November 12, 2014
Hualien
Almost a rest day
This was another very nice day, although the weather wasn't quite as cooperative as yesterday's. We made a pretty lazy day of it, biking only 30 miles (and much of that downhill) and taking in a few short walks. We spent the morning further exploring the lower end of the gorge, mostly hiking the trails around Eternal Springs Shrine. The shrine commemorates the many workers who died constructing the cross island highway, but is also a testament to how unstable the earth is here - first built in 1958, it has been rebuilt twice since then because the earlier incarnations were destroyed in earthquakes. The trails here, as in most of the gorge, are littered with dire warnings to watch for falling rocks and not tarry beneath the cliffs.
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
| Heart | 0 | Comment | 0 | Link |
After finishing our tour of the shrines (featuring a climb of about 1000 steps), we dropped to the visitor center and set off on a walk along the Decalun Trail. This trail, at least the part we completed, is more or less a continuous stair climb. After another 1000 step ascent with no end in sight we turned around. After this we dropped out of the park and biked out to Chongde Beach for a look at the famous, dramatic Qingshui Cliffs rising precipitously off to the north. We finished off the day riding down the coast to Hualien, mostly in a light rain. Even in the rain the ride was enjoyable, mostly following a cycle path.
Today's ride: 30 miles (48 km)
Total: 200 miles (322 km)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 1 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |