I tried the bathroom faucet, but after waiting a few minutes, there was no hot water. Then I found an electric kettle in the room, boiled a pot of water for a warm compress, and my left eye felt much better, allowing me to sleep until six the next morning.

Guanwu Mountain Villa

I woke up at six to check my gear, as it was already packed, so the most important thing was to fill up on water. Then I waited until 6:30 for breakfast, which was buffet-style and included Costco milk. After eating, I checked out and headed to Dalu Forest Road.

Park Entry

There was no one at the checkpoint, so I followed the instructions for aerial entry and walked into the unfamiliar forest road. After about four kilometers, I encountered a group of twenty people resting at a stone table. I walked close to them for the next two kilometers before overtaking them, and we met again at Jiujiu Cabins. On the forest road, I encountered a few people coming out, some walking and some riding mountain bikes. Several videos mentioned that there was plenty of water along the way, so there was no need to carry too much. However, some sections of the forest road had fallen rocks, so I later felt it was best to avoid collecting water on the road. Fortunately, most of the forest road was in the woods, so even in June, it wasn't too hot. I drank about 600 ml to reach the trailhead and another 600 ml to climb to Jiujiu Cabins. The ascent wasn't exposed to the sun.

Daba Peak Trailhead

Pre-trip information indicated that after completing the 17-kilometer forest road, there was a 900-meter ascent within four kilometers. In reality, it wasn't too bad; the more challenging part was the rocky path in the latter half.

Jiujiu Cabins

Upon reaching Jiujiu Cabins, the manager reminded me to return the same way after climbing Yize Mountain and Jiali Mountain, not to follow the offline map shortcuts. I took my stove to the internet cafe for tea. According to the manager, the entire cabin now has a signal, and the internet cafe is only for watching the sunset. After resting for over two hours at Dragon Inn, the group I met on the forest road also arrived. This cabin has 80 beds, and the manager assigned two beds to me and the other 40 to another group, so I spent the first night like this. The group next door was still energetic, making various noises throughout the night, so I hardly slept.

Jiujiu Cabins

The leader of the group next door said they would wake up at 2:30 and leave at 3:00, but their alarm went off at 2:00, and they made noise until 3:00 before clearing out. I couldn't sleep after that, so I got up to prepare breakfast and watched them prepare to leave at the cabin entrance. After eating breakfast as planned, I left around 3:15. After a steep climb, I could see the night view of Hsinchu and the headlights of the previous group.

Dabajian Mountain

The first goal was Dabajian Mountain. After ups and downs, reaching Dabajian Mountain made everything worthwhile, and I felt the other three Baiyue peaks were just for show.

Xiaobajian Mountain

After taking photos, I put on my helmet and headed to Xiaobajian Mountain. It was getting hotter. I took the wrong path below Xiaobajian, circled it, and felt the trail was strange. I returned to find the path to the summit, which had a nice view. Although climbing with ropes was a bit dangerous, it seemed fine with caution. I kept hearing voices on the mountain, and it turned out the group next door had just arrived at Dabajian for photos. I returned to the forest to refill my water bottle and met the group heading to Xiaobajian Mountain. The stone calendar dates on the trail had already been updated by them.

Yize Mountain

On the way back to Zhongba Mountain House, I met a member of the group next door. At the mountain house, I met a female member, and with a pair of shoes outside, it seemed three people had left after seeing Dabajian Mountain. I chatted with the female member, and their trip cost 9,000 NTD. I was already a bit tired heading to Yize Mountain, and the sun was strong, quickly draining my energy. I didn't use an umbrella in time. Fortunately, it was only 500 meters, and I reached the summit quickly. After a short rest, I returned as the manager suggested. Comparing the offline map, the shortcut seemed to be a 70-80 degree steep descent? It looked dangerous, and I was glad I didn't try it, feeling I didn't have enough energy.

Jiali Mountain

I was even more tired heading to Jiali Mountain, exposed to the sun the whole way. However, it started to fog, and the sun was intermittent, so I occasionally used an umbrella. In hindsight, I should have used the umbrella whenever there was sunlight to conserve energy. The one-kilometer route to Jiali Mountain wasn't difficult, but I was already feeling weary, and with the changing weather, there was no view. After taking a photo with the iron sign, I quickly descended.

Jiujiu Cabins

After returning to Jiujiu Cabins, I lay down for a while, and new hikers began to arrive. Across from me was a group planning to hike the Holy Ridgeline, and later, two more people arrived, seemingly also heading for the Holy Ridgeline. Both groups seemed experienced, with only the sound of packing before their midnight departure and little conversation in the cabin. Especially the group across from me, who opened their sleeping bags and slept until dinner, seemed more experienced. While cooking dinner, I met a familiar guide leading a group up the mountain. I greeted him, but he didn't seem to remember me. Tonight was quieter, partly because the two new groups were more experienced, using small or red lights even when turning on lights, and partly because the group next door was exhausted and fell asleep soon after dinner.

Jiujiu Cabins

The group next door also woke up at 2:30 and left at 3:00 (the alarm finally didn't go off at 2:00). I stayed in bed until 4:00 as planned and finally got some intermittent sleep. At 4:00, I went to the dining room to cook breakfast, and by 4:50, it was almost light, so I started descending. On the way, I met a group heading up, saying they stayed at the worker's lodge the previous night.

Daba Peak Trailhead

Guanwu Mountain Villa

I hurried back, arriving at Guanwu Mountain Villa too early, with five hours until the Guanwu line departure. I waited at Guanwu Mountain Villa until almost 4:00 before heading to the Guanwu line stop, but the bus never came. A helpful hiker started calling to inquire about the situation, and it turned out the minibus had been hit at Sheipa Leisure Farm. They arranged for a large bus to take us to Sheipa Leisure Farm to switch to a minibus, and we finally returned to Hsinchu High-Speed Rail Station after 7:00 PM. The descent was a wild ride, and I felt uncomfortable being tossed around.

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