I was invited to go on a hike this week, and I was very pleased as it would be a great way to see a part of Hong Kong that I wouldn't normally see and to meet some new people. Little did I know what was in store for me!I was told that we would be leaving at 11pm at night (too hot during the day), 11 people, 20km and we'd take about 7-8hours. Now I was thinking... hmmm how can a 20km walk take 7-8 hours?
I took with me 3L of water, a fold up umbrella, some dried mangoes and raisins and a torch all in a shopping bag. The others were a bit surprised when I turned up looking like i was off on a shopping trip.
Anyways off we went...
We walked up a mountain where we got some of the most incredible views over the New Territories, but for some reason we didn't stop to take in the scenery we just pointed and said wow and kept walking...?! Actually there wasn't much talking the whole trip, except perhaps to say "siu sum" meaning be careful as there were plenty of slippery bits.
After a few hours we got to the Hok Tau Resevoir and had our longest break the whole night...10mins. People even took their bags off! I was hoping for a swim but apparently you can't swim where there are no lifesavers.
So we set off on the next stage of the walk, straight up the mountainside again and here is where i found how a 20km trip could take all night. The terrain here is very steep and we went up and down up and down all night long. I was absolutely completely and utterly buggered by the end of the night. Meanwhile the others seemed to be doing fine. Much respect to Hong Kong hikers!
I've tried to give some perspective of the elevation using a Google Earth picture, however it looks like it is flat on top, which it certainly wasn't! We walked from sea level up to the top and back down and back up again. And up top there was plenty of ups and downs. Arrgghhh!
For more information and maps on the Wilson Trail see: http://www.hkwalkers.net/longtrail/eng/wtrai/wtrail.html
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