A few weeks ago, to be exact on the 8th till the 10th of October I participated in the trip of the community university’s mountain climbing class to a high mountain area in 台中. The goal of the three day trip was to climb 志佳陽大山 with about 3287 m altitude. The hiking action of the excursion should start on Saturday, so after arriving at a hostel late Friday night and spending a rather uncomfortable and cold night (I wore my jacket for sleeping and some their warm caps) we started out early the next day.
The first section of our hiking trip was rather easy and agreeable, we didn’t walk too far and the path was not very steep most of the time. But this was just the warm-up for the next day’s mounting to the top as I realized later. Anyway I don’t think a really long distance would have been possible for us to master on that day, for we carried our whole equipment including tents, food and cooking gear with us and some looked rather like walking store rooms of an outdoor shop…

So having arrived at rather early afternoon at our camping side we set up our tents and began shortly after that with the cooking, for a lot of us were already very hungry from the hiking before. When I realized that we had to get up at 2:00 a.m. the next morning because we wanted to start climbing at three o’clock I took it as a joke at first. Unfortunately the teacher was not kidding although I can’t deny that he wore a broad and probably very amused smile on his face when he confirmed this fact face to my incredulous asking. So we planned to go to sleep early that day what we didn’t do of course.

The next day began with us being woken by the teacher and the other assistants who seemed to be all forbiddingly fresh and active. Naturally we lost a lot of time with preparations and started climbing not at three but at four o’clock, but it was still dark so however, it felt like night all the time. Just then I finally realized that the use of the word “climbing” was really justified and our action fully satisfied the true meaning of this term. Plainly spoken this means that the so called path was very steep and resembled stairs rather than a hiking trail, but the steps were very inconveniently of irregular high and plastered with rocks and roots that tried to hinder you from pulling yourself to the next higher level. And you literally had to pull your body upwards during which action the hiking sticks really fulfilled their purpose. This part can’t be by anybody called easy or lightly done, for it is truly exhausting and a lot of our group thought about giving up halfway at the latest. But our teacher did everything to motivate us and get our spirits up, either by telling amusing anecdotes, pointing out some interesting plants or by entertaining us with his special singing. The group gradually split up and I reached the top with the first group long before the others arrived. While we were waiting for the rest in a small hut near the very peak of the mountain, we took our meal which for many included instant noodles, and brew coffee and tea, and all in all it was rather cozy even though the shelter was a draughty one and it was constantly raining outside. There we also got to know that three of our group mates couldn’t go on further and had decided to return to the camp. The others dropped in small groups and finally nearly everyone could take a picture at the mountain’s peak to prove our masterly efforts. The returning took place in irregular periods of time for we all started out at different times in small flocks. When I arrived with three others as first in our camp I could not think about anything else than about changing my clothes and taking a shower; the clothes were ready at hand but the shower had to wait till the next day. I still heard people returning when I lied in my tent ready to sleep early because we planned to get up at 4:00 a.m the next morning -insane again in my eyes- and I was really glad I had come back before nightfall, for the climbing down may be not so strenuous but very dangerous in exchange, for you can slip very easily on the steep and wet ground. The next day was coined by sleepy and exhausted faces but also by a lot of laughter like always during these days which is probably due to the teacher’s constant good mood being rather contagious. All in all the decamping went over smoothly and we made it back rather quickly. After a longer than planned lasting bus ride which took us to the showers and the restaurant which we wanted to have lunch together at, we finally could shower after two days and I never felt closer to heaven!

On the way there we stopped at some stands along the street to buy mountain grown apples which are rather expansive but very delicious! The lunch was also very good but not very vegetarian friendly, because of which I received a special vegetarian hot pot by the very nice and very shy son of the hostess who also prepared an extra large glass of the fruit seed drink we all received later for me.

During the whole trip I was very kindly and warm-heartedly cared for and looked after by everybody, so I felt really protected and safe and I was never in danger of being hungry^^!
I also want to especially thank my colleagues in the community university who lend me a lot of their equipment as well as my classmates without all of whom I would not have been able to participate in this trip! Thank you very much for it truly was a special and important experience for me and I think it will help me developing more inner strength and confidence in my own abilities. And after all it was also a lot of fun!