Jinzibei Historical Trail 金字碑古道 and Xiaojingua Outcrop 小金瓜露頭

 

A picturesque stretch of road at the top of the Jinzibei Historical Trail

Amazing view of mountains and sea from Xiaojingua Outcrop

This walk starts in the village of Houtong, climbs via the peaceful green tunnel of Jinzibei Historical Trail to a picturesque stretch of road with views in all directions and then goes to the top of craggy Xiaojingua Outcrop for more excellent views of mountains and ocean. On a sunny day with clear weather this is an excellent place to be striding along looking at the green mountains shading into blue in the distance and at the water. Afterwards it descends by another route back to Houtong passing a tall waterfall along the way.

Distance/Time:  12.1 km/ 5 hours. More details and a map can be found here: http://rblr.co/Odjng

The Trail: This moderate walk is a combination of stone steps, road walking and dirt paths. Its a long, steep climb from Houtong to the road but after that it is mostly level until the descent. Here is the elevation profile.

Some parts are slippery but mostly the footing is good. There is loose, dry stone near the summit of Xiaojingua Peak.

Jinzibei (Golden Characters Tablet) Historical Trail is named for the golden characters inscribed into the rock face at one point on the trail. Jinzibei trail is like a quiet green tunnel and a pleasant but steep walk that offers great views once it reaches the road.

The highlight of the walk is the mountain and ocean views. Cai Dao Lun Waterfall 菜刀崙瀑布 near the end is impressive after heavy rain.

What to bring:  The path is mostly wide and not overgrown so I wore shorts. Along the road and on the peak it is very exposed so sun protection (hat, long sleeves, sunscreen) are important. Take plenty of water in hot weather.

There are shops and restaurants in Houtong but when I arrived at 8:30 am, most of them seemed to be closed. So its better to stock up beforehand if arriving early. There used to be a convenience store outside the train station and I was planning to buy something to eat there but it was closed and the sign dismantled. 

Transportation: I took the 7:35 train from Taipei Main Station to Houtong. The ticket was $56.  There are quite a few trains to Houtong every day and they all take about an hour.

I love a train trip and a book. On the train I read Ben McGrath's Riverman, about an eccentric American who solo paddled a canoe for thousands of miles over a period of twenty years. It was a great prelude to outdoor activity. 

On the way back I caught a 2:10 train to Taipei.

The hike:  Exiting the ticket gate at the station, I took wooden steps down to ground level. Houtong Village is bisected by the train tracks and there is a wooden tunnel going over to the other side of the village but I went directly down to ground level.

Houtong, also known as the Houtong Cat Village, is an interesting and popular town to visit as a day trip. There are exhibits about the coal mining industry and it's also famous because of the hordes of docile cats lounging around the town.

At the bottom of the steps I exited the station facing the Vision Hall.

At this time of day the village was still quiet. I started hiking at 8:45. 

I turned left in front of the Vision Hall and walked through a car park until I came to a bridge over the wide Keelung River. Already the view of the green hills was beautiful.  

After crossing the bridge I turned left again and followed a narrow road. It was the first sunny day after weeks of rain and the first really hot day of the year. The afternoon forecast predicted a high of 34 C.  Lots of residents were taking advantage of the weather to hang out their wash. 

When the road met another two way road there was a brown sign with an arrow pointing right toward the Jinzibei Historical Trail. In just a few meters I came to a stream with a terraced series of weirs. 

In this photos three hikers can be seen making their way to the trail.

I turned left after the stream and walked uphill for less than 10 minutes to reach the trailhead near a parking area. It took about 20 minutes to walk from the train station to this point. 

 

 

There had been three hikers ahead of me but they went left. I turned right and had the trail to myself. At the trail entrance there is a shelter house and a map board.  Steps--covered in moss and small green plants, but with good traction--led upward. 

It's a stiff climb of about an hour to the top of the trail. The trail was mostly in shade and felt like a quiet green tunnel. The only sounds I could hear were birds, distant traffic or a passing train, and the clicking of my hiking pole on the steps. 

Just before reaching the Golden Characters Tablet the trail levels and then climbs again. 

 

 

There is a sign that explains that a regional military commander had a poem inscribed into the rock face after he led a patrol here in 1867 and found the route "tortuous and difficult." It is a designated historical site.

 

 I continued through another level section and up stone steps and in a little over ten minutes came to a concrete platform with a shelter house, another stone tablet in the middle and a Tudigong (Earth God) Shrine. 

 

Looking backwards from the concrete platform I saw the first good view of the day.

 

Here I made a miscalculation. There is a trail behind the shelter house and I should have taken this trail. Instead I went straight ahead, down slippery steps to the road. By the time I realized my mistake I decided to just stay on the road. The path that starts behind the shelter runs parallel to the road about a kilometer later anyway.  I reached the road just after 10:00.

It was nice to walk in the open and there was not much traffic. There were lots of lizards and skinks rustling in the grass at the edge of the road as they fled.

 When I got to the point where the trail and road were parallel I hopped over a low retaining wall and joined the path. 

 Soon I reached a viewing platform with a near 360 degree view. This is a popular area and there were cyclists, car drivers and motorcyclists all gathering here to take photos. Some motorcyclists were taking turns driving down the road and taking videos of each other. There was even a road side vendor  I was the only hiker that I noticed though some people were parking and taking walks on the road. 

I have heard that this stretch of road has been used for car commercials.

After taking in the view I continued along the road. In the distance between two electricity pylons, I could see the jagged, rocky bump of XiaoJinghua Lutou (or outcrop) which was my next destination. Its about 2 kilometers from the viewpoint.

There was were more good views along the road and occasional traffic but it was not dangerous. 

Just after the 19.5 kilometer marker on the right side of the road there are very slippery steps (with ropes to help keep balance) leading up to a small shrine.

In a little over thirty minutes I reached the entrance of the Dacukeng Historical Trail. 

This was the path I planned to take back down to Houtong but first I went just a few meters further and took the next left--a road that leads to Xiaojinghua Outcrop.

 There is more than one way to get to the top but when I reached a path of concrete slabs I went right and soon left up steps going around behind the hill through grass and onto a dirt path.

I wondered around here for a while before I went to the top. First I walked to the top of the next hill but this was sort of a waste of time since there was nothing on top but the huge electricity pylon.

Then I went back down and following a sign that read Lutou (outcrop) I climbed to the top. Halfway up I was glad I delayed because I was treated to the sight of a huge brown raptor that glided around in the space between the two hills alighting twice. 

From the top of the peak I could see Mt. Keelung and Teapot Mountain, Jiu Fen below and the ocean beyond.  I read that this was the first place that gold was found in Jinguashi in 1893.

Keelung Mountain and Teapot Mountain

 

 A friendly older couple joined me at the top and we talked for a while and just as I was leaving two more people came.

I went back down by another path joining the road that I had taken on the way in and walked back to the Dacukeng Trail entrance. This is a relatively easy, approximately 4km descent to Houtong. 

Coming around a bend I saw three dogs. One of them barked at me but I could tell by their body language that they were shy and gentle. They mostly wanted to just lie in the sun on the road and not be bothered. Walking slowly, I gave them a wide berth and they returned the favor. 

In 600 meters I came to steep steps going down on the right. This was the way I planned to go but there was yellow tape and a sign across the trail. I couldn't really make out what the sign said but I assumed it was some sort of trail damage.

I knew that the road straight ahead would rejoin the path below the stairs so I stayed on the road and followed it downhill around a bend and joined the trail at the bottom.

 

The path passed a quaint traditional house and some ruins next to it. I think these are the remains of what used to be an entire village during the mining era. Just after the house there was more yellow tape across the path and another sign. This time I stepped over the tape and went on. 

From here the trail went down more steeply on dry concrete steps and slabs. I soon found out why the yellow tape was there. A huge pile of soil and large, blocks of rock covered the trail. But the pile was stable and it was very easy to walk around the edge of the slide. It was nothing compared to some of the paths you find on Taiwan's wilder trails. 

Soon the path was near a swift, frothy stream on the left. Still following the stream it passed a moss and vine covered wall and going down steps came to a house---the stream flowing under a bridge. 

Looking up to the left I could see Cai Dao Lun Waterfall. The last time I had been here it had been dry but this day veils of white water cascaded down a rock face.

Cai Lun Dao Waterfall

I thought it must be nice to live right here and to only have to walk outside to see the waterfall. 

I went down the road passing in front of the house. I walked for about 750 meters, passing other houses and came to the Jinzibei trailhead where I had started in the morning. 

 From here I retraced my outward route back to Houtong Train Station. 

Maps and GPS coordinates:

Jinzibei Historical Trail entrance: 25.090523, 121.836981

Viewpoint on the road: 25.089243, 121.847582

Dacukeng Historical Trail entrance (from the top): 25.099371, 121.847908

Xiaojingua Outcrop: 25.100385, 121.845085

Cai Lun Dao Waterfall: 25.090014, 121.843174

http://rblr.co/Odjng