Written by Nicholas No. 3,

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	Distance	Duration	Elevation	Level of Difficulty
Chek Keng - Sharp Peak - Chek Keng	8 km	5 hrs	Lowest: 0 m Highest: 468 m

Intrepid Trampers

I'm a bit late writing about our hike out to Sharp Peak last Sunday, but I want to tell the whole (cyber) world, how great it was! We had a very enjoyable day. There were 23 of us intrepid "Trampers" heralding from afar and not so afar; a multiplicity of ethnicity's; 4 Canadians, a Malaysian, 3 Germans, and a host of Hong Kongers. It was a dynamic mix of veterans and neophytes united and inspired by that age-old motto of climbers and hikers everywhere, "Because it's there"!

The day began at about 10:15 at Diamond Hill MTR, where we all met to take a bus out to the venerable hikers' domain of Sai Kung. From there we took another quick bus to Wong Shek Pier, disembarked and then relayed into half a dozen motorized "launches" to skip across the bay, around the point to Chek Keng (赤徑) from where we began the hike proper. It was really a fun adventure - just getting to the site where the hike began! and then we were rarin' to go… up.

The ascent to the foot of Sharp Peak was a breeze (light, easy walking up a smooth meandering path) which matched, rather unfortunately, the overcast day that was to stay with us throughout. The cool weather was welcome, however, once we began to climb Sharp Peak which we could see sticking out majestically ahead of us. It's a steep climb and we worked up a sweat going up ever steeper. It's quite a direct and not a long climb up, however, and the view from the top is fabulous; a spectacular panorama of Tolo Harbour and Tai Long Wan. It's not Everest, but it felt to me like good practice!....

The hike took a little longer than most of us had expected, but except for the actual ascent up the peak (where we had to scramble sometimes on all fours) it was not a difficult walk. The pace was wonderfully relaxed as the twenty-three jaunty hikers spread out into an even chain of scattered groups. There was no pressure to hurry and we had plenty of time to enjoy the surrounding views [of Tung Wan to the east and Grass Island to the north].

The descent was both longer and more difficult for a few of us than for others, but it was a beautiful walk (no more climbing!). We walked leisurely for another couple of hours and admired the views and the fabulous green vegetation. We then stopped for a quick beer at a "blink and you'd miss it" little town an hour before the end of our hike. Then we made our way back to the ferry pier where our "launches"' awaited us to take us back to Wong Shek Pier. The boats dropped us off and then a ten minute bus ride brought us back to Sai Kung. There, twenty of us headed to Portofinos for a leisurely dinner of beer, wine, pizza and pasta.

The party continued as the crowd dwindled with various intrepid trampers heading home to catch a good night's sleep before renewing the life of normalcy in the work-week that lay ahead. The last of us headed back to the KCR where we bid adieu and went happily home with thoughts only of work the next day and the hike next Sunday, environs Lantau,. No doubt the information for that jaunt is already posted. Come one, come all.!

Last update: 26-03-2006 10:59

Keywords : sharp peak