One of the things I enjoy the most when I’m out hiking are the sections of trail that require you to do a bit of actual climbing. Compared with flatter trails, which feel like going for a walk in the forest, those sections fill me with a sense of adventure. The thing is, they don’t need to be particularly difficult to be fun; you can have a route which, by climbing standards, is pretty easy, but the fact that it’s too steep to simply walk up, and you’re out in nature rather than at a climbing gym, makes it feel adventurous. The Shiniushan trail (direct translation : Stone Cow Mountain) just north-east of Hsinchu City, is perfect for this. The trail is pretty short, it only took my friend and I a little over two hours, but a large portion of it is scrambling. Not only that, many of the scrambling sections are steeper and more technical than other trails e.g. Five Finger Mountain. This means you can go out, enjoy a bit of climbing, and be back in time for brunch. Of course it doesn’t hurt that the view from the peak is magnificent. There’s not much more to say, I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Approaching a ladder that’s fixed in place. Without it the trail would be much more difficult

My turn climbing the ladder. When your on it it doesn’t feel entirely secure which adds to the sense of adventure.

The trail goes through this narrow tunnel beneath a boulder
This is what it looks like from the other side

Making our way through the jungle

It can be refreshing to be out in the open for a couple of minutes…
…but I really like the light shining in through the canopy

Onwards and upwards through the jungle

As we got higher up the jungle started thinning out…
…and we could see more patches of blue sky overhead
Nearly there
Just a short distance from the peak you can get a sense of what the view will be like

I made a short video as well

The trail marker for the peak
The view from the peak is amazing; so amazing in fact, that my friend couldn’t stop looking at it long enough for a selfie