2022年4月5日 台北市內湖區界山稜縱走 Hiking over the entire border ridge of Taipei Neihu district

內湖區北部の境界稜線 The border runs on the ridge located at northern Neihu District

先月に台北市内湖区とその他の行政地区との境界を構成している山稜の一部を歩いた。今回はその範囲を拡大し、境界となる山稜を端から端まであるいた。この稜線は、すでに過去歩いているが、境界を歩くというテーマのくくりでの再訪だ。内湖は勿論市街地があり、そこには稜線ではない境界線がある。区の北側がこの稜線であり、東側は內溝山から立ち上がり、西に向けて稜線上に境界が進む。西端は文間山である。そこから枝尾根が南に伸びて平地の市街地につながる。

南港山から望む內湖區の山、背後は陽明山系 Mountain range of Neihu viewed from Nangang-shan

内湖区の山は市街地のすぐ近くでアクセスも非常に簡単、筆者は今まで何度も訪れている。そうした場所を今回は、再訪したわけだ。しかし境界稜線を歩くという趣旨の縦走は初めてで、一部は歩いていない部分もあり、新しいまた嬉しい発見もあった。朝に內溝山近くのバス停で集合し、メンバー一行は稜線に上がり、老鷹尖山，水尾潭山，大丘田山，白石湖山，碧山，大崙頭山，大崙尾山を越えて進み、最後の文間山から主稜線を離れて下った。

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Location of Neihu relative to neighboring districts

Most hikers are keen on (often dotted) lines of trails or paths of hiking maps while they do not necessarily pay attentions to administrative border lines on the same maps. Usually they just represent where administrative areas are divided with adjacent ones and have very little to do with hiking activities. Human lives and habitats have been divided by mountains, rivers or oceans as they are natural barriers. Mountain ridges very often form border lines between countries, prefectures or cities because the lives of local people are divided by the mountains. So is the border line of Neihu district of Taipei municipality (台北市內湖區). It runs on a long mountain ridge on its north side from Mt. Neigou-shan (內溝山) on the east end and Mt. Wenjian-shan (文間山) on the west. 

A border marker of Taipei municipality

I have been to peaks belonging to the Neihu district many times. Each peak on the border line ridge has been all visited for once or more at various occasions. This hike is to walk all these peaks from the east side, which projects a different perspective of our hiking activities. It tells how long and how high it runs and the extent that it affects lives of local people, besides joy of hiking itself. As a matter of fact, we made a short border ridge line walk last month. We went up to the ridge line via Mt. Xihu-shan (西湖山) and down from Mt. Baishihu-shan (白石湖山) to MRT  Dahu park station (大湖公園站). It took us a little less than seven hours and covered 12.6 kilometers. This hike can be said an extended version to that. The last hike was from the west to the east, while this one is in the opposite direction. Even though you walk along all the same route, you would very likely find things that you did not notice in a hike of the reversed direction, which is also fun.

Members at Mt. Shuiweitan-shan

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First walking along Neigou-xi river

Nine of us including myself meet at ZhongSan-jie kou bus stop (忠三街口站) at 8:00. This particular location is just beyond Neigou-xi river (內溝溪) and belongs to Xizhi district of New Taipei City (新北市汐止區).  The river is a dividing line after it gets down from the mountain ridge. We first walk along the right bank for a while and take right to enter Lane 9 (九巷) of ZhongSan-jie. A narrow and untidy passage between fences leads us to the bottom of stairs. This is a starting point of our hike.

The trail head of Zhongsan-jie lane 9

Get onto the ridge, note the new direction signs

The trail is wide and clean

The stairs soon turn into a dirt trail with a long string of aiding ropes beside. The Allied volunteer hikers (聯合艦隊) have been working for all trails in this areas for several weeks by now. They not only cleared all obstructive vegetation but added ropes at steep sections. At 8:15 we get on the ridge and follow it along. The trail is wide and clean. At 8:36 we pass a junction and soon find that a marker stone of Taipei city numbered 571 is buried at a center of the trail, which indicates this is a border line. We go up a last steep uphill and at 8:42 reach the summit of Mt. Neigou-shan (elevation 137 meters) with a triangulation marker at its corner and a few benches. This is an open summit with a nice view around.

Summit of Mt. Neigou-shan

Summit of Neigou-shan north peak

Today is the last day of four-day holiday and the weather is good. We come across many hikers on our way. The ridge trail goes down and up again to Mt. Youtonglin (油桐嶺) and Mt. Neigou-shan north peak. The bare sandstone summit reveals our long way to go far on our left side. The trail goes down again and climbs a long stepped way up to the summit of Mt. Mt. Laoyingjian-shan (老鷹尖山, elev. 193m), which we reach at 9:21. Across the valley of Balian-xi river (八連溪) stands Mt. Beigang-shan (北港山) and further beyond finds Mt. Xin-shan (新山), which we just visited yesterday.

A long step way up to Mt. Laoyingjian-shan

A panorama from Laoyingjian-shan

Going down a steep slope

The trail so far is a popular route and maintained by the local authority, while the way ahead is not. As soon as we step in we notice the difference. Thanks to volunteers' work, the condition is good and free of nasty vegetation. It goes down pretty steep for a while, runs just under Mt. Laoyingjian-shan and enters a thin bamboos forest.  We follow the trail going ups and downs and come to a bottom of very steep ascent at 9:46. We go up one by one holding a long aiding ropes and pass the top, and then go down again. Passing a junction the trail goes up to the summit of Mt. Shuiweitan-shan (水尾潭山, elev. 142m) at 9:57. It is tiresome to walk on this kind of profile as there are many small continuous ups and downs.  The summit is clear of vegetation on its north side, affording a wide view of Mt. Wuzhi-shan range (五指山山脈).

Passing through bamboos

Summit of Shuiweiatn-shan

Going down to a meadow below

After a break of ten or so minutes, we continue our ridge way. The trail enters a nice meadow with a few tall tress. It feels a nice breeze. If we do not have such an idea of completing the border ridge hike, we would like to stay here and have a nap under a tree. We see a long ascending ridge ahead to Mt. Bi-shan, the highest point of our hike today. The trail passes by a tiny stone shrine and starts an unbroken ascent to Mt. Shuiweitan-shan northwest peak (elev. 152m). A short dip meets another unbroken climb to Mt. Daqiutian-shan east peak (大丘田山東峰, 235m). Weeds have been cut clean all the way up, at some of which no trees grow and it is pretty hot under the April sun.

We have a long way up ahead

Nangang-shan and 101 building over a front hill

A small stone shrine

Getting out of woods on our way up

Summit of Daqiutian-shan east peak

Getting out onto a paved road

The trail goes down and up again to meet a paved road diverging from ChangQing road (長青路). Traffic on ChangQing road  is pretty busy. One car after another are going up. We climb a little to enter Xingshan-gong shrine (興善宮, elev. 249m) at 11:06. Some ceremony is going in the shrine building. We have a lunch break at its garden next to the building. One of nine members leaves us and goes down by herself.

Lunch break under a tree in the garden of Xingshan-gong

Going further up

We resume our hike at 11:45. We still have a long way to go. At the current altitude, we need to climb the same height to the highest point. Our trail leads up from the back of the shrine and keeps straight up. At some points with few trees we can observe how high we have come up. At 12:06 we reach Mt. Daqiutian-shan (大丘田山, eleve. 356m). It is not a summit in a common sense. It is just a point on a slope with a marker stone. The ascent does not cease. We reach a junction at 12:23. A new trail has been opened by volunteers directly to the summit of Mt. Baishihu-shan (白石湖山) from this junction. A new trail keeps going on the ridge, which exactly the border line follows and reach the summit (elev. 458m) at 12:28. This is where we left the border line on our last small-sized ridge hike.

At Daqiutian-shan

Recently opened new direct path to Baishihu-shan

Summit of Baishihu-shan

Cross an intersection to Bi-shan

We leave the summit and follow the ridge trail. It passes a couple of junctions and get onto a final ascent to Mt. Bi-shan (碧山) which was recently opened by volunteer hikers of Lantian-dui (藍天隊). At 12:58 we reach the summit (elev. 517m) beside an electric transmission tower. We have so far covered distance-wise a little more than a half by spending five hours. The way ahead is basically downhill, though there are some sizable climb back to remaining summits. This gives us a sense of relief that we can complete our plan.

At B-shan

Follow a wide trail

We get down to the ridge trail, which is a part of the Grand Taipei Trail system. This means easy trails and a lot of hikers. We have so far run into only a few hikers except around Mt. Neigou-shan and Mt. Laoyingjian-shan. A wide and nice trail goes along the wide ridge with some ups and downs. We pass by many hikers. The dirt trail turns into a stone paved trail at 13:33 when it merges a trail from left. A slight ascent leads to the summit of Mt. Daluntou-shan (大崙頭山, elev. 476m) and we have a good break under a observation deck. Another member says good bye to us and leaves.

Meeting a stone paved trail

Summit of Daluntou-shan

Trail head of Daluntou-shan

Seven of us set for the rest of hike at 13:55. There are two parallel trails going down. We soon take the right dirt trail. The left one is all stone steps. At the bottom we take on a wide paved road to the trail head of Mt. Datunwei-shan (大崙尾山). The trail to the summit splits into two after a short walk. The right one is an official trail covered with stones. The border line runs along this trail, so we naturally take the right one. After a short descent the trail turns into steps. A large independent rock stands by the trail near the end of climb. From its top you can have a nice view of the ridge of Mt. Daluntou-shan and beyond.

Trail head of Dalunwei-shan

A view from the big rock by the trail

Passing through the summit of Dalunwei-shan

Coming down from the summit

A shelter where we have a break

We just pass by a large flat summit of Mt. Dalunwei-shan and keep on the stone paved trail down. It gets to the bottom and goes in a forest where several large animal shaped stones still stand. This place was once an amusement park. We take a dirt trail right near the end of the paved road and get to a rest shelter at 14:41, where we have a break of 15 minutes. A thermometer under the roof shows 23 degree in Celsius. With nice breeze it feels good. 

Ridge trail

Ridge trail merges to the official trail

There is only one more peak left to reach, though it stands rather in a distance. There are two trails going parallel, one is an official stone paved trail going on the south side of the ridge and an dirt trail going on the ridge. The border line goes on the ridge, so we take the right one. It goes ups and downs to follow the terrain and merges with the official trail at 15:13. In a couple of minutes the trail splits into two. The stone paved trail goes down to the right while a dirt trail follows the ridge. We take the left dirt trail.

Meeting a lot of hikers en route

Many spots of damaged track like this

The dirt trail goes up and down twice and finally down to Jiannan-lu (劍南路) at 15:32. On this section of dirt trail we find very deep tire impressions caused by motorcycles, which make walking difficult at some points. This is a hiking trail. Motorcyclists should refrain from getting into hiking trails. Otherwise they should repair such damages if they regard they are responsible people. A short walk on the paved road leads us to a head of trail to Mt. Wenjian-shan. A man is practicing a trampette loudly by the road side. I first came to Mt. Wenjian-san more than ten years ago. Five minutes are enough for us to reach the final peak (elev. 184m). 

Getting out onto Jianna road

Trail head of Mt. Wenjian-shan

Wenjian-shan summit

The summit is now wide and clean compared with my last visit a decade ago. Much of the flat summit was covered with grasses though white seats of the time remain. This peak has been designated a part of the Grand Taipei Trail so its trail and summit have been upgraded. We have a short break and leave the summit at 15:57 and soon take a left trail. The border line goes down on the sub-ridge from here. The trail is much less traveled than the main one, but the track is still very clear. A short descent leads us to Jianna-lu coming down from the trail head. We soon see another trail goes down from the paved road and take it down.

Last ridge trail down to Jiannan-lu station

A panorama near the end of our hike

Staircase to a MRT station

The border line goes along this ridge trail. It soon gets out of woods and nice vistas spread on the both sides of the ridge. On our right we can see the whole Taipei metropolitan area and on our left mountains of Neihu district over which we have just passed. New buildings are under construction, making us feel the city's vitality. As we go down along the ridge, buildings on our right get higher, and we finally get onto Jianlan-lu again. The road makes a hairpin curve and passes in front of the building under construction. A staircase opens by the construction site down to MRT Jiannan-lu station, which we reach at 16:30.

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Another kind of boundary markers dumped near Baishihu-shan

We hiked for 8 hours and a half including breaks to cover the entire length of Neihu district border line ridge. The distance turned out to be 15 kilometers with a total ascent of 805 meters and descent 792 meters. I wonder how residents of Neihu district evaluate this figure for their own district border, long or short? The route physical index is 28.