Around the northern side of Victoria Peak and up to High West (Photo-essay)

A few months after I moved to Hong Kong, I found and bought a copy of Alicia M. Kershaw and Ginger Thrash's Above the City: Hiking Hong Kong Island (HKU Press, 2005).  For a time, I followed this super helpful book's outlined hiking routes religiously -- and worried that I'd never be fit enough to complete those hikes that the book's authors rated as a 5 out of 5 in difficulty.

It's with a sense of achievement that I know that I reached a point some time back where I now feel confident enough to do such as "mix and match" the book's hiking plans and/or look upon them as "just" suggested routes.  Thus it was that one hot summer's day, my hiking companion and I elected to include an ascent up and descent down 494 meter high High West (route 1E in the book) to a hike that also included a Peak Circuit walk (route 1C) and a trek from Victoria Peak down to Aberdeen (route 1K)!

Come to think of it, it was on the challenging side to have attempted so much in a single generally breeze-less afternoon whose temperature was consistently over 30 degrees Celsius.  But when looking back at the photos I took over the course of that hike, I have no regrets at doing what we did on that hot but beautiful day... ;b

  Yes, I honestly thought this snail to be picture worthy! :)

...as snap worthy, in fact, as this decorated gate

of one of the super expensive residences on The Peak

The kind of view that can get visitors 

to Hong Kong literally gasping

...and even a resident like myself can be left in awe

by this impressive view of "Asia's World City"

Alternatively, I can tear my eyes away from those views 

to look for often overlooked sights in the area like this ;)

Thanks to the Above the City book, I also knew to get on 

the trail from High West Park that led up to High West itself

 The trail is many stepped but also

replete with grand views

And at the summit of High West is -- 

yay, yay -- a trigonometrical station! :b

To be continued... :)