Saturday June 29th, 2019 (Part 2 of 3)

About 200m up on the Hehuan East Peak trail

We finished the Hehuan Main Peak (合歡山主峰) around 2:30PM. The weather was starting to take a turn for the worse. According to our itinerary, we were supposed to be climbing the Hehuan East Peak (合歡山東峰) which was further up the road and heading in the opposite direction of home. Keep in mind that there is only one narrow road where cars are lined up waiting to pass. The organizer was unsure of what to do at this point and looking for suggestions. I said we could consider heading back towards Qingjing Farm. The elevation is a bit lower which may have meant better weather and it was on the way home. The itinerary we were given said we'd be leaving Hehuanshan at 3:30 and arriving back in Hsinchu at 6:30pm.

The organizer decided to stick with the plan and head further up the mountain to the East Peak. When we got out of the van, we headed to the trailhead and this is when it started to downpour.  Everyone began pulling out their rain gear. The organizer said she didn't want to hike in the rain and was going back to the car. With the quick disappearance of the organizer we were all a little hesitant. The rest of us found cover and waited out the heavy rain which lasted about ten minutes.

After the rain let up, the group looked at each other unsure of what the plan was. The organizer eventually showed up and said we were hiking so away we went.

The East Peak Trail is one kilometer long which may sound easy but I can assure you, it's not. The entire trail was a steep climb up with zero breaks along the trail. We hadn't even reached the 100m mark before the organizer started complaining. Around the 200m mark, the group had split into smaller groups and it was very apparent that everyone was struggling with the climb. By the 300m mark, more than half of the group had given up. I slowly made my way up with a few other determined hikers. By the 500m mark I was ready to throw in the towel.

At the 700m mark I was alone and feeling pretty defeated. A couple coming down from the peak stopped to encourage me. So close yet so far! At the 800m mark the only other girl from our group who had made it to the peak was sitting down and looking like she had given up. She told me to keep going so I did. I cursed out loud for the last 200 meters. Thankfully I was alone with no one to hear me!

Upon arrival at the peak, the first thing I did was plop myself down flat on the ground and let out a big WOOOO!!! This got a giggle from a few of the locals who were already up there! I was and am very proud of myself for completing the climb!

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At the 800m mark along the East Peak trail and looking back at where I had climbed from

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The last 100m of the East Peak trail

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Happy to have made it to the Hehuanshan East Peak (合歡山東峰) at 3,421m above sea level

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