Bruce, Mike and Philip meet in Taipei at 2PM on Sat 1/16 and drive to 武陵農場 on highway 7 台七 high in the Lanyang river 蘭陽溪 watershed which drains the valley separating the Central Mountains (中央山脈) from the Syue Mountains 雪山山脈 headed by Lishan 梨山 and flowing into the Lanyang Plain 蘭陽平原 the largest plain in northeastern Taiwan, home to the largest cabbage patch on the island, and focus of the rapidly developing Ilan 宜蘭 metropolis.
We park toward the top of the Farms near the Wuling Youth Center 林務局武陵山莊 and quickly cross the Wuling Suspension Bridge 武陵吊橋 at about 7:30 AM, and 1200m elevation. Four kilometers of walking brings us to the Chiyou Mountain trailhead 池有山登山口 at about 8:30 AM
Sunday morning after a quick breakfast at the Hoya 武陵富野渡假村 we are off to the Syue Mountain trail head 雪山登山口 close to 6AM at dawn. We are greeted by an enthusiastic photographer who interprets for the sandlsand led ranger housed in the two story wood cabin and park office at the trail head at an altitude of 2140 meters, the trail head starts on a board walk just in front of their office windows. Posted signs are clearly strict about requiring a permit to enter the park. We have mountain permits but not park permits, which required a lead time of seven days to be processed. The ranger will not let us through so we drive toward Taoshan 桃山 at the head of the park and decide to walk up to Chiyou Mountain 池有山.
We arrive at Sanchakou Campsite 三叉口營地 at about 12:15 PM
Dabajian mountain 大霸尖山 in Shei-Pa National Park 雪霸國家公園. Dabajian mtn - "Papag-wa-a" is the ancestral homeland of the Atayal and featured on the back of the 500NT note. The park area was originally inhabited by the Atayal (泰雅) and Saisiat(賽夏), the Atayal settling into areas up to 2000 meters. Shei-Pa National Park (雪霸國家公園) includes 51 peaks reaching over 3,000 meters. Mt. Syue, 1t 3,886 meters is Taiwan's second highest peak. The fractured south face inspired the Atayal to name the mountain Sekoan, meaning "broken cliffs" (岩壁的裂溝). Han Chinese settlers transliterated the sound to 雪翁山 and then simply 雪山.
Chiyou Mountain 池有山, 3239m, 12:45 PM
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