The road up from 滑雪山莊 (Hua xue mountain lodge) where we started our day.

Can you spot the trailhead? It's right next to the entrance of the tunnel ...

... where you have to climb the roadside fence to actually start hiking. By the way, here is where I lifted my legs high enough to see my shoes and noticed I was still wearing my sandals.

The view back towards the road.

The sign at the trailhead says 羊頭山 (Yang tou shan) is the lowest of the 百岳 (Taiwan's 100 Highest Peaks) with its 3035 meters elevation but, depending on the age of the list you consult, the ranking looks a little different. On Wikipedia it ranks 96th.

The trail leads you past beautiful trees ...

... several metal stairs ...

... and a few flat areas that allow your legs to take a break.

Thanks to our good weather we saw quite far towards 花蓮 (Hua lian), which was covered by a sea of clouds.

In the right third of this photo you spot can a pointy peak, which is 奇萊北峰 (Qi lai north peak), as well as the forest-covered 屏風山 (Ping feng shan).

The last section of the trail is very nice to walk. If you look back you see the beautiful view ...

... and if you look left and right you see 杜鵑花 (Rhododendron).

Close to the ridge line is the crossroad towards 羊頭山 (Yang tou shan), today's destination, and 畢祿山 (Bi lu shan), which with its 3371 meters elevation, didn't fit into today's schedule (or mindset).

Here you can see 奇萊北峰 (Qi lai north peak) again, just left of the tree, as well as the grassy hill on its right, which is where 滑雪山莊 (Hua xue mountain lodge) lies.

Once again the beautiful view back towards 花蓮 (Hua lian).

On the left is 無明山 (Wu ming shan) and the pointy one in the back is 中央尖山 (Zhong yang jian shan).

The round peak on the right is 畢祿山 (Bi lu shan). Further in the background you can see – from right to left – 合歡山北峰 (He huan shan north peak), the wide grassy one, 合歡山主峰 (He huan shan main peak), the one with the cloud above it, and 合歡山東峰 (He huan shan east peak), the grassy one left of the cloud. The rocky one on the far left is, once again, 奇萊北峰 (Qi lai north peak).

The triangulation point at the top of 羊頭山, 3035 meters above sea level. In the background you can see 中央尖山 (Zhong yang jian shan), the impressive pointy one, and 無明山 (Wu ming shan), covered by a branch.

The view from the top towards South East.

And finally the mandatory group photo, as always with my flags. :-)

Getting ready at the 雪山登山口 (Xue shan trail head).

Don't forget to look back, otherwise you might miss this great view. Of course from behind the water tank it's even better.

七卡山莊 (Qi ka mountain hut), about an hour from the trail head. It is mostly used by people who arrive in the afternoon or at night and prepare for a single-day ascent to one of the peaks.

The first three kilometers are mostly in the forest but relatively easy to walk.

The higher you get the less forest and the better the view.

The 哭坡 (Ku po), the "Slope of pain", isn't as bad as the name suggests. In fact, the part right after 七卡山莊 (Qi ka mountain hut) is probably more difficult and much longer.

The view to the opposite side where you can see 中央尖山 (Zhong yang jian shan) on the very left and 無明山 (Wu ming shan) near the center.

Mountain birds aren't scared of people much. This one hopped around me for minutes while I was eating my lunch. Apparently they have learned the convenience of befriending people.

Onwards after lunch break. Note the family with two kids who went all the way to 雪山東峰 (Xue shan east peak) and back in one day. That's the spirit!

A remarkable tree on the way that looks like a drill.

After the 哭坡 (Ku po) the trail follows the ridge for a while.

雪山東峰 (Xue shan east peak), which we skipped this time. It's only a twenty meter walk from the trail but everyone had already been there several times.

At last, 三六九山莊 (369 mountain hut) in sight with the characteristic zig-zag trail towards the top.

The next day on the way to 雪山北峰 (Xue shan north peak) inside the 黑森林 (Black forest).

This is where the view starts to get impressive: The side of 凱蘭特崑山 (Kai lan te kun shan).

The hiking trail goes right along this rock slope, so it's two steps forward, one step back.

Here you can see how steep the slope is. Still, if you pick the right stones to step on you can make good progress.

The view upwards to what lies ahead.

This is the trail, right at the edge of the slope. Ironically, it is also the path that's most tiresome to walk.

Once on the ridge you get a beautiful view of 北稜角 (Bei leng jiao).

Only a few minutes of walking and you're at the top of 凱蘭特崑山 (Kai lan te kun shan).

凱蘭特崑山 (Kai lan te kun shan) is not part of the list of Taiwan's 100 peaks but the one in the background is: 雪山北峰 (Xue shan north peak), our destination of the day.

The trail on the ridge makes sure you have excellent views in all directions as well as the occasional climbing challenge.

Again, 雪山北峰 (Xue shan north peak) on the left.

After walking a around four kilometers we were able to see where we had left in the morning: 三六九山莊 (369 mountain hut)

Looking back you can see 北稜角 (Bei leng jiao) near the center and 雪山主峰 (Xue shan main peak) to its left.

And looking forward you can see a whole range of mountain starting with 穆特勒布山 (Mu te le bu shan) on the left, 品田山 (Pin tian shan) in the middle and 桃山 (Tao shan) on the right.

A close-up of 品田山 (Pin tian shan) my favorite mountain so far!

And a close-up of 穆特勒布山 (Mu te le bu shan) with 大霸尖山 (Da ba jian shan) in the background.

雪北山屋 (Xue bei mountain hut) where we had lunch before the last short ascent to the top.

Of course, right before we got to the top the fog started coming up.

Finally at the top! If you look carefully you can see 雪山東峰 (Xue shan east peak) on the left.

After the fog got thicker and thicker I put my camera away which, incidentally, also makes for a much faster descent.

The inside of 三六九山莊 (369 mountain hut) ...

Not exactly a hotel but still pretty comfy for a mountain hut at over 3000 meters above sea level!

View from 奇萊山屋 (Qi lai mountain hut) towards 奇萊主峰 (Qilai main peak), the "twin-peaked" mountain in the far distance. (To the top and slightly left of the blue tent.)

Three kilometers to 奇萊主峰 (Qilai main peak), the first destination of the day. In the background you can see the second destination: the 合歡山 (He huan shan) area, 6.6 kilometers away.

The view back towards 奇萊山屋 (Qi lai mountain hut), the small white square, and the pointy 奇萊北峰 (Qilai north peak) to its right.

Most of the trail towards 奇萊主峰 (Qilai main peak) is on the ridge line and therefore makes for fairly relaxed hiking with the best possible view!

Clouds building up near 奇萊主峰 (Qilai main peak).

Nice to see from a distance but not so nice when you're there: Clouds at the top of 奇萊主峰 (Qilai main peak).

The beautiful ridge line leading to 奇萊主峰 (Qilai main peak).

合歡山 (He huan shan) from a distance. The tallest one in the middle is 合歡東峰 (He huan east peak), the grassy one to its lower right is 小奇萊 (Xiao qilai) where we passed through the day before on the way down into the valley.

Alpine flowers and 清境 (Qing jing) in the background (the hill that is now mostly covered in farmland and illegally erected homestays).

杜鵑 (Rhododendron) in all their beauty.

Clouds looming over 奇萊主峰 (Qilai main peak).

奇萊南峰 (Qilai south peak) in the distance.

Once again the view back towards 奇萊北峰 (Qilai north peak) that we climbed yesterday. In the center you can see the 雪山山脈 (Xue shan mountain range) in the far distance.

卡羅樓山 (Ka luo lou shan), the impressive mountain between 奇萊主峰 (Qilai main peak)and 奇萊南峰 (Qilai south peak).

The last relaxing section before the ascent to the peak.

The crossroad between the trail to 卡羅樓山 (Ka luo lou shan) and the one to the peak of 奇萊主峰 (Qilai main peak).

A sign warning of the dangers of the trail to 卡羅樓山 (Ka luo lou shan) and 奇萊南峰 (Qilai south peak). And for a change the sign isn't lying; large parts of the route consist of rockslides without an actual trail that's visible.

Once again the view towards 卡羅樓山 (Ka luo lou shan) and 奇萊南峰 (Qilai south peak).

Finally at the top of 奇萊主峰 (Qilai main peak). Which begs the question ... If the north peak is higher than the main peak, why are the names the way they are? Shouldn't north peak be called "main peak" and main peak be called "south peak"?

The clouds only lifted briefly when we were getting ready to descend. That's why apart from this one there are no nice summit photos this time!

On the way back the fog started to rise over the ridge line. Good thing we had taken our time to shoot photos on the way up.

松雪樓 (Song xue lou) with 奇萊北峰 (Qi lai north peak) in the background, our destination for the day.

The trail head is right next to the 滑雪山莊 ("Skiing mountain hut"). Of course it's been a long time since anyone has been able to ski in this area but the name has stuck.

The trail head. From here it's around 7 kilometers to the top of 奇萊北峰 (Qi lai north peak), a little less if you hike directly to the 奇萊山屋 (Qi lai mountain hut).

In order to get to the other side you have to hike down into the valley first, a fact particularly dreaded on the way back.

Looking back towards 小奇萊 (Xiao qi lai).

The area is filled with beautiful 山杜鵑 (Rhododendron), here mostly with purple ones but in higher altitudes with white ones, too.

黑水塘山屋 (Hei shui tang mountain hut) near the bottom of the valley.

The inside of 黑水塘山屋 (Hei shui tang mountain hut), which is now rarely used except as a weather shelter.

3.7 kilometers from the trail head and 1.1 kilometers to the next stop ...

... 成功山屋 (Cheng gong mountain hut), the nicest and most convenient place to sleep. A small creek flows right next to it, so water is readily available.

This is where the trail forks off in two directions: The right one directly heads to the 奇萊山屋 (Qi lai mountain hut) while the left one brings you closer to 奇萊北峰 (Qi lai north peak).

The view back towards 合歡山 (He huan shan).

The trail from the junction towards 奇萊北峰 (Qi lai north peak) starts off easy ...

... but then rapidly becomes challenging.

Flowers like these make the steep hike a little more enjoyable ...

... especially when there are entire patches of them.

Finally on the ridge. Behind this little hill awaits 奇萊北峰 (Qi lai north peak).

Even though it's only 1.2 kilometers to the north peak we switched to light packs. There's quite a bit of climbing on the last few hundred meters, so it's a lot safer and less tiring that way.

This is where the ascent to the top of 奇萊北峰 (Qi lai north peak) starts.

Almost there ...

Finally at the top. Enjoy the view because ...

... just a few minutes later the fog had taken over and there was little else to be seen than gray and a bit of sky.

The north side of 奇萊北峰 (Qi lai north peak) is a precipitous cliff.

The entrance to 太魯閣國家公園 (Taroko National Park). It took me over five years since the last time to return to this lovely place.

The view from 昆陽 (Kun yang) at just over 3000 meters altitude.

The view from 武嶺 (Wu ling).

View back to the trail head after just a few steps up towards 合歡山北峰 (He huan shan north peak).

The pointy rock in the foreground has no name but the one in the back is called 中央尖山 (Zhong yang jian shan). :-)

On the way up you can soon see the huge microwave reflector.

The view towards the north peak. The ridge on the left is the trail to the west peak.

The view back towards the trail head. On the right you can see 合歡東峰 (He huan east peak).

Hiking with the beautiful 奇萊山脈 (Qi lai mountain chain) in the background.

You can see there are quite a few people hiking already. But this was nothing compared to the second day!

Taroko valley in the background.

The microwave reflector near the north peak.

At this point we took a shortcut directly to the 小溪營地 (Xiao xi campsite), so that we didn't have to carry our backpacks all the way to the top first.

The trail towards the 小溪營地 (Xiao xi campsite) ...

... and looking back.

If you look really closely you can see the campsite with a green tent. That's where we were going to stay the night.

杜鵑 (Rhododendron) along the way.

小溪營地 (Xiao xi campsite).

Three hours later, a very tired hiker on the top of 合歡西峰 (He huan west peak). But the worst was yet to come ...

4.7 kilometers back to the north peak and all you have to do is cross the few hills in between.

North peak is the one with the rocky slope in the far back!

The view back from the first hill. 合歡西峰 (He huan west peak) is the one on the left.

You know you're walking but it just doesn't look like the destination is getting any closer.

The trail back from the west peak to the north peak.

One of the (but not the last) hills to climb on the way back.

The sunlight fading over 合歡山 (He huan shan).

小溪營地 (Xiao xi campsite) the next morning.

A small pond on the way back down.

Scores of people queuing to get to the top of north peak. It's a good thing we were already on our way down.

This why I will never come here again during flower season!

A short peaceful segment of the trail.