Looking north toward the FeiTsui reservoir
Rock on narrow trail
Dan on steep trail
Lion's Head ridge
View over GuiShan from Eastern lookout at XiangTianHu
We are starting to feel the heat of summer so we started out earlier than usual meeting at 5:30 and on the trail at 7:00. We park at the temple at the end of the road to XiangTianHu (向天湖). Disoriented we walk West to a view above tea fields on the GuiShan (龜山) valley. There is a simple grave at the top of the tea fields and a working couple comes up to pick tea.
We double back West, climbing up to and along a narrow and steep ridge in the forest. We reach XiangTianHu peak about 30 minutes from where we parked. The soil is thick.
As the ridge broadens we come to a site where the forestry bureau has contracted planting of 50 hectars of WuHsinShih (烏心石) Michelia compressa (endemic) and TuYing (杜英) Elaeocarpus sylvestris (Common elaeocarpus) for furniture. Bags of rat poison are laid to protect the seedlings and we come across them for kilometers along the trail. We spot a poisoned red-bellied squirrel Callosciurus erythraeus 赤腹松鼠 (膨鼠).
There are trails down towards farms in the PingGuang valley. We pass a trail dropping off to the right to PingGuangLu (平廣路) road which we will eventually take down. We continue to another fork where a trail drops down to into the HongHeGu (紅河谷 also named 加九寮) valley only a minute downhill. We met two hikers here headed to 拔刀爾 (Betty Lou). We stay on the ridge following signs towards 加九嶺. After a steep climb up a poorly marked and cleared section of trail we get up to a fork in the ridge. Going West the trail goes to JiaJiuLing 加九嶺 and should continue to the Lion's Head ridge (獅頭山). We continue South, and after a five minute descent arrive at the saddle point in the trail from LeLeGu (樂樂谷) to HongHeGu (紅河谷), and a crossing trail along the ridges from XiangTianHu (向天湖山) towards ZhuLuShan (逐鹿山). We meet the two hikers again here who have doubled back because they realized they forgot the keys to the vehicle they left at their destination. After chatting with two hikers we have encountered for the second time, we head down the easier trail towards HongHeGu. At the connector to the XiangTianHu trail, we go back up the trail we had come in on and walk back to the turn off towards PingGuangLu.
This trail is difficult to follow in some steep sections dropping into the ravines but it eventually opens up into the farmed areas of the PingGuang Valley. After walking 60 minutes from the ridge, the trail comes near the Southern end of PingGuang road, coming in along the left fork of the stream.
