Dying for a good hike.

Anybody know of some good hiking groups here in Hong Kong? I'm seriously dying for a good hike. (Moderate to strenuous). I'm fairly new to Hong Kong (only been here for 5 months) and I don't know anything about the hikes here and don't know any people whom I can go with. I'm a Westcoast Canadian (if that means anything to you--means we're courteous, trusting/gullable and outdoor freaks :P) and have been told by many locals that hiking alone here can be very dangerous (lots of thieves/desperate illegal immigrants hide out in the mountains/parks?? There is some truth to that, yes?) I really miss breathing in clean air. Help please?

Cynnati,



Please don't worry too much about the hiking here: the media make a huge song and dance about the tiny number of incidents that do happen, and that rubs off on the locals. Someone recently posted the statistics that, every year, there are about 40 incidents of violent crime in HK's parks compared with 13,000 outside them! You are infinitely safer in HK's country parks than when you go to the supermarket in Vancouver. But do take enough water (at least a litre per hour in summer, not distilled) and, in case you slip, a walkie talkie tuned to emergency channel 9 (no licence needed for local models, and very cheap).



If you are still nervous about hiking alone, do the busier walks. For example, the Pat Sin Leng hike in NE of the New Territories is moderate/strenuous and at weekends you will pass groups every few minutes. It takes between 2 and 3 hours, depending on your fitness/the weather.



On HK Island, you will see plenty of other people if you walk up from Pokfulam Reservoir to the top of Mount Austin Rd: all this is tarmac and the first two-thirds is pedestrianized. (A couple of cars will pass you on the top third.) The whole walk up takes less than an hour (much less if you're fit) but is moderately strenuous.



The Dragon's Back walk on HK Island near Shek O is easy/moderate and one of the most beautiful city walks in the world, imho. It takes about 75 mins with a 4 year old and a picnic basket, and much less than an hour for a fit adult.



My favourite strenuous hike is on Lantau from Ngong Ping to Mui Wo, 5 hours if you're fit and 7 if you dawdle. You go over Lantau Peak and Sunset Peak: it's long and strenuous. If you get tired, you cross a bus stop at the halfway mark. At weekends, you will see many other people; midweek you'll have the trail to yourself.



I'd highly recommend Pete Spurrier's book "The hikers guide to HK", which you can get/order at Dymocks or type the word "hike" into the description search at

https://www.formasiabooks.com/asp/BookList.asp?ProdGrp=book



It gives details of a few dozen hikes, complete with distances, times, and grades for ease etc.



For me, hiking is about being alone and escaping the world in a harmless way for a few hours; but if you like group hikes you could take a look at

http://www.hktrampers.com/Mambo/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/



Rememember, on a sunny day, do the hikes South to North or West to East, so you don't have the afternoon sun in your eyes.



Have fun!

Check out the following link, and click on "Landscape" to take a look at some beautiful photos. You'll be amazed how beautiful Hong Kong is.


http://tailongwan.org


By the way, I've not been to Tai Long Wan myself.

From one Westcoast Canadian to another, welcome to Hong Kong. My husband and I go hiking, alone or with a few of our fitter friends, almost every weekend. We tend to go to Lantau Island as it has so many different trails and we love the beaches there for our dogs. We've done the Phoenix Walk on Lantau Island (it's a 'race' around Lantau - about 70-something KM) for the last 2 years and plan to do it again this year. Anyway, you are more than welcome to join us. Send me a message or leave your contact details and I'll get in touch with you.


Cheers!

my colleague Keith Gibbs was always out hiking alone until the day he broke his leg and posted an SOS sign to be seen from the air.It was a week before his body was found.Other lone hikerS have disappeared never to be seen again.

I THINK IT IS RECKLESS TO GO ALONE

Dear roger52,



Sorry to hear that story. But one must always be careful to avoid extrapolating from the particular to the abstract.



For example, I once had a car crash while on vacation in the Unites States. It was 9 hours before I was found trapped inside the overturned car at the bottom of an embankment. However, I do not believe that my isolated case proves that it is reckless either



1) to drive a car; or

2) to go to the US; or

3) to take a vacation.

Hi Cynnati

I am just like you new to Hkg, actually only been here two week arrived from NYC, but are origanally from DK.

In steade of just talking about why don't we try to create a hiking for expates together here in hong kong, this way we can go hike and meet new poeple. Let me know what you think!

I believe this is a hiking group here in Hong Kong that does hikes on Saturdays. Google those keywords and I you should be able to find their yahoo groups location. If you can't find it, PM me. Hiking tends to slow down during the summer though, since it gets very hot. Now is a great time for a hike!