Our Way To The Top

Saturday, February 5, the 3rd day of the Chinese New Year, was warm and bright. It was our first morning to wake up in our apartment. We had spent the entire last week getting settled in so it seemed we deserved a great day off. 

We had both heard about the trail that leads to Victoria Peak and Rusty had been talking about it since our visit in December. I think he envisioned this pleasant stroll from our apartment to the trailhead and then up. Well up it was.

We took off in the direction of the tram and very quickly found a trail. Naturally we assumed this was it. We headed up the trail, then found a path, then went down a road to another trail and so it went. Up we climbed, zig zagging back and forth on incredibly steep trails, paths and roads.

There were times I had to stop and catch my breath. This did give me the opportunity to really look at the incredible vegetation in our new subtropical home: palms, ferns, fig trees, giant elephant ears and every vine imaginable. The moist earth smelled musky and oh so rich. Thank goodness it was getting cooler as we ascended the Peak since I was definitely getting hotter.

At last  we were almost there. The only problem was the very last leg of the hike involved walking on a road that was built for one car, but allowed two plus walkers. As the cars rounded turns one vehicle had to back up to make way for the others and you can just forget the walkers. It was wait and then run around the turns when the coast was sort of clear. We felt lucky to make it there in one piece. This time my heart was racing for a totally different reason.

Of course the view was well worth it. The day was clear and we could see not only Hong Kong, Victoria Harbor and Kowloon, but also the mountains of the New Territories and Lantau Island. What a beautiful sight! 

And then we saw it. Another trail. The trail to the Mid-Levels. The one we were looking for. Naturally we'd take that one back down. But first some water, an ice cream cone and some serious people watching. The Peak was packed with visitors for Chinese New Year. 

After our respite we headed to the Mid-Levels Trail. It began very steeply. It was seriously a 75 degree angle. Surely this would level off. No such luck. The entire trail was amazingly steep and we actually saw people running up it. I'm not sure I could even walk up it! Going down wasn't difficult, but up? You've got to be kidding. Thank goodness we found our own way to the top even if it was a rather strange journey.