Tammy and Wendy accompany us to Guanwu 觀霧 to help us return our rented van. Guanwu 觀霧 is reached by county road 122, traveling via Hsinchu 新竹 > Jhudong 竹東 > Wufeng 五峰 > Qingchuan 清泉 > GuanWu 觀霧 > Dalu Forest Road 大鹿林道. Guanwu Forest Recreation Area 觀霧森林遊樂區 is located in the southeast corner of Sheipa National Park 雪霸國家公園. Administered by the Forestry Bureau 行政院農委會林務局, the recreation area covers 907.42 ha at an altitude ranging from 2000m to 2500m, enjoying an annual temperature of 14-15 C and an annual rainfall of 2500 mm.
The 20 ha Taiwan Sassafras Conservation Area 台灣檫樹生態保護區 at the 3 km mark has been set aside to preserve the food of the nearly extinct broad-tailed swallowtail butterfly larva 寬尾鳳蝶幼蟲.
We arrive at Madara Creek 馬達拉溪 at 4:15 PM after a 19 km walk at a near constant 2000 m elevation. From here we climb 900m over 4 km to Jiujiu cabins 九九山莊.
We had originally planned to spend our first night at Zhongba hut 中霸山屋, but did not know that the Dalu Forest Road 大鹿林道 would be closed to traffic, which added almost 20km of mostly flat climbing on the road to our fist day. The final climb up from Madara Creek 馬達拉溪 to Jiujiu cabins 九九山莊 climbs from 1800m to 2700m over less than 4 kilometers in rocky terrain we negotiate in the dark. We arrive at Jiujiu cabins 九九山莊 at 2700m after dark. The park only accepts reservations for 100 people for Jiujiu cabins 九九山莊, but the ranger we meet there tells us the complex can accomodate 300 people. There are only a handful of other hikers at the cabins and we are glad to find space since we did not have a reservation.
On our second day, we climb from Jiujiu cabins 九九山莊 at 2700m to Zhongba hut 中霸山屋 at 3250m right before the final approach to Dabajian mountain 大霸尖山 hike. It is a small one room cabin which could house maybe 20 hikers and collects water off of the roof. We do not see any other hikers here. Arriving early we walk over to Dabajian mountain 大霸尖山 after dropping off our packs and return after the weather closes in to prepare for our long day the next day.
After lunch we leave our packs at Zhongba hut 中霸山屋 and hike to to Dabajian Mountain 大霸尖山 and Xiaobajian Mountain 小霸尖山
Shei-Pa National Park 雪霸國家公園 (Xuěbà Guójiā Gōngyuán) is a national park located in the central part of Taiwan around the peaks of Hsuehshan and Dabajian Mountain, with an area of 768.5 km2, covering areas of Hsinchu, Miaoli and Taichung. High mountain ecology, geology, topography, rivers, creek valleys, rare animals and plants, and plentiful variety of forest types are some important resources for conservation.
Dabajian Mountain 大霸尖山; (Dàbàjiān Shān), Atayal: Babo Papakis located in the northern section of the Shei-Pa National Park in Hsinchu County, Taiwan. The mountain's steep grade and unique features were mainly formed by wind. The mountain is composed mainly of greywacke.
The third day we leave Zhongba hut 中霸山屋 at 3250m very early, hike around Dabajian mountain 大霸尖山 3490m again, drop down steeply to 霸南山屋 Banan Hut at 3150m then down to cross the headwaters of Takejin Creek 塔克金溪 before climbing back up to 新達山屋 Xinda Hut on the Sixiu ridge 武陵四秀 at 3172m.
The mountains of Shei-Pa cradle the headwaters of several major rivers in Taiwan. The park receives between 1,500 mm and 3,000 mm of rainfall a year and is an important water resource for the country: Takejin Creek flows north to join the Danshui River, which provides water for Taipei. The Dajia River and the Da-an River flow west and north west to provide water to Taichung County. The Touqian River flows northwest to Hsinchu County.
Shei-Pa National Park 雪霸國家公園 includes 51 peaks reaching over 3,000 meters. Mt. Syue 雪山, at 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. In Saisiat 賽夏族 legend, is their original homeland.
Shei-Pa National Park is located some 100 km north of the Tropic of Cancer. The park covers a wide range of ecosystems between 760 meters at the lowest point, the Da-an River Valley (大漢溪) and 3,886 meters elevation at the highest point, the top of Xueshan (雪山主峰). Xueshan is the second tallest mountain in Taiwan. The Xueshan Range is located along the northern end of Taiwan's Central Range. Like most of the mountains of Taiwan, the Xueshan Range are an uplifted metamorphic belt that makes up the spine of the country. Notable geologic features of the park include the box fold of Pintian Shan (品田山) as well as many glacial cirques.
