Hiking on the Dragon's Back

A few days ago, a few friend's and I decided to go on a hike at one of my all-time favorite trails in Hong Kong. The Dragon's Back is a short 7.5 KM (4.7 Miles) hike that spans from the start of the trail on Shek O road to the wonderful Big Wave Bay. Now, when I say wonderful, I mean after you worked your butt off walking for roughly 2 hours through rocks, sand, and what seemed to be an endless amount of stairs. However, that is from my friends' point of view. I had already hiked this trail multiple times in the past whether through the night, the rain, and even the single digit cold. I knew this trail like the back of my hand.

(www.discoverhongkong.com)

Moving on. I prefer to be prepared for situations that like to go a little south. Regarding this, I brought along a few of my essential pieces of equipment for any hike. These included a first aid kit, a small backpack with a water bladder, two flashlight, and five two-way radios that I evenly distributed between the group (radios seemed like a good idea at the time. Regretted it later.)
I strongly believe in the phrase "it's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it." I also believe you should keep this in mind when going hiking or partaking in any outdoor activities.

(My equipment for the day)

We started off the hike by climbing up the first section of the trail towards the top of the mountain. This should have been the easiest task to accomplish if it weren't for the fact that this certain group of friends consisted of my girlfriend, an unfit friend that took 15-minute breaks every 5 minutes, two 13-year-old girls, and a chain-smoker. (I still had a good time with you guys, please come do it again)

(From left to right: Smoker, Break Taker, the two radio frequency hogs, My Girlfriend and Me)

At the top of the mountain, we were greeted by a great view of the Shek O beach area that your eyes couldn't help but gaze upon. It's one of those views that compels you to sit and stare till you eventually lose track of time and your own thoughts. The only way for you to understand it's magnificence is to bring you along for the actual hike. Unfortunately, I got so lost in the view, I forgot to take a picture. I know what your thinking, View 1 - Joseph 0. So, here's a day image from hongkonghikes.com and a night image from scmp.com.

(www.hongkonghikes.com)

(www.scmp.com)

We continued on the flat sand covered path till we hit the "more hostile towards my friends' choice of footwear" type terrain. From there we took about 50 "quick" breaks before coming to the steep stairs downward. Now, this is where the radios become a bit of a bad idea. Picture this, you're walking down a long almost endless flight of stairs with a backpack filled with 3 liters of water, a med kit, and a radio that is just next to your ear and you're enjoying the cool breeze, fresh air, and amazing view. Everything seems peaceful, doesn't it?
WRONG! 5 steps down, two 13-year-old hyped up girls are using the radios as a personal sound system singing Disney songs, rapping nonsense, and making weird animal noises. You brought the radios as a safety precaution in case someone falls behind or gets lost, but now you have a kids party happening as if next to your ear. What's worse is you love the trail and thought it'd be peaceful and quiet up at 230 meters above the crowds and the city.

(Their "sensible" footwear)

(How close my radio was to my ear when the kid's party started)

Anyway. After descending, we came to a fork in the road. Luckily the Dragon's Back, though having a chaotic intimidating name, is very organized and clearly marked. So, we took a right and headed through the twists and turns of the flat ground under the luscious jungle treetop. After following this snake-like path, we found ourselves at the southern side of the Tai Tam Gap Correctional Institution in the northeast corner of the Shek O Country Park. From here we took another right towards the east and followed the flat concrete for about 15 more minutes before reaching a small gazebo. When I say 15 minutes, this doesn't include the 50 more breaks that they needed.

From the gazebo, we took another flight of stairs downward in the darkness of night because all the breaks they needed pushed our estimated time of arrival to the length of "okay, that seems reasonable" to "it'd quicker if we just turned around and headed back." But this darkness made me happy because it made us faster and the girls quieter since they started to get highly uncomfortable.

Finally, after a lot of stairs, 5000 breaks, and unbearable amounts of Disney music, we reached the beach. We had planned earlier to take a quick dip in the water, but they were all beat and hungry to even look at the water. So, in the end, we just headed back to the city for a silent meal at Mcdonald's.

The End