Itinerary 2020 5/13 – 5/15

Day 1

• 呂家傳統魚丸米粉
• 鐵杉林步道 Taiwan Hemlock Forest Nature Trail
• 太平山莊 (松柏小屋) Taipoingshan Villa

Day 2

• 翠峰山屋 Cueifong Villa
• 台灣山毛櫸步道 Taiwan Beech Trail
• 翠峰湖環山步道 Cueifong Lake Circular Trail

Day 3

• 望洋山步道 Wangyangshan Trail (Sunrise)
• 翠峰湖環山步道 Cueifong Lake Circular Trail (too foggy to see the lake yesterday)
• 見晴懷古步道 Jiancing Historic Trail
• 鳩之澤溫泉 Jiuzhize (Renze) Hot Springs
• Long face 臭臉甜點工作室
• 阿娘給的蒜味肉羹  mother’s love garlic meat soup

I didn’t sleep well last night, belly too full and not used to the bed. I skipped the breakfast, so mom brought me back a takeaway breakfast box with some steamed buns饅頭. After breakfast, we went to the terrace to enjoy the clear mountain view and take pictures with two cute owls. Then we headed to our next destination, Cueifong Villa. It was located on the other side of the mountain about 11 km away.

After messing up with the owls, we drove another 20 minutes to reach our second accommodation, Cueifong Villa. We were too early to check-in, so we went straight to the beech trail down the slope of the villa. The trail was 3.8k meters long, started flat, and got steep at 2.5k. We saw birds at the beginning of the trail as if they were welcoming us. We also met a group of people asking me to take a picture of them at 2.5k. When we went further, it became foggier and foggier just like yesterday which I prefer. It was more interesting this way or the journey was kind of a drag, to be honest. After the hike, we returned to our villa and checked in. The villa was older than the other one but the room had bigger and better daylighting. My shoes and socks were covered with mud and ready to be thrown away. How handy.

 

 

Despite all the distance we had hiked so far, still gonna hike another trail called Cueifong Lake Circular Trail right after the beech one to see the lake. First, we drove to the east entrance of the trail and hiked till the bridge before the steep slope. We didn’t see the lake because it was too foggy, so we drove back to the west entrance that was not far from the villa. We saved the lake scene on the terrace for later, and continued straight to the path of silence within the lake trail, at least that was what the sign said. The trail was flat and foggy. It would be nice to walk alone and enjoy peacefulness in silence, perhaps a little bit frightening though. When we got back to the terrace, the lake was still too foggy to be seen even it was right in front of us.

After the second attempt failed, we went back to the villa for supper. It wasn’t hot like yesterday, but I was too hungry to complain. Xuan and I agreed that it tasted like a school lunch. After dinner, we went back to our room. The shower was better than yesterday with steadier water pressure. But I still wasn’t used to the bed, couldn’t really fall asleep. Then I heard Mom calling us to see the stars from our balcony. I haven’t seen so many stars thanks to the low light pollution here. Electricity was only available from 4 pm to 10 pm.