Trekking Trip
Hello, friends! I recently visited Kaohsiung City in the south of Taiwan to meet and hang out with my friends. As part of my plan, I wanted to go for a river trekking trip along the Baolai River, but unfortunately, none of my friends dared to join me.
In this blog, I am excited to share how I tagged along with a random group of local hikers I met during this adventure. I'll take you through the fantastic features of this river that pleasantly surprised me.
Shikeng Hot Springs
Firstly, this trail runs alongside the Baolai River, covering an approximate distance of 7km. It is situated in a very remote area of Kaohsiung , and for that reason, unlike my other blogs, I won't recommend visiting here as a tourist or if you are a beginner in this kind of activity.
Yep, this wasn't my first time going on a solo adventure. In fact, I often go cycling and for short hikes alone. It just so happened that I came across a social media post about this trail, which piqued my interest due to the presence of hot springs. Because it is getting cold again in Taiwan! π
You'll find hot springs at both ends of this trail. The first is located at the starting point, where most people set up camps; however, the hot spring there is small. Meanwhile, at the other end is a larger one, yet it can be quite dangerous to set up camp there.
No wonder why I found stones here that are yellow and orange in color. It must be because of the sulfuric reaction emanating from the spring.
Trekking the River
As I only have a few days of stay in Kaohsiung, I plan to make this trip a day trip. So, even though it is alluring to camp in this place, I don't have any choice but to enjoy a tiring day trip.
New Friends
I arrived at the starting point at around 8 AM and parked my motorcycle near the campsite. As I started the trip, I noticed a group of locals ahead of me, and I thought about tagging along with them for the entire journey.
So I tried to approach them, introduce myself, and get to know them. Fortunately, they were also heading to the other end of the trail where the bigger hot spring is located, and they planned to do the whole trip in a day! Yay! I got a company!
Baolai River
Baolai River is a long river that originates from the highest mountain in Taiwan, Yushan. It flows across the cities of Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Pingtung and concludes in the southwestern part of Taiwan, just below Kaohsiung City.
Meditating
We arrived at our destination exactly at noon. I took some time to bathe in the hot spring; however, I did not take pictures as I found the place packed with naked people. It was enough for me to see it; I didn't want to get into trouble π€£. After bathing, I went to the middle of the river and spent some time enjoying the calmness of nature and meditating.
Heading Back
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Heading back was a bit challenging as the weather conditions suddenly changed to cloudy, and the trail became misty and cold. However, it did not stop me from appreciating nature; to me, it gave me a different feeling and a kind of excitement.
We also made several stops as everybody got tired along the trip. By the way, this guy is the eldest among the group. I just learned that they all met at their church, and this guy is their big brother. He brought the group on this trip for a short retreat during their school break.
While waiting for the group to recover, I swam in a deeper part at the edge of the river where I found a lot of fish that amusingly avoided me, haha!
Jeepneys
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While we were on our way heading back, we came across a few jeepneys! They were packed with camping gear and heading to the other side of the trail where the big spring is located. I was amazed and a bit envious of them, haha! I wish I could tag along with them too, lol!
Although it is very tiring to walk through thousands of rocks the whole day, I really enjoyed it and it gave me a whole kind of experience. I'm also happy that I have met new local friends!
I am ending my blog here, I hope you enjoyed reading through and looking at the awesome photos I took in this adventure!
Thanks for reading through! εθ¦!
-krios
Other blogs
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Mt. Qixing Yangmingshan: A Quick Hike in Taipei City |
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A Weekend Retreat: Camping, Waterfalls, and Scenic Views in Yilan County, Taiwan |
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My gears:
- Canon D200 II
- Insta360 One x2
- DJI Mini 4 Pro
- Xiaomi 11 Lite
All photos are mine unless otherwise stated and/or referenced