2021年10月31日 中嶺山-鷺鷥潭山-九股山-翡翠水庫 A nice ridge route to touch water of Feicui Reservoir

翡翠水庫 Feicui Reservoir 

翡翠水庫は、1980年代に完成した比較的新しいダムである。周囲の山が湖面に迫り、道路も湖面にまで行くところが少ないため、上から眺めることは簡単でも、その湖畔に降りて水に触れることができるところは少ない。台北市の重要な水源であるので、水質保持のためには簡単に行けないようになっているのかもしれない。今回は、今年の春にボランティアにより道整備が行われ状況が良くなった直潭山系の道の中で、唯一未踏だった部分をカバーし、ダムの湖畔まで下った。春には水が少なかったダムは、満水状態でその名づけがうなずける翡翠色の湖面を見せていた。それは、苦労して湖畔まで下ってはじめて眺められる風景でもあった。

今回のルートは北宜公路から、今まで何度が訪れている中嶺山に登り、そこから尾根上を湖畔まで下った。途中には、鷺鷥潭山と九股山がある。また隘勇遺址が二か所ある。下った高度は、帰りには登り返さなければならない。急坂を登り返し、鷺鷥潭山の先で山腹を行く道を通り、産業道路にでて秀峰路を北宜公路へ下った。もともとあまり良い天気予報ではなかったが、湖畔に着いた頃には薄日が差した。ところが帰路上、本来の予定の番薯寮古道へ下ろうとした際に、雨が降り出し舗装路の秀峰路に変更した。

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Have you ever stepped your feet in the water of Feicui Reservoir (翡翠水庫)? The reservoir is surrounded by mountains and there are only a few locations that you can reach its water front. It is a main water supply to the citizens of Taipei, and it should be kept rather difficult for people to reach the water in order to prevent contamination. We reached the water in this hike and stepped our feet in the water just for seconds.

Map and elevation profile of the hike

We hiked the Zhitan-shan range of mountains (直潭山山列) a couple of times this spring. Leianhe Jiandui (聯合艦隊, Allied volunteer hikers) cleared almost all existing trails of the area in spring of this year, which had been very seldom travelled and chocked with thick vegetation for years. One of the trails that we have not visited since then is the one we hiked this time. It is a trail going on the ridge of Mt. Zhongling-shan (中嶺山) all the way down to the water bank of the Feicui reservoir. It passes three peaks, the northeast and the main peak of Mt. Lusitan-shan (鷺鷥潭山) and Mt. Jiugu-shan (九股山) en route. It also passes by two remains of Aiyong camps (隘勇遺址, a kind of guard system of the government against the indigenous people more than a hundred years ago).

Members at the summit of Mt. Zhongling-shan

The weather has turned cool and it is now a high time for hiking on low altitude mountains. The long autumn rain of the northern Taiwan has kept hikers away from the mountains, but we had a good luck not to meet rain until the last stretch of our hike. We started from Shifenzi bus stop (十分子站) on the Beiyi highway (北宜公路) to climb Mt. Zhongling-shan via Shifenzi old trail (十分子古道). Reaching the summit, we went down to the end of the ridge trail and had a lunch on a platform just above the water. The last section of the trail was steep, which means that we had to struggle up on our way back. Passing the summit of Mt. Lusitan-shan and take another trail going alongside of the mountain, which connects to a paved road leading to a junction just above Xiufeng tea factory (秀峰茶廠). Our original plan was to go down via Fanshuliao old trail (蕃薯寮古道) to the Beiyi highway. By the time we reach the junction, it started raining and getting harder and harder. We changed our plan to walk down on Xiufeng paved road, by which we could hold an umbrella to easily walk in rain.

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Alight the bus at Shifenzi stop

We meet at MRT Xindian station (新店站). The station has a large concourse in front under the national highway #3 and it servers as a bus terminus. Our bus Green 12 line (綠12縣) departs from one of the gates. When I got there by 6:45, a few people were in a line. As the time of departure, 7:15, draws near the line grows long. The bus leaves on time and full of passenger, some of who are standing. A fifteen-minute ride takes us to the Shifenzi stop. Another member is waiting there for us to join. She has come by her car.

A discarded lift

The trail starts just by the bus stop at a gap of long side wall. It gets down to the bottom of a valley and crosses a stream. Wellington boots that most of us wear are really good for such water crossing. A rope has been fixed for easy passing, but it takes a little time for all 23 members to cross it. We then get on an ascent between terrace fields of bamboo shoots and other crops. A ten or so minutes of climb brings us to an open area. There is an abandoned lift system by the trail. It must have been used for lifting goods and sending down crops in the past. The dirt trail goes down a little and ends by a house.

Going up a steep paved road

Opening for the upper section of the old trail

A freshly paved road replaces the dirt trail and goes up. This is a part of Xiufeng street and ends at the house. The road goes up in a steep grade and levels to meet another entry point of the dirt trail. We take this trail and keep ascending. It goes through terrace firming fields and a four-way junction shows up at 8:24. This is the end of the old trail. We have spent approximately 50 minutes to come up here. If you take right, you will get to Mt. Jixinjian (雞心尖). We take left and head for another junction.

The four-way junction, taking left here

Climbing a steep section

The trail pass a very steep sections with aiding ropes. We come across a broken direction sign post with no direction arms, This must be very old sign of a few decades ago, which we come across from time to time in this region of the mountains. We hit the three-way junction at 8:44. We take right to go over the ridge trail to the summit of Mt. Zhongling-shan. The trail is mildly ascending and passes by a remain of Aiyong camp, which only small stones sanding in a raw to indicate what it once was. If you don't pay attention, you would probably not notice. It soon meet a junction to meet a trail from the right. We reach the summit (elevation 626 meters) at 9:04. The summit was very clean on our last visit in May this year. After a summer, weeds have grown high and dense.

An old direction sign

Three-way junction where we take right

Once clean summit of Mt. Zhongling-shan, now weeds coming back

Going down a slope with ropes

After fifteen minutes of break at the summit, we start our decent on the ridge trail. It passes a very steep stretch for a while. As we do down, buzzing noise is audible and gets louder. We find that noise is coming from a tower of high voltage line in front. We go under the tower and come to a junction at 9:27. We came up to this junction from a paved road on our left in April, but it will be our first trek from here further down.  The track is yet clear. The grade is generally not so steep, though ropes are fixed at some points.

Direction signs at the junction

The trail goes in woods and comes to a remain of another Aiyong camp (also 532 peak)  at 9:44. This is an only depressed circle, which served as a base of the camp, probably with some kind of roofs and walls at that time. The Aiyong system was a temporal measure to suppress opposition of indigenous people against the advancement of government policy of the time. After they surrendered, this system was no longer necessary and eventually placed out of use. Those easily built ad-hoc camps have naturally been claimed back by the wilderness and only a little of it is observable today.

A remain of Aiyong camp (532 peak)

Mt. Lusitan-shan northwest peak

Keep going down

The trail still goes down for a while and climbs back to reach the northwest peak of Mt. Lusitan-shan (elev. 490m) at 10:07. This is also just a flat circle with surrounding vegetation with no view. A steep downhill lasts for several minutes and we hit a junction. This is where a traversing trail on the hillside to connect a paved road to Xiufeng tea factory. We will take this trail on our way back. We keep on the rather flat trail and come to the summit of Mt. Lusitan-shan main peak (elev. 405m) at 10:33. While it is called a summit, it is not a summit in its normal sense. It is just a place where a stone marker is planted. We have a break by it.

The junction where we will come back to take a traversing trail

Having a rest at Mt/ Lusitan-shan

Another Aiyong remain with stone-piled walls

A precipitous descent with help of ropes

A very steep descent shows up as soon as we leave Mt. Lusitan-shan. At 11:01 a stone piled wall appears on our right as we climb back a little. This is also a remain of an Aiyong camp, but unlike the two remains we have seen on our way, this stands very solid and still shows its original shape. This could be a point where a big gun was placed. The steep descent still continues from the remain and comes to a small circle with a marker stone in a few minutes. A name tag shows this is the summit of Mt. Jiugu-shan. Just like Lusitan-shan main peak, this is not a summit in its normal sense.

Mt. Jiugu-shan

Going further down

We still have to go down on a very steep slope and finally come to a flat ridge where water is on our either side. We have come down the water front. We keep on going for a short while and find an open circle just above the reservoir at 11:24. On our way down here I notice that sun projects bright spots in woods. The weather forecast was not so positive in the morning, so it is very good to see them. The open area is not so big for twenty three people, but we have a happy lunch with no worry of rain.

Having come down to the water front

A small open circle for lunch break

Author by the water

There is a track going further down to the water side. Everybody goes down to the real end of the ridge extending into water like a peninsula. At the furthest point affords a very wide view of the reservoir, This location is just middle of the entire water. Encircling mountains of Pinglin (坪林) and Wulai (烏來) stand beyond water like a long fence. A bare rock across the water shows red letters reading Lusitan (鷺鷥潭), after which the peaks that we have just passed were named. This red sign is only observable from this point except from a boat on the water.

A wide open view of the reservoir

Back to Mt. Lusitan-shan

Back at the junction

We go back to the circle of our lunch and put back on backpacks for our return way at 12:08. The precipitous descent of course turns a precipitous ascent. We have to struggle for two hundred and half meters of hill climb. On our way we run into another group of hikers. They are only other hikers we meet on this hike. We get back to Mt. Jiugu-shan at 12:21 and are happy to see the summit of Mt. Lusitan-shan at 12:48. We keep on our way to the junction. The last half of our troop takes more time to come up and we wait for them to meet us.

Going on the traversing trail

Going down for the gap

After a rest at the junction we take the traversing trail at 13:15. This trail basically goes moderately down, but there is a big gap to pass over. We go down steeply, passing a dark and wet section for a while and up again. The level trail connects to a poorly paved road near a orchard where farmers come by car for attending produces. The paved road goes along the west side of Mt. Zhongling-shan, of which summit we passed this morning and come to a junction just above Xiufeng Tea factory at 14:20.

Near the end of the dirt trail

A view of the reservoir from the paved road

We feel rain drops while we have a rest at the junction. Rain gets heavier and heavier. It is much more easier to go down on a paved Xiufeng road than Fanshuliao old trail of our original plan. So we give up the original plan and go down on the Xiufeng road instead. The road leads us to Beiyi highway in less than half an hour. We take left on the Beiyi highway and soon come to Fudengong bus stop (福德宮站). No sooner we get to the bus stop, a Green 12 bus just comes up, which has only an hourly service so we are lucky to make it!

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It is easy to have a look over Feicui reservoir from many points, but surprisingly it is not so to touch its water. This route gives you one of such a few points where you can do it. You have to take a long time to do it on foot, though. Our hike lasted 7 hours 15 minutes including all breaks. The total height we climbed was 747 meters and 719 meters in descent. The route physical index is 24.