Jung-Hua Reservoir 榮華水庫
Dahan River 大漢溪
arrived Shangbaling, 9AM
Japanese era "twa-ker-hum" 大嵙崁 (Dakekan) is today's DaSi 大溪. We take a Taoyuan mini bus 桃園客運 from Dasi 大溪 to Shangbaling 上巴陵. Dasi 大溪 is the eastern access point to the northern cross island highway, or National seven. The trip takes just over two hours.
Arriving early in ShangBaling, we apply for mountain permits for tomorrow's walk at the police station. There are two large snakes in a steel cage on the Atayal-style pavillion in front of the station.
We take a walk down to Kala village 卡拉部落 waiting for the rest of our group - Berkmans, Whitefords, Hanleys and O'Briens.
After beakfast at the park entrance, our whole group walks up throught the park and about 2km in on the trail up to the weather station clearing on the Taoyuan-Taipei county line. This is the highest point of the trail at about 1700m.
The 巴福越嶺古道 "Fu(shan) Ba(ling) pass old trail" was opened up by the Atayal 泰雅族 Dakekan clan 大嵙崁群 two to three hundred years ago to facilitate exchange and intermarriage between the Atayal 泰雅族 clans in the Fushan 福山 and Baling 巴陵 areas. The path was formerly known as the "Old Marriage road" 姻親路古道 or 警察道路. In 1913, Balong 巴壟, today's Baling 巴陵 was seized by the occupying Japanese to connect Taoyuan and Taipei communities, to build a road to extract camphor trees and also to control the local Atayals. In the early years of KMT rule, the path was built as a mountain police road 警察道路 and was called "The Lala Mtn Jiaoban Mtn Pass Path" 拉拉山角板山越嶺道. Signs of the Japanese-built stations can still be found at Biyasang 比亞桑, Lalashan 拉拉山, Kwaishan 檜山 and Zhakong 扎孔.
The path starts in the LaLa Shan old tree area 拉拉山神木區, passes through the Chatienshan Nature Reserve 插天山自然保留區
and the Takuanshan Forest Reserve 達觀山自然保護區
