Our Trip to Yangmingshan National Park

We wanted to see some impressive scenery on our last Saturday of vacation, so we woke up early and caught the #260 bus to Yangmingshan National Park, where we hoped to get a look at Northern Taiwan's quietly intense post-volcanic activity. 

We arrived in the park a little after noon, then headed to the visitor center for a light lunch. While we ate, we looked over the many trails reachable by the Yangmingshan's convenient shuttle system.The atmosphere was pleasant enough to invite lingering, so we took our time reading about paths involving fresh water falls, subtropical rainforest, and exotic birds. With almost 100 square miles to chose from, it was hard to narrow down our options. But eventually we decided on a hike through Xiaoyukeng, a well-known area spotted with fumaroles (steam-emitting openings in the earth's surface), sulphur crystals, and hot springs.  

The trail started out tame enough: we were surrounded by nothing but tall, hardy grasses for the first 10 minutes or so. Because of the strong monsoon winds and regular mud slides, not a lot of flora can survive in the volcanic basin. Venomous snakes, on the other hand, have no problem. The area is actually famous for them. So you better believe I kept my eyes on the ground as much as possible while we walked. Given my fear, I probably shouldn't have worn sandals...

The entire trail was made up of irregular stones. The incline increased gradually, at first.  

Even so, it wasn't long before we had climbed high enough to see the steam rising in the distance. We were heading towards scores of fumaroles...

The higher we got, the denser the fog became. At most places, it was too thick to see through, so we couldn't view a whole lot of anything in the valley below. But that was fine because the scenery on the mountain itself was plenty interesting.

 

These fumaroles were formed after the last volcanic eruption (scientists think about 5,000 years ago) when the heat contained in the magma chamber raised the temperature of the underground water... today that underground water surfaces as gentle steam. 

Where the fumaroles came close to the stone path, you could feel the intensity of the heat underground, and you could hear the soft hissing of the rising steam.

In some sections of the trail, sulphur crystals spread onto the stone path, making it smell a bit like rotten eggs.

The wilderness around the trail was teeming with wildlife. I took this short video to capture the incredible sound of the birds and insects. (To explain the embarrassingly heavy breathing: towards the top of the peak, it was all stairs... up, up, up...)

  Honestly, even though it was tiring, the journey to the top was way more enjoyable than the actual top. Because of the fog, the final peak was pretty blah. Plus it was crowded with picnickers. 

BUT, we did meet three friendly old Taiwanese climbers who insisted on sharing what they had with us. First, when we were close to the top, a man gave us a bottle of water even though we told him we had enough. Then, while we were resting on one of the benches to prepare for our journey back down, one woman demanded we eat some of her biscuits and another one (not related to or with the first) forced us to consume some of her fruit. Did we really look so helpless and exhausted that the elderly felt compelled to take pity on us? Maybe they just didn't want to carry their leftovers back to the bottom. 

After our mandatory snack, we headed back down and discovered that the fog was lifting as the sun prepared to set. I'm always a bit disappointed with how short the days are here; sunsets start at around 6:30 and it's usually dark by 7:00. I mentioned this disappointment of mine to Ferin, Mike's Taiwanse language partner, but he didn't get it at all. I guess, in some ways, we are spoiled with our long-lasting Missouri summer days.

 Our hike in Yangmingshan's volcanic basin was unlike any we've ever taken. I can already tell that the unique scenery and smells and sounds will be long stored in our mental travel scrap book, and turned to as points of comparison when we visit other places.