(written by Cait)
I’m writing this about three months after the fact. I thought I had already wrote something about it, but I can’t find it. Anyway, so this entry is about Sunset Peak on Lantau Island. It will cover the two times we went up there. I’m anxious to get this posted so I won’t go into a lot of the details in this post. I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking for now.
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Looking at Sunset Peak from Yung Shue Wan village in northern Lamma Island. We see this view everyday we go to work. The view is not always this great, it depends on the weather.
Getting There
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Carrying down empty buckets of sealant (for the roof of the cabin).
Sunset Peak is the second tallest mountain on Lantau Island at 869 m (2,851 ft). There are a few trails to get there, but hiking is the only option. No roads for cars (for emergency vehicles, which I thought about several times, especially when I saw Brad tumble on the trail and didn’t know if he could walk the rest of the way down-he twisted his ankle but we were both pretty scared for it bit that it might be worse). These trails are no Sunday stroll in the park. They are intense. Uneven, jagged stones put in place to create steps. Who made these steps? They should be fired because they are terrible! Since we were staying at a cabin for a few days, with no plans to return to town for supplies, we carried everything we needed with us…on our backs.
Both times we took a different trail. Both challenging but both beautiful. The second time we went up, we bumped into a group of friendly Korean men hiking, and one guy offered to carry my backpack! What a gentleman! I was really tempted to let him, but in the end I graciously declined. We stopped a couple times to rest and drink water. It was amazing how light we felt without our packs on.
Image may be NSFW.
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Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Cabin
About a dozen cabins sit atop Sunset Peak, built many years ago by various religious groups. Monks, nuns, and missionaries would stay during the summer to escape the heat and humidity. These days, they are privately owned and some are rented out. Two of our friends, Ryan and Jake (who you’ll see in many of the pictures), are friends with the owner of the cabin we stayed in. Actually, she’s not the real owner, but she’s been renting it and taking care of it for years. Ryan and Jake have been a part of taking care of it, and in return they can stay and bring some friends for free. Last time they resealed the roof and brought up propane gas. Fortunately for us, she has almost everything you need up there: sleeping bags, dishes, a water filter system, chairs, etc. All we need to bring up is food.
Image may be NSFW.
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Sunrise on Sunset Peak. Formally used by missionaries and religious groups, these cabins are now privately owned.
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Brad, Ryan, and Jake outside the cabin.
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Clothes drying on the line outside the cabin.
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Inside the cabin the first time we went up there in January. It was a bit chilly inside, so hats were needed. Ryan, Al, and Gabby.
So, We’re Here…
What is there to do on top of Sunset Peak? Rest is usually the first thing we do. There’s several trails that lead to several other peaks and a reservoir to check out. The cabin has a few kites to we tried (unsuccessfully at times) to fly that. We sat around a lot and chatted and relaxed. At times we were happy enough just to enjoy the view.
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I’m trying to find a good spot for flying the kite. It didn’t work out that well.
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Brad, Ryan, and me
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Brad took this picture of a hiker, who looks to be local from the style of hat.
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I took this picture just after sunrise. The grass reminded us so much of Minnesota that it brought on unexpected homesick feelings. At one point, I laid in the grass, basking in the sun, and just relaxed. That is until another hiker came up behind me to take pictures of the view. I don’t know which one of us was more startled.
Speaking of the view, with a name like Sunset Peak you would think it would have something to do with watching the sunsets. Well…I’m guessing you could see the sunset from the actual top of the peak, but since the cabins are built just below the peak we couldn’t see it. The peak blocks almost all of the sunset if we are at the cabin. By the time we got up to the cabin, the thought of hiking even more forced me to plop down in a chair with a glass of wine.
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This is the most of the sunset we could see from the cabin. It was pretty cool to sit above the helicopters (seen in the bottom right-hand corner).
Sunrise on Sunset Peak
One morning we got up for the sunrise. None of us were quite sure what time the sun came up, so we ended up getting up earlier than needed but I’m glad we didn’t miss it. We got up on the roof and waited with coffee. Other hikers/photographers were also there, which at times made it a little annoying with their talking. I’m trying enjoy a potentially once in a lifetime experience here, could you quiet down!
The other mornings at sunrise the cabin and peak were engulfed in clouds, so it seemed lucky we got one good sunrise.
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Ryan taking photos on the roof.
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The sun coming up over Lamma Island, taken from the cabin rooftop.
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Sunrise on the roof of the cabin.
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Pretty nice spot to watch the sun rise.
The reservoir, about a 15 minute hike down from the cabin, is pretty small and the water was low. Brad, Ryan, and Jake went down to wash off and I went down out of curiosity. I was not interested in getting the water (ew!). So I took pictures.
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Walking down to the reservoir.
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Cleaning up at the reservoir. That’s the cabin we stayed in, top left corner of photo.
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The reservoir and Sunset Peak in the background.
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Ryan trying to catch (and he did!) a salamander.
We don’t know if we’ll get back to the cabin again, and I’m not sure if I want to this summer. The summer’s heat and humidity in Hong Kong make it uncomfortable border line miserable just to walk around, and hiking is even worse. I might wait until cooler temperatures. We really did enjoy it up there!