Shakadang Trail

Shakadang Trail

I had set the alarm for 0500, expecting it to be easy as I woke up naturally at that time yesterday.  Sure enough, it wasn’t a problem and I got on the 0630 bus again just fine.

I was dropped off at 0720 at the Shakadang stop and after having my sandwich, I walked down the steps by the river bridge to the trail running under an overhang that was carved into the gorge.

The Shakadang trail is famous for its clear blue waters and it certainly didn’t disappoint.  The boulders in the river were massively impressive as well.

The rock overhang opened up into lush green forested areas which had some indigenous people farming on it.  They seem to cultivate the birds nest fern and also have a few eateries along the route.

After 1h10, I reached the end of the Shakadang trail.  Coincidentally, this was the time I had set for a turnaround to get back in time for the next bus.  I had planned on short-cutting the walk if it turned out to be “more of the same” towards the later parts.  Yes, it did but it wasn’t necessary for me to cut it short.

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I got back to the bus with time to spare only to find that it was late.  To make it worse, Shakadang is on a one-way stop meaning that I have to take the bus further into the park one stop before I can take the bus to leave the park.

When the bus did arrive, we were stuck in the tunnel for ages along with lots of traffic.  It meant that I had missed my connection back to Hualien.

I finally got back to Hualien around 1245 as opposed to 1125 if the buses had been on schedule.  I repeated my lunch of a Vietnamese sandwich before returning to the hostel.

Massage

I had noticed a massage place a few steps from the hostel and it looked pretty legit. While it wasn’t the price that I like to pay in developing countries, Taiwan is a developed country and it’s still cheaper than New Zealand.  It was NTD1000 (NZD54) for an hour.

I decided to do an hour of the meridian massage with oil.  It was a normal Chinese massage employing pressure point complemented with some long strokes.

The manipulation leaves nothing unturned along the shoulders and back wheras the Thai technique does spaces out each “press”.

My skin was very dry from all the sun I had had in the Maldives and the oil was much needed.  Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough of it!

I spent the rest of the afternoon looking for an ATM before dinner.  Many were either domestic-only, didn’t take Plus but only Cirrus or imposed a hefty fee of NTD100 (NZD5.40). The walk gave me a chance to explore more of Hualien.

Getting around Taroko Gorge

When I planned for Taroko Gorge, I considered taking one of the shuttle bus tours available for around USD40-50 per day.  Doing the gorge by public transport would cost less than USD10.

The reviews for the shuttle bus tours were mixed.  People who wanted to do the walks properly were generally disappointed whereas people who just wanted to hop off the bus for some photos and selfies were quite happy.  I was probably in the first camp but not a serious hiker.

With two full days in Hualien to allow for bad weather, I thought I could just do the public transport option.

From Hualien, the 310 bus leaves from the station to service all the stops in the park.  A daily pass is available but I was assured that if I use the Easycard to tap on and off, the price would add up to the same as going from Hualien to the furthest stop and back, ie. the fares are additive and does not disadvantage people doing many small hops.

Knowing that there are other bus companies servicing all the same stops but with different origination points (eg. the 302 which start at Xincheng station), I thought it would be best to avoid the pass and just use the Easycard.

I can just catch whichever bus that comes along first.  It turned out to be a good decision as it saved me some waiting.

Taroko aftermath

I have a number of insect bites on my lower legs, close to my ankles.  They itchy quite badly and a couple have come to a juicy head that may start leaking soon.

Unfortunately, I don’t have any antihistamine creams but will rely on tablets.  Perhaps I should have worn higher socks than just ankle ones.

Weather and my packing review

I did this trip with no checked-in luggage but just a 7kg cabin bag allowance.  I was just over the 7kg limit but could probably get through by wearing my pullover.

A significant contributor to the weight was my hiking shoes which I considered desirable for the Taroko Gorge hikes. As it turned out, all the walks yesterday were like “a walk in the park” because the harder portions were closed off.

And today’s longer hike was largely paved.  Someone even had a baby stroller on the Shakadang Trail, having carried it down the steps at the trailhead.  So, my hiking shoes may not have been completely necessary.

My pullover turned out to be comfortably warm (but not entirely necessary) only for a few hours on the trip so far.  So, my pullover was also not completely necessary.  [Edit: It actually turned out quite useful in Jiufen for a couple of days in cool damp weather.]

I guess I’ve been very lucky at Taroko (and nearly the whole trip) with the weather with cloud cover but no rain.  It could have been very different.  The temperatures have been largely neither hot nor cold, but damp and humid.  While temperatures were kinda perfect, I found myself slightly sweaty and sticky due to the dampness.