And for those who wonder why I bother to put up this photo-essay since so much time already has past since I went on the hike that I'm chronicling: I think the pictures I took back then still are worth sharing -- not least because much of what's in the photos are still there some three years on! Besides, my memories of this hike up Hong Kong's third highest peak (at 869 meters above sea level) are still pretty vivid -- which says to me that in the grand scheme of things, three years is actually not that long after all! ;b
The trail up this Lantau Island peak
is on the rocky and rugged side
On the misty afternoon that a friend and I went up Sunset Peak,
it literally was a trek up to the clouds!
Midway up the mountain (from our hike start at Pak Kung Au), we spotted
a wild dog which, fortunately, seemed more curious than aggressive!
Whether you start from Mui Wo, Nam Shan or Pak Kung Au,
it's quite the trek to go up Sunset Peak and also down it!
On the way down, one has to beware tired legs which can
cause one to slip lest one fall off (not just down) the mountain!
Is that a stone guardian in before me?
The trees grow taller in the lower reaches of the mountain,
so the sight of tall trees is a sure sign that the end of the hike is near! :)
2 comments:
Hi YTSL,
The text and photos of this entry are really excellent, and depict a hike that would be memorable for the start of any New Year, past or present.
The top two photos are wanderlust-inciting! The photo of the wild dog reminds me of a fearsome dog I saw on my one and only Lantau hike years ago, on a rainy day up to Lantau Peak.
I find the second photo from the bottom, of your "Stone Guardian" intriguing because it has a very totemic look...The bottom photo of the stone steps hint of an entrance to or exit from a mountain kingdom.
I recall reading a blog of a hiker doing both Sunset Peak and Lantau Peak on one hike. Sounds challenging.
Bill
Hi Bill --
Wow re your one and only Lantau hike having been on a rainy day up to Lantau Peak! Hope you got some good views from up there nonetheless -- something which is often not the case, from what I hear. (yes, I still have yet to go up that intimidating mountain!)
It's supposed to be clearer up on Sunset Peak more often than Lantau Peak -- which is why it was not particularly expected to encounter so much mist up there on a hike, as was the case with this one! ;b
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