Damalan campsite 達瑪巒風味餐廳 has become our regular camp site over the years to drive down to, camp conveniently and get an early start on various adventures in the Danda area.
Competing with weekend holiday traffic, we arrive after midnight at Damalan campsite 達瑪巒風味餐廳 near Tamazuan 地利 D1li in Xinyi district 信義鄉 of Nantou county 南投縣 a few kilometers before the end of Highway 16 台16線 at Heliuping 合流坪 where we will start our hike the next morning.
After breakfast we drive to the end of the 16 at at Heliuping 合流坪 to park and gear up for river tracing.
The lumber magnate Sun Hai 孫海 built a wooden bridge over the Zhuoshui River 濁水溪, Sun Hai Bridge 孫海喬 in 1957 to facilitate extraction of lumber from the central mountains along the then Sunhai Road 孫海林道. At the height of operations Sun Hai employed over 3,000 people and built the 80 km road from Shuili 水里 to Heliuping 合流坪 (known as Road 16 台16線 today) to connect with what is known today as Danda Forest Road 丹大林道. In 1969 Nantou County Government 南投縣政府 converted the bridge into a cement bridge. Connecting to Danda Forest Road 丹大林道 this was the only route to Rainbow Lake 七彩湖. In July of 2004, typhoon Mindulle 敏督利颱風 washed away the bridge. The Executive Yuan decided not to rebuild Sun Hai Bridge. The Executive Yuan instead decided to build a suspension bridge only able to allow passage of motorcycles, to allow the Bunun people to travel to their home land, to allow travelers access to the high mountain environment and to allow Taiwan Power path to maintain the cross-island high voltage power lines. At that time the Forestry department also established the station at Sanfensuo 三分所 to control access to the area. In 2008, typhoon Sinlaku 辛樂克颱風 destroyed the suspension bridge and it was replaced with a cable car.
Aul misnavatan (Bunun) 丹大溪 Danda river is one of the 12 major tributaries of the Zhuoshui River 濁水溪, Taiwan’s longest river at 186 km. The headwaters of the Zhuoshui River 濁水溪 are at Hehuan mountain 合歡山 at an elevation of 3,220m. The watershed basin of the Zhuoshui River 濁水溪 has an area of 3,156.9 square kilometers. Annual average rainfall in the Zhuoshui River watershed 濁水溪流域 is 2,200 mm, which decreases moving from the mountains downstream toward the west coast. 70% to 85% of the rain falls during the rainy season from May to October, and the flow of the Zhuoshui river gradually decreases from October into the dry season in winter. The Danda river 丹大溪 quickly splits into the Danda river 丹大溪 and the Junda river 郡大溪 which each have significant tributaries all with headwaters over 3,000m.
Aul misnabukun (Bunun) 郡大溪, Junda river located in the southeast of Xinyi Township 信義鄉 of Nantou County 南投縣 is the largest and longest contributor to the Danda river 丹大溪. The headwaters of Junda river is along the southwest face of Mount Mabolasi 馬博拉斯山 at an altitude of 3,765 meters.
With a population of about 16,000, Nehunpu-siang (Bunun) 信義鄉 Xinyi Township, the largest township of Nantou County 南投縣 is the most populated mountain township of Taiwan. The population is roughly half Han and half indigenous, of which Bunun 布農 are 95%. The Bunun are the island's fourth-largest indigenous group.
Arriving at a beautiful place to camp we decide to stop at 3:30 PM after tracing 13.85 km over 6 hours including 4 hours moving.
Taiwan is born of the ongoing complex collision of four different tectonic plates. This interaction results in distinct geological terranes. The Junda river canyon lies in the Western Central Range terrane. Specifically, Junda stream canyon runs right along a narrow interface between Oligocene to Miocene 漸新世一中新世 Meichi S.s. 眉溪砂岩 Miocene Suao formation on the west and Oligocene 漸新世 Chiayang formation 佳陽層 on the east side of the canyon.
Our goal had been to reach the lower of two hot springs on Junda river. Ivahu 伊巴厚温泉 (sometimes Yibahou) remains a solid half day trace over unknown topography. We calculate that we have run out of time to reach Ivahu hot springs with enough daylight to get back to our packs and find a camp site before dark, so we regretfully turn around before reaching our goal. We leave discovery of Ivahu and Imusu hot springs 無雙溫泉 beyond to future adventures.
Many of the animals of lowland river canyons are active at the ends of the day (crepuscular). The prints they leave in the soft sand as they come down to water are visible sign of their presence. Sometimes we see where elders escorted their young down to the water's edge. We sometimes see the bodies of dead deer, monkeys and birds in or along the river.
| Reeves's Muntjac (Barking deer) 山羌 (shān qiāng) sakut (Bunun) Muntiacus reevesi |
Formosan Sambar 臺灣水鹿 (tái wān shuǐ lù) hanvang (Bunun) Rusa unicolor swinhoei |
Taiwan Serow 長鬃山羊 (chǎng zōng shān yáng), 臺灣山羊 sidi (Bunun) Naemorhedus swinhoei, protected endemic bovid |
| size of a medium dog at 50 cm high at the shoulder, 95 cm long, tail up to 10 cm. Weighs 10 to 18 kg | the largest native herbivore, can reach 1 m high, 140-180 cm long with 20 cm tail, weight of 114 kg, fur color changes with season to provide camouflage, yellowish-brown in the summer and dark brown in the winter | 80–114 cm long, 25–35 kg, 10–20 cm conical horns curve backward are never shed, dark tan with yellow spots on the jaw, throat and nape |
| Called barking deer for their distinctive and somewhat unsettling bark. Preferred habitats are forest and shrubland. A solitary and crepuscular animal. | mountain forests above 300 m, mostly nocturnal and solitary, seldom moves far from water sources. Prefers the dense cover of deciduous shrubs and grasses. Often congregate near water, and are good swimmers. | Mostly 1000 to 3500 m, highly vigilant and not easy to observe. Graze in the woods alone or in small numbers at dawn and dusk. Can jump 2 m and run 20 kph. Habitats include conifer forest, mixed broad-leaved forests, and the steep slopes of bare rocks and gravel cliffs |
| Eats herbs, blossoms, succulent shoots, fungi, berries, grasses, nuts and tree bark | Eating various grasses, foliage, fruits, leaves, water plants, herbs, buds, berries, bamboo, stems, and bark | Eats leaves, vines, ferns or shrubs below shoulder height, herbs on the ground. Lick mineral deposited on cliffs or rocks to absorb needed salt |
We misjudged our time and end up tracing back downstream in the dark with lights for almost an hour before finding a suitable camp site. We hike almost back down to the narrow slot site of the night before.
