Caoling Trail: Daxi to Fulong, Taiwan

 The Caoling Trail (or 桃園谷步道，草嶺步道和草嶺古道)

My last post was a teaser to see how many of you could recognize this historic trail- it is, in fact, the Caoling Trail, which actually consists of three separate trails: the Caoling Trail, the Caoling Historic Trail, and the Taoyuan Valley Trail（草嶺步道 and 草嶺古道 and 桃園谷步道） and together run about 20km from Daxi train station (大溪站） to Fulong train station （福隆站）.  By far my favorite non-mountain trail so far in Taiwan, this beautiful path takes you through lush forests, bushy grasslands, and breezy peaks, yielding a new breath-taking view at every turn.

Jenny and I started our day a little later than anticipated, but managed to hop on a train from Badu station (八堵站) in Keelung over to Daxi station and ate our typical Taiwanese breakfasts of peanut butter toast and soy milk on the train over.  Once we got to Daxi, it was already 10 am; a very late start as we still had to run an errand at the post office before we could hit the trail.  By the time we reached the Taoyuan Valley trailhead, it was almost 11am.  I don't recommend anyone do this- we had to bust a serious move through the 20km ahead and still ended up hiking the last 6km to Fulong Train Station in the dark.

Watching out for the cows...

The Taoyuan Valley Trail was mostly on stairs in a covered forest, and because there had just been a typhoon a few days earlier, a lot of the trail was totally covered in downed trees and bits and pieces of debris.  Despite the need to take a few detours off the stone stairs (a much needed respite from the endless stairmaster), it was a very pleasant segment where we saw tons of wildlife: butterflies, birds, spiders, snakes, furry unidentified mammals, and random insects and the peak had 360 views of the mountaintop and surrounding mountains.  Whether this view was worth all the stairs, I have yet to decide; those stairs were brutal!

Tell us how you really feel:  Too Many Stairs!

The second section, the Caoling Trail, wandered through lush grasslands with even more beautiful views of the mountains we had just climbed.  Farmland could be seen in the distance, and midway through the trail was a very large pasture for the local cows to nibble.  This section was a relatively easy walk though there were some major hills to climb (no stairs!), and every turn of the path gave a new, equally breath-taking view of either the mountains or ocean.  This section is probably the most rewarding of the three trails and we were horrified to find out there was a parking lot in the middle of it, so tourists could walk up the hill from the parking lot just to take pictures before going home.  We ran into a few of these tourists who were flabbergasted that we would walk the entire thing in one day; we simply smiled, being equally flabbergasted that someone would drive to one of the most beautiful natural landscapes just to take a photo and leave again!

Cheating your way to the top: Not so satisfying

My Favorite Thing!!!  Come home with meeeee!

The final section of the Caoling Trail, The Caoling Historic Trail, is a much more manecured section with guard rails and totally paved roads.  In this section there are also a number of Steele left by Qing Dynasty administrators in order to tame the wild winds and fog.  Famous in Taiwan and a not-to-be-missed for many, by the time we arrived at this section we had very little light left.  Because of this, we decided not to linger here and take the usual photos and instead opted to double-step it to the end of the trail.  Luckily, we brought head lamps so scrambling through the last kilometer of the trail wasn't too dangerous, although there were quite a few sets of mini stairs.  While we were walking, we were accompanied by the sound of the stream rushing along next to us, and although we couldn't see it well in the twilight, what we could see, the large smooth boulders and flowing water, was beautiful and almost dream-like.

So many choices, where do we go!?

When we finally reached the end of the trail in Fulong, we still had several more kilometers to walk before we reached the train station.  Jenny insisted that this was the longest 5km of her entire life- we were walking along the highway in the dark with trucks whizzing by at regular intervals and the smell of highway accompanied us all the way to the station.  At the sight of the train station and actual stores, Jenny was relieved and so was I!  We headed into a 7-11 and bought some drinks and a few snacks to celebrate while we waited for the next train home.

Tiger inscription to tame the winds

Tips:

1. The full trail takes about 7-10 hours, depending on how fast you hike, how many photos you stop to take, and how many snacks you stop to eat (we had a picnic lunch, which I highly recommend!).   
2. Trains (and especially express trains) run more frequently out of Fulong Train Station, so it is  a better idea to get off at Daxi and work your way back to civilization, otherwise you could be waiting a long time for a train once you get to Daxi station with absolutely nothing around and depending on the time of day, literally nothing open (not to mention the Daxi side of the trail is all stairs- you'll want to be at full strength to climb them!).
3. Start early in the morning, and try to rest out of the sun during the hottest part of the day.  The sun can be absolutely brutal and most of the trail leaves you totally exposed, so if you don't want to fry, plan a siesta or lunch between 11:30-1:30.  Fear not, it's a beautiful place to hang out and take photos for a couple of hours, and your skin will thank you.
4. There is at least one place to top up your water bottle, but make sure you bring at least two liters of water with you unless you're a camel- you'll need it!  Even with ample water and a mid-day rest, I still ended up with mild heat exhaustion.  
5. And while you're at it, bring some snacks- 20km is quite a distance, especially since the Taoyuan Valley segment is all stairs!  We made our own trail mix from dried fruits, salted nuts, peanut M&M's, and mini-pretzels and it was great to nibble on along the way.
6. The weather is constantly changing once you get to the plateau; keep this in mind as winds can reach dangerous speeds during winter months, and the area's famous fog once devoured traveling merchants.  Or so the saying goes.
7. This trail can be walked from Daxi Station- 大溪站 or Dali Station- 大理站 (if you choose Dali, the walk will be faster and you will avoid the stairs).  To get to the trail head, take a local train from Taipei (or anywhere else) to Daxi or Dali Station and follow the signs to the trail head.  If starting at Daxi, turn left out of the train station and stay on the left side of the road as you walk through town.  The trail head will be on the left hand side after a car park.  The stairs start here!