The day began on a much milder note. After wrapping up Saturday morning classes, Trevor, Kathryn and I strapped on the gear and mounted up. Nothing better than a refreshing scooter cruise and a quick weekend overnighter. It took us a blissful hour and a half to reach the base of Yuanzuei mountain, northeast of Dongshih. First item of business, get away from the crowds and set up camp. Check. Next on the list, the object of our excursion - a leisurely afternoon hike to the mountain summit.
Stage one of the trek held little drama. A direct ascent, not more than a kilometer long, up the wooded mountainside along a well-groomed trail. The tranquility of the forest was breathtaking. Or maybe that was the merciless stretch of uninterrupted stairs. Either way, the first half of the hike proved a pleasant experience, despite a little bit of burn in our legs. Before long, we reached the top of a low ridge, still canopied by the surrounding wood, where we were greeted by a fork in the road. Right. Another 1.5 km to our destination.
Stage two is marked by a perceptible change in the landscape. The mature giants of the forest disappear. The mountain granite protrudes more prevalently through the soft soil. And the ascent steepens. Ropes appear on the trail to help the novice hiker, and soon ladders. We are no longer hiking, just climbing. Our seasoned party, of course, unanimously agrees - hands off the ropes! Let the real adventure begin. As we press on, the trail steadily grows rockier.And then, a short distance ahead, it suddenly appears. The barren summit of Yuanzuei, a wedge of solid granite cutting into the sky like a giant stone knife. On one side, it's bordered by a sheer precipice, completely unapproachable. The other side is formidable as well, but offers just enough of an incline to not fully dissuade one from attempting to scale it. Like a siren she calls to me...
...My grip is weakening now. I'm stuck. I won't last much longer, not without a better foothold. But there aren't any. The tread on my shoes is practically worn off. Time to make a move. Brazenly push up, hoping to land an invisible handhold just out of reach, or go down, don't know exactly how from my current position... where's that theme music already?
Adrenaline flowing, I make my decision. Carefully, I flatten myself against the rock. Then I spread eagle and begin inching my way down, sliding against the sandpaper surface of the stone to help control my speed. OK, so it's not Hollywood, not today. Trevor kindly comes over to brace me from the bottom of the face. In a moment I'm down, no harm done. With that adventure behind us, what do we do next? Why move further up the face of the summit and begin climbing again of course! Only this time, footholds are plentiful.
