Mt.Beidawu- What an Epic Journey!

The Mt. Beidawu  Movie

If you're the kind of person that just wants to look at the pictures of the mountain, you can click on the video above. It even has some cheesy 90's dance music to go with it. However, I hope that you like to read about these kind of adventures as we definitely had our fair share of obstacles to overcome on this grueling three day trek that we chose to in two days, with a beginner hiker. For added levels of complexity, the beginner hiker and my more experienced hiking buddy Stephen, are fresh into a new relationship. 

The Beidawu Summit Photo

Every hiking trip I have ever been on is always similar in one way. Nothing else really matters besides getting to the top. Here we are after a long grueling trip to the top.

"Happiness consists in realizing it is all a great strange dream. Because in the end, you won't remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain." Jack Kerouac

We Botched The Pick-Up

On Friday evening,  my friends Layla, Steve, and I,  thought we had as flawless as a plan as  we could have for an overnight trekking trip into the high mountains. Well, to be honest, Steve & I have developed a history of poorly executed plans. I used to think failed plans were alarming, and a poor reflection on myself. Now, I understand it is just how things go when you travel. But, being optimistic about this trip felt nice at least. 

We eventually started the excursion an hour and a half later than originally planned, but we were on our way to Beidawu Mountain. We had no idea that it would be Thursday of the next week until any of us felt like we were living on the same planet as everyone else. 

The idea was for me to pick Steve and Layla up at the Yunlin High Speed Rail Station. This is the closest train station to my house. With it being Mother's day weekend, all of the HSR tickets were sold out weeks ago. So, they had to board the train from Taipei  with an unreserved ticket. This meant that they would only be able to get on the train if there were enough places to stand.  . 

My Dad pounded it into my head since I was thirteen years old that being less  than  forty-five minutes early when meeting others is the same as being late. This is usually convenient for the people I am meeting with, but can create a lot of down time for myself. I was waiting patiently forty five minutes ahead of their earliest possible arrival time in the Family Mart near the train station, stocking up on drinks and snacks for the next day. 

I suddenly got a message from Steve.

"The trains station is an absolute shit show."
"We missed two trains already."

A few more minutes passed.

"Ok, we should arrive somewhere between 8:50 and 9:00." 


I hadn't even read this new message yet.

My phone vibrated on the table again. 

"Dude. This train doesn't stop in Yunlin."

Now, I wake up at 5 a.m. every day to do some writing, and meditation. I was already worried about driving another two hours at what is actually a late time of day for me. I got a bit more nervous, and even a little frustrated to be honest. 

However, I always remember in these situations that I have usually done something just as stupid, if not dumber. 

Steve continued to message me.

"We have two options."

 "1.We can turn around and come back to Yunlin."
 " 2. You can pick us up at the next stop, in Chiayi.  If it's not too inconvenient,"

I messaged back.

"Hey Man.  Sorry. But, Google Maps says the Chiayi HSR is one hour from my exact location, and I'm only five minutes away from the  Yunlin station. It will be easier if you just get back on the train."

"Ok."

I continued to sit in the Family Mart and  just play on my phone while I waited for the time to pass until just short of 9:00. Then, I could go pick up Steve & Layla, and we would be getting this trip started, finally.  

Two Junior High girls were practicing some kind of dance routine in the Family Mart while I horsed around on my phone. At this point, I was  hoping that they wouldn't talk to me. I wasn't in the mood for a giggly , "Hallo," followed by them running for their lives. This is what so many Taiwanese kids, and even adults do when they see foreigners. 

Finally, it came time to head to the train station to pick up Steve and Layla. Google Maps still showed I was five minutes away from the Yunlin HSR. 

I got my phone ready with a Youtube song by Slightly Stoopid called Collie Man.
Feeling the relaxed vibe of the music, I was also happy to be not far from Steve & Layla,

"In 50 meters, turn right."

"Hmm. This is weird. That road looks really narrow to be turning down just before getting to a train station."

"In 100 meters, turn right again."

"Jesus. I don't even know if my car can turn down this road. "

"Ok, something is wrong. But, the station is only four minutes away. So, I will just see  where Google takes me to."

With Steve & Layla's pick-up time getting closer, I started to get a bit anxious that they were going to begin messaging to find out where I am.

Finally...

 "You have arrived at your destination."

I drove up on something strange.
It was a bridge,with train tracks. 

"You gotta be shitting me.."

So, I Google again for Yunlin HSR Station, instead of ignorantly Googling Yunlin HSR like I did the first time. I found the correct location for the actual station. It was still 60 minutes away from me. 

"You gotta be absolutely kidding me. " 

Now in these kinds of situations, I strongly believe that a text message is completely inappropriate. So many relationships can be saved with a phone call. 

I rang Steve on FB Messenger. 

"Dude."

"Where are you?"

"You're never going to  believe this."

Then, the flashing lights of a police car came right at me, from the other side of the road. So, I chucked the phone down on the floor of my car. The phone could have been swallowed up by the abyss of empty coffee cups and water cups under the front seat of my car.  

If you're wondering why I felt  an instant sensation of guilt and fear when I saw the cop, my assumption would be that you're not American. It's nearly impossible for an American to see a cop, and not instantly think the cop is going to do everything in their power to take them to jail.

I could hear Steve's muffled voice as I kept driving with one hand, and biting my nails with the other hand.

"Josh. Josh! "

"Hey Man."

"I can't hear you." 

The cop turned down a side street.

"Dude. "

"Some Douche on Google Maps must have tagged a random spot on the Yunlin HSR for an entry on Google Maps."

"Wait. What?"

"Yeah. When I left to pick you up, I put 'Yunlin HSR' into Google Maps instead of 'Yunlin HSR Station.' 

"Ha ha ha. What?"

"So, I am still an hour away from you guys."

"This is a joke, right?"

"No dude. I will see you in an hour."

"Alright, well, we will get some dinner, and text me when you're close. " 

Check in at the Police Station 

After we all finally got to the Yunlin HSR Station, a few pleasantries and laughs were exchanged.

"Dude. We're like two Special Ed kids, when we travel together."

"Ha ha. I know."

I was happy neither of them seem irritated with me. 

"Alright, man throw your shit in the trunk, and let's get down there."

Google Maps successfully guided us to the Taiwu Police Station in a rather uneventful two hours, luckily. No trucks tried to kill us. No DUI checkpoints stopped us.. No crazy cars with flashing high beams tried to run us off the road. Basically, none of the usual stuff on a Taiwan road trip happened, again luckily. 

We finally came to a barricaded building, the Taiwu Police station.  

"Shit."
"There's nobody here."
Maybe we could just camp here? There's nobody here."
"Nah, that might not be the best idea. We'll just come back in the morning."
"Let's go find another spot."
"Cool. I hope it's not far. I'm exhausted "

I was more tired that I was the day after drinking twenty-nine shots on my twenty-first birthday. 

We set off to find a place to lay our heads for a few hours.

Find a Camp Spot- Without the Police Bothering Us

By law, I would assume that you can't camp on the public land. But, nobody cares what you do as long as you're respectful and have some common sense. It is also probably the same regardless of country, continent, etc.

I spotted a potential camping spot under a nice set of trees.  I failed to realize I was driving past a small barrier. 

"What da ya think Steve?"

"I mean I guess we could do this. But, isn't it a bike path?"

"Shit, that's a cop. Let's go"

A few minutes went by.

"Yeah, that was definitely a bike path."

Luckily, the cop near the bike path left us alone.

So, we decided not to set up a tent,and we returned towards the police station. Luckily, the cop near the bike path left us alone.

We coasted down the hill until we found a park.

"This should do the job, huh? 

"Right next to a miniature statue of a cow, and also by an abandoned bamboo shack. Seems perfectly normal. Ha ha ha."

"Yeah, it's not the best. But, I don't think anyone will bother us here, as long as we leave around sunrise."

Minutes after the tents went up, we were all sound asleep.

Suddenly, the noise of a scooter pulled up close enough for us to know that this was going to be a problem. The people on the scooter were definitely stopping here. 

I felt my heart stop, even though I was half asleep...

"Shit."

I waited silently for someone to walk up to our tents, followed by some sort of griping that we need to leave. However, the feeling in the air was that the visitors didn't care about us. 

The sound of an empty glass bottle clicked around on the park table that they quickly sat down at. I tried to play dead for a little while, even though I had to pee. I thought it would be just as embarrassing for both of us, if I got up and interrupted their fight by taking a leak on the grass.

The next two hours drug on forever. I just wanted it to end.

 I got the gist of the fight, and I wasn't even proud of myself for understanding Mandarin spoken that quickly. That's how badly I wanted the fight to finish.

The woman's ears flamed with fury. The beginning of her anger revolved around  his family doesn't treat her well. She didn't stop by simply screaming at him for how much she hates his family. She proceeded to scorch his ears  over his alleged drinking problem. Other scooters started to come by. I can only assume that they were coming to check on the racket. Still, it is Taiwan so nobody actually got off their scooters and said anything. I would assume they just stared at them and gossiped about them in the morning. I couldn't  physically see him. I still had a vision of him in my head nodding his head yes while he took swigs off a bottle of Taiwan Beer. 

The fight finally came to its anti-climactic ending..

"You and her are now FB friends, Yes or no?"

She repeated this question, three times, each time with growing anger. 

He responded, with silence.

Eventually at about 4:00 a.m, they drifted off into the night,on a scooter,  still hating each other.

Climb 900 Meters of Elevation With No Sleep

The old people started their morning exercise routine not long after the hateful couple drifted into the night. The dudes and ladies didn't take much empathy on their sleeping visitors to their town,with silence.

Fair enough. 

I started taking my tent down, and hollered over at Steve to make sure they were getting up too.

I was sure I had something to make everyone laugh.

"I just can't imagine what those people were thinking last night."
"i'm pissed at you.
"I'm pissed at you, too."
"Well, let's go somewhere in public to fight!"
"Where?"
"How about the abandoned park?"
"The one with a statue of a cow, and a broken down bamboo shelter."
"Yeah, you're on!"
"Ok. Who's driving?"

Crickets. I chalked it up to everyone being tired. 

Time To Register

So, we  headed to the Police Station to register. This step is basically so you can let the police have a general idea of when to start looking for you if you don't come back. That is if they even record your planned return date and time.

 The police officer came out and grunted at me to move my car. I waited outside while Steve & Layla went inside to give them our permits. 

As I got out of the car, which was parked in its new spot, they told me something interesting.

"Don't worry. He basically just waved us through." 
"Ok sure. No idea why I had to move the car. But, whatever. It's Taiwan."

So, we kept trucking it up the mountain to the trail head. The road up to the mountain, gets a little bit bumpy. But, not really any need for a 4wd vehicle.

Maybe , due to our past history of blunders, Steve suddenly started getting worried as he showed me his phone.

"Uh, Dude. This says we are still forty-five minutes away from Beidawu."
"Impossible. I saw several signs while driving up here that had the characters for Beidawu."
"Alright. Let's hope."

 I could tell he was still a bit apprehensive as we got our stuff out of the car.

Yes! It is Beidawu ( 北大武山) 

So, we started on our journey up the mountain. I didn't really know anything about how long, or how hard the hike would be. Sometimes, I find that is just better that way. That's because if I think it is going to be easy, it always turns out to be way harder than I expected. And, if I think it is going to be hard, then I tend to psyche myself out a bit. Just try to go one step at a time.

We put our big packs on and headed up the mountain. I usually stay quiet for much of the time when I'm carrying a big pack, and especially if I'm also in the high elevations. I don't want to use any extra energy, physically or mentally. Steve continued to talk about our location.

"Man, this doesn't seem like a top 100."

"Ok sure. Let's just check with the next person we see."

The next guy I saw, probably thought I was an idiot foreigner.

 "Uh Sorry. Is this Beidawu?" 

"Yes!" 

I commented to Steve that not only did he reply in English, but he didn't seem to have much of an accent.

Can I see your ID Please? - Shit!

"Beidawu Checkpoint- Don't forget your ID"

When you're starting a two day hike, and  you have been hiking for an hour and a half already, it is always a bit concerning to realize the hike technically hasn't begun yet. I definitely wasn't happy when we came up on what looked like a starting point after already hiking for an hour and a half. 

But, when we got this area, they asked to see our permits and ID's. 

"You gotta be kidding me?"

"What ? You don't have your ARC?"

"Nope."

"How about on your phone? There's gotta be something."

"Trust me. It's in the car."

Luckily the guy let us still go up Beidawu ( 北大武山)

I let Steve and Layla go in first to scout the seriousness of their check. I didn't feel very nervous, surprisingly. I knew that we had been approved for the permits, and even in Taiwan the idea of them sending me back to the car seemed to be near impossible.

The volunteer worker for the checkpoint came out to greet me, in Mandarin. Even though my Mandarin totally sucks for how long I have been here, I knew it wasn't the time to show off my ability to speak Chinese.

Checkpoint guy said In Mandarin, "Why don't you have your ID?"
Me In English, " Oh sorry. I forgot it in the car." 
 Checkpoint guy in English" I remember you, because when I saw the picture of your face on the application, and your birth date, I thought you looked much younger than your age."
" I love you." 

He continued to interview me about what I'm doing in Taiwan. I usually take that time to mess with the people back. If they ask personal questions that I feel are none of their business like, "What's your job?" I just say, "CEO. My name is Jack Ma."

So, this became a confusing awkward mess as I tried to pretend to be a super serious and professional person. I never really knew if he was going to make me turn back or not. He never really showed much in his facial reactions and conversation whether or not he was going to make me turn back.

 It turned out he was a rather friendly dude. He was just in my city three days ago to visit his daughter. Nothing was ever mentioned again about my ID.

Before starting our death march up the hill, he briefed us on the length and difficulty of the trail.

"Here to the hut, is 4.5 km. After 2.5 k.m., very steep. Tomorrow, all steep."

"Ok."

"Tomorrow, wake up at 2, all steep right away. "

"Water 2.5 k.m. from the hut"

"You tomorrow very very tired. How you get home?"

"Driving, change (uh), many times?"

"You should take a rest when you get to the Pingtung."

"Ok, great idea."


At first, I was kind of being a smart ass and thinking he was just trying to scare us. Then, I remembered that the times, difficulty level, and suggestions are all pretty spot on when you are hiking in Taiwan's high mountains. Not many people chance going up that high without significant hiking experience,so the times are usually pretty spot on.

Let's Get to the Camping Spot

Beidawu ( 北大武山)- Layla still in good spirits

As soon as you pass the ID check, you know you are no longer just meandering through the woods. The humidity of the jungle drenches your shirt within seconds.  Also, even though , the altitude was a bit lower on this hike, I could definitely feel the  effects of the elevation, with shortness of breath and a lingering headache.
But,we walked the first 2.5 kilometers, with the heavy packs together, as best I can remember. I would never have to worry about Steve on a hike like this. He is probably twice as fit as I am. But, I was a little bit worried about Layla, from the beginning, especially with her carrying a heavy pack, And, I was especially worried that she probably had way too much stuff in her pack, which is a common mistake for newbies. I know from my own experience of taking a laptop and a camera with me on the Appalachian Trail. It is hard to understand with limited backpacking experience that one extra ounce or two of toothpaste, carried over a two day period in essence becomes an extra couple thousand pounds over a several day period.

But, suddenly I started to feel , a feeling that  I can only remember feeling while hiking, when I was in my mid 20's. I started to feel indestructible. I felt like I could probably start running up that god damn mountain. But, I also knew that this was a two day hike, and not a race. So, I did my best to contain myself.  But, about around the 2.5 km marker, I started to break away from Steve & Layla a bit. As much as I felt indestructible, I also had the reality of not sleeping the night before. So, I knew that the sooner I got to the the hut, the sooner I could take a nap.

Feeling like a 25 year old on Beidawu Shan

The hike leading up to the 2.5 kilometer mark was not really that impressive, to be honest. Not much different than some of the Guguan Seven Heroes. A hot, and long slog to the top. Most of the potential views were obstructed by trees. There were a few little slightly technical rope scrambles. A few spots that a slip could send you flying a 1000 meters or so to an imminent death, nothing I hadn't really ever faced before.

It reminded me more and more on the way up of the Guguan Seven Heroes that I did about four years back. Just a lot of jungle, and a lot of climbing. Some cicadas singing. I also remembered how another friend of mine Mark , who was rather well-traveled always used to complain about hiking in Taiwan not being very impressive at all.

Making our way up Beidawu Shan ( 北大武山)

But, I knew according to Steve, that our buddy Tyler wrote a blog that said at the 3.8 km marker, was probably the best view of the entire hike. So, I basically just put my head down and headed for the marker as fast as I could.

Then, when I finally saw a sign post, I was pretty sure that this was probably the famous viewpoint everyone was talking about. A Taiwanese guy was standing on the ridge checking it out. The view was still behind me.

I was excited to turn around and face this epic view.

"Shit. You gotta be joking."

"Clouds, today, huh?"

"Yep, maybe you can try again in Winter."

That doesn't sound good, after you haven't slept, and you have already been hiking and sweating for six hours.

"Well, that's too bad."
"Have a nice hike."

Luckily, we got some Beidawu ( 北大)武山 Cloud Ocean Views on Day 2

We parted ways.

Not much longer, I got to the cabin & tent site. It is a very well set up cabin and tent area.  But, all I really wanted to do there was take a nap.

I gave a half-hearted walk through the hut, to find somebody  who looked like they might be checking reservations for tent spots, and cabin spots. But, I could barely even keep my eyes open as I walked through the hut. I needed a siesta way more than I was concerned about properly registering.

I headed back down to the tent spots, and I noticed that there were several tent spots open towards the bottom of the hill. I popped my tent in minutes, and heaved some 7-11 noodles down my belly until I nearly passed out while eating. About 40 minutes later, I woke up to see Steve walking into the camping area.

Steve & Layla still had another battle to face. Steve forgot his tent in the car, at least he hoped it was in the car.  But, they were luckily able to rent two bed spaces in the cabin without much hassle. The only other option was going to be to rent an eight man tent, But, apparently the guy didn't want to deal with renting him the tent since there were some rain showers sporadically happening.

After they cooked some burgers, they invited me up to their bed space to chill for a bit. The idea of walking up the hill made me want to sleep. My eyes hurt. My feet hurt. Everything fucking hurt.

I still got up to the bed spaces. Steve walked outside of the hut with me for a chat. There was talk of whether or not Layla would go for the summit in the morning. She made an admirable effort already to get to where we were. He had two beers, and I had none. It was party of my recent challenge to cut back on the drinking. I felt surprisingly not awkward without beer, as we just chatted mostly about upcoming hikes, and people who have gone through 80+ of these top 100 hikes. I also complained a lot about the fact that I felt wide awake since my nap was too long.

We bid farewells, and I headed back down the mountain to get in my tent. After about five minutes of concentrating on my breath, I slept until my just five minutes short of my alarm.

1 a.m. Wake-Up Call

I checked the time. 12:50 a.m.

"Alright, it's go time."
"No point in going back to sleep."

I took my time taking the tent down, and eventually got up the hut, at the same time that Stephen and Layla were basically walking outside to start the hike.

So, after a few minutes of stumbling around to find the trail, in the dark, I believe Steve was the first to suddenly remember that we needed to backtrack about two hundred meters to get back on the trail. I never like going back an extra step when I am on this kind of hike.  But, we had to do it.

So, we probably didn't get on the path until about 2;00. But, we each kind of staggered up the mountain in the darkness as we all silently wished that the sun would come up, even though when the sun comes up that meant more heat to deal with. But, at least we were lucky enough to do this portion of the hike without heavy bags.

Flowers at Sunrise on Beidawu Shan ( 北大武山)

The next few hours just kind of passed in monotony, a few nice flower spots passed when the sun came up, like the one above. Again, I was getting sporadic, but long spurts of feeling tremendous energy. Like a 25 year old. I also kept to my strategy of not talking any more than necessary on a grueling trek like this. In the low elevations, talking is great. But , not here, in my opinion.

Layla seemed slow and lethargic But, I had a feeling she was going to be ok.

When the sun came up, I had an uncontrollable urge to get up the summit quickly. I basically felt like I was skipping. I couldn't believe it. Who is this 25 year old? So  I pulled way out in front of the other two. But, every time, I got to a point where I thought  I would get a really nice picture of the sunrise, or the Cloud Ocean, I basically just ended up snapping about fifty pictures, with not much more of a view than the big leafless trees.

The last kilometer or so to the top however started to drag. It basically never stopped climbing. There was promise of a flat ridge line section, which in my opinion never happened. Maybe, I was just tired. Hard to say. But,after one little false peak, I finally got to the top.

Sunrise Selfie just before the summit of Beidawu Shan ( 北大武山)

I tried to scream a grizzly "Fuck Yeah!" The only thing that came out was a big high-pitched squeal.

I remembered when I was on the AT, on top of a mountain called Blue Mountain. I saw a guy up there clearly stoned out of his gourd while he was singing some song he had just made up about Blue Mountain.

I wanted to make a song especially since I was the only one up there on the mountain. Instead I just looked around, and took my shoes off. My feet fucking hurt. As soon as I got my shoes off, I laid down on a rock, and fell sound asleep, A few other hikers came up, and I grunted a bit at them, But, wasn't really much in the mood for engaging. I was tired more than anything.

But finally after another  thirty minutes or so, Layla and Steve made their way up to the top also. We took some pictures.

Beidawu  北大武山 Summit Photo Repeat

Time To Go Back Down

She was definitely worried about coming back down. I tried to coach her a little bit, on how to effectively use her trekking poles, as I know that can be a real savior for anyone who has never learned how to use them. It is like night and day when you can use them how they are supposed to be used.

We stuck together for the first hour or so, as we headed down the mountain. But, I suddenly got the urge again, to take another nap. So, I knew the quicker I got to the lodge, the quicker I could get to sleep again. I basically just took off in as much of  a mad sprint as one can while going down a mountain. My legs were starting to hurt however because I wasn't using my poles effectively while coming down. I still kept going at a strong pace. I was also getting a terrible headache, and I couldn't tell if it was a caffeine withdraws headache, or an altitude sickness headache. I eventually got back to the cabin, and basically just laid down on the first available tent spot, without a tent, and waited for Steve & Layla to get back.

Steve came up to my sleeping spot alone.

"How long have you been here?"
"No idea."
"Ok, well I left Layla  about one km back, so I could start getting our stuff together, and make tea, and lunch."
"Good idea. I will wait here with you."

Another 45 minutes or so went by.

"Dude. You guys split up only one km back?"
"Yeah. I better go check on her."

I don't remember to be honest if I saw Steve first, or Layla first . But , she told me the story of why it took her so long to cover one kilometer.

First, she said in Mandarin.

"I was lost."
"Wait. What?"
"Yeah, I thought, I passed the cabin,  So, I turned around and went the wrong way for at least one km."
"Oh my god."
"That's basically the worst thing that could have happened to you right now."

Layla On Getting Lost

One thing about going on an overnight hiking trip is that you are always gambling against mother nature. Things can happen so fast when you are out in the mountains. One slip, or one wrong turn, and things can go drastically wrong in a hurry. 

So, I got a chance to ask Layla what was actually going through her mind when she lost Steve & I while we were waiting for her at the cabin. She basically just forgot the KM marker for the cabin, and became uncertain which way to go.

She decided that she must have missed the turn and started going the wrong direction. She said that she did start to panic a bit, because she wasn't seeing anyone on the trail for what felt like a significant amount of time. Unfortunately, your mind can race quickly to panic at that point, and she said she even started to think about what would happen if nobody finds her up there.

She also said that she started to get even more worried with the lingering rain clouds above her.

She felt like she will never lose track of the KM  markers again while in the wilderness.

The trail is well populated and she was probably never in any serious danger realistically. However, this is an important how vulnerable we become when putting our bodies through such extreme conditions like waking up at 1 a.m. to climb a mountain.

Luckily, the situation never got that serious, and she never even wandered off the trail. You still don't want to be wondering in the wrong direction when you woke up that day at one in the morning. 

Keep Going! 

I knew she was emotionally and physically in shambles. But, she was still able to keep herself together quite well. And, I believe she didn't even take a rest at the hut.  She just drank some cold coffee, and headed on her way. Steve took as much of her stuff out of her bag as he could, as he knew she was going to struggle coming down the hill from there. Admittedly, I was an asshole and didn't help Steve out. For some reason, I thought the amount he took out was going to be enough to get her down the mountain.

So, we started for the next leg of the journey. From here, we could focus on getting back to the entrance point. She started off really fast. I could tell she was going on the adrenaline from when she was lost for a bit. She was feeling really bad for holding us up, regardless of how many times we told her that this kind of stuff happens out here all the time.

So, we kept making our way down the hill. I stayed tight for a while. But,  it felt much more difficult for me to stay on my feet at a slower pace like that, and I also had in mind if I could get ahead a bit, I could get to the car first, and get a little bit of a nap in before we continued the three hour drive back to the Yunlin HSR.

The rain started to come down a bit a few hours later. It made things a bit slippery. I always try to downplay things when I am in that kind of situation. I know if I start panicking, it is going to make for more trouble. So, I just took it one step at a time. However, I started to take quite a few spills. But, most of the time, I still landed on my ass. So, it wasn't really that painful.

I can't really remember how many times I looked back to see Steve & Layla again. I knew I was definitely slowing down. I still couldn't have been feeling anywhere near as bad as Layla.

But, I finally got back to the entrance point, where I saw the same volunteer guy as the day before.

"How far behind are your friends?"
I pretended to know their exact location.
"Maybe 30 minutes."
" I hear the girl very tired."
"Yes."
"A guy walked up to try and carry her bag."

"Oh wow."

The embarrassment set in that I didn't take better care of Layla. But, it is always a tough call in those situations. How much more could I have realistically endured?

I scouted out the sitting area. Now, if I were in a park bench full of Americans and we were all tired as can be from a 15 hour hike, with no available benches for laying, I would have just laid right down on the floor. But, I knew that the Taiwanese people would tell me how I can't do this. Because the ground is dirty. Which makes absolutely no sense to me , since we were all out in the dirt, the mud, and the sweat of the jungle for the last two days anyway. I sulked as I sat on the floor, and looked around, and contemplated still laying down on the floor of this little pavilion.

Then, the guy goes, "Hey you want sleeping?"
I thought he pointed at the empty room behind him. Maybe it was a wishful hallucination on my part.
He was actually pointing at the little plastic foot stool behind him, but still not in the room that was also behind him.  He meant I could sleep sitting straight up.

"Well, great. what a fucking invitation."

So, I shrugged him off.

 I got confused again as he continued to try and tell me something while using an awkward mix of body language, Chinese, and English. My guess was he was worried about my shirt being wet from the rain. He suddenly became rather insistent that I go into the room that I just wanted to sleep in, and take the wet shirt off. I was too tired to argue with anyone at this point. I went in and took my shirt off as I enviously eyed up an empty floor, and perfect resting spot.

"Shit, I could sleep here, but he is motioning for me to come back outside for my fate of sleeping straight up."

I came back out and he continued to attempt to persuade me that sleeping straight up would be acceptable right now.
I sulked again.

Then, he asked again
"How much longer, your friends?"
Like I was really supposed to know.
As I sat sitting straight up, completely unable to sleep,  I finally saw Layla walking around the corner. A military guy was carrying her bag. God, I am an asshole.

Then, we started the last leg of the walk.The group that was with the military guy that helped Layla  told us that they are all Mountain Family, as they walked down the mountain with us. Layla got way ahead with the rest of the Taiwanese people.  I said to Steve that I think being with her own people, speaking her own language was comforting to her.

Finally ,we got back in the car. Ready to drive three more hours to the train station.

About Going to the High Mountains

A few days after the hike, I asked Layla for some suggestions for less experienced
hikers on a Top 100 Mountain in Taiwan. Although it is blatantly obvious that the easiest suggestion about hiking in the High Mountains in Taiwan is to never go unless you are 100 percent mentally and physically ready, some people will definitely take the chance before they go. So, here is what Layla has to say if you do choose to go.

Layla's Tips For Less-Experienced Hikers In The High Mountains

---Beidawu is definitely NOT a good choice for your first Top 100 :) -----

---You have to believe in yourself once you get exhausted. ---

--- No matter what you do- don't quit! ----

---Have proper hiking shoes, and make sure they are broken in----

--- All the pain is worth it when you are sitting on top of the peak since you will be so proud of yourself. ---

--- Go with experienced hikers ---

--- Learn how to effectively use your hiking poles