Goal- Hehuan Mountain

I was awaken up around 5 AM by my mobile vibrating alarm. Naturally my hair looked stupid. I had showered last evening then slept on it. It was a nice morning and the sun was really shining bright outside.

My dad drove us, my mom, my 2 sisters, Nico and Wan Yu, and of course me, up the mountains, up and up. Eventually we ended up Hehuan mountain which has multiple peaks. Total of seven peaks. It was fantastic, we were wearing shorts, but after driving for 3 hours up Hehuan mountain it became cold, and we had to put coats on.

We went to Shimen mountain 3236 Meters high, then to Hehuan east peak 3421 Meters high. But before going to east Hehuan peak, we had lunch to recharge our batteries eating food prepared by my parents last night, and kept warm in boxes. Subsequently we walked up a very, very steep alpine-meadow type slope. You can imagine what kind of terrain it was.

As we got higher and higher it became even colder and harder to breath. We had to walk slow and breath so deliberately. Along the path to the top of the east peak, it was so nice to see the beautiful Yushan bamboo which only grow to knees-high as adaptation to the climate and environment there.

After 4 hours we finally arrived at the top. We took many photos, and enjoyed the view of the surrounding mountains from the top of the peak. My mom had said that she was determined to get to her destination, the east peak. She thought, she is old, and would not know if she would have time to come back again. Hence she kept walking up even when she had to do it very slowly. After arriving to the top she had felt great, and ecstatic. It is like the feeling of people who study and work hard, and never give up till they get to their goal.

Walking in the Clouds

My parents and I went to Da Syae Shan 大雪山(Big Snow Mountains) National Forest in Taichung country, which is about 2.5 hours drive along winding roads up into the mountains.

Standing on Ya-Kou observation post (2600M), we felt our vision and minds widen as we looked towards Yu Shan 玉山(Jade Mountain) in the distance, Taiwan's tallest at 3997 meters high.

A sea of clouds appeared which is common at high altitudes; sometimes fog came along the footpath and made me feel like I was bathing in mist. The changing weather contributed to the picturesque landscape.

Whilst walking into the forest, we saw a lot of the air resident-epiphytic plants; I always take a close look epiphytic plants when traveling. The natural beauty of the forest also provides the habitat for wildlife. I saw butterflies and bees flying amongst the flowers, Mikado Pheasant and many different species of birds. My father used a telescope for bird watching and could hear the birds singing. We found ourselves energized from fresh air rich in pythocidere.

As we drove back home from mountains the fog was very dense and it was hard to see the road. My father said I should take a nap as we had been walking for 8 hours.

Next time we will go to Mount Hohuan 合歡山(3500M).