Hiking in the Dakeng Scenic Area

The weekend was one of those rare 2-day weekends because my students were busy at their regular school making up the day they missed on account of the holiday. It feels great to say, “Have a nice weekend” to my boss on Friday evening instead of on Saturday morning. We woke up early on Sunday morning to avoid the midday heat and headed towards the Dakeng Scenic Area [大坑風景區] in Taichung [台中].

Located in Taichung’s Beitun District [台中市北屯區] on the Touke Mountain Range [頭嵙山] the area hosts 8 different trails with various levels of difficulty. We took Trail #2 up and Trail #1 down. I heard from one source that Trail #5 is the most difficult… so hopefully when the weather is a bit cooler a return trip will be planned.

Trail #2 is more challenging than Trail #1. Trail #2 is about 1,250 meters long and has a couple of 60-degree slopes. Trail #1 is 1,520 meters long, mostly shaded, and suitable for children. Both trails connect with Trail #5 at the top.

One of the trail’s more gentle areas:

This young man in the group behind us had a huge ear-to-ear grin the entire time his group was behind ours… whether it was because he was checking out May or Jason the whole time isn’t known:

Finished with Trail #2 and about to descend down Trail #1. I had my Nikon D40 around my neck the whole trail without any worries [I only took it off to give to others to take pictures]…

The D40 and its bundled Nikon 18-55mm II was love at first sight for me. Anyone on the fence about going DSLR should pick one up… you’ll thank me later. The camera is smaller and less expensive than the D80 and D200, pumps out good photos with little effort, and is lightweight and comfortable to hold so people who have never held a DSLR camera before aren’t intimidated when holding it for the first time.

Case in point, the first time Cathy saw the camera she exclaimed that she wouldn’t be able to use it. As a DSLR, it’s huge compared to the Coolpix P3 she had grown accustomed to. After a 15-second explanation on using the viewfinder to compose photos and how to zoom, she quickly found joy in using it.

The post-hike shaved-ice dessert really hit the spot:

16 thoughts on “Hiking in the Dakeng Scenic Area”

Todd,

I can see you’re putting your new camera to good use. Terrific shot!

Oops,

I was a little eager to post. I meant to say, “Terrific shots!” I especially like the butterfly and dragonfly photos. It looks like you had a great day!

Thanks Carrie!

Hi Todd,
I’m just wondering if you got a mail i sent from your blog on Saturday.
Cheers, Ben

Hi Ben,
Yes, I replied just before you posted here.
Todd

erm… oops. Your reply ended up in the spam box. My fault. Got it!

The #5 is probably the most challenging in that it’s a ridgetop trail, and thus you are constantly going up and down (I also dislocated my knee on the #5 and had to pop it back into place by myself, but that’s another story). There is a spur trail from the #5 accessible from trails 1 & 2 that is pleasant to walk on, and usually isn’t crowded with hikers.

The hardest path up is probably the #4 trail. A lot of the vegetation slid off the mountain as a result of the 921 earthquake, leaving much of the path exposed to the elements. The views, however, are excellent.

There is also a 9th trail that joins up with the #6. I’m not sure how official it is, though.

As always Jim, thanks for the info!

If you ever want to join me for a hike in Dakeng, let me know!

Thanks Jim, I’ll let you know next time I’ll be around those parts.

HOw do i get there from Taichung train station?

too cold now to go you think?

Della – I think you will find the following website helpful:

http://eng.taiwan.net.tw/lan/Cht/attractions/scenic_spots.asp?id=R22&sid=

As for the weather: If it’s not too cold for you by all means do it! Just remember to wear gloves as you will need to use your hands to hold the ropes and railings on the way up and down.

Hey there. Just visiting family here and saw your webpage. My cousing lives in dakeng and I’m interested in doing a hike. Want to join?
I didn’t thought it’d be so quiet here.
Conroy faber