HK Trail - Day 1

First day of trail running! Not the best preparation, I somehow caught a cold the night before and couldn't get to sleep. Think I only managed a few stretches of 2-3 hr sleep throughout the night. Good thing for the World Cup matches to keep me entertained while I was awake.

But breakfast was good! It's a sin not to eat your breakfast in HK, not just because it's the most important meal of the day but also brekkies are so good in HK you can't afford to miss it!

My breakfast favourite rice flour with fritters and HK coffee. 炸两同热咖啡

Getting to the start of HK Trail is easy. Take MTR to Central, then follow the signs and walk to the Peak Tram Terminus, about 5-10mins walk. Take the tram up to the Peak. Again, I want to publicise my Oi Suen Guesthouse for selling discounted tram tickets. The tram ride was....worrying coz the slope was so steep!

Interior of the tram. Nice wooden seats. 

Exterior of the tram (display tram) 

The view at The Peak was.....disappointing. Such a misty morning! But seriously a fabulous place to bring your dog for some fun! 

So I was looking for the trail head of HK Trail and.....there! A tiny sign below "Lugard Road". I wouldn't have noticed it if not for 2 guys running into the trail.

Here we go, starting from H000. 

Misty trails adds a spiritual flavour to the run. Though the view sucks, it's a surreal feeling to be running in the mist, pretending you're closer to Heaven than you really are.

This looks just like a fence in front of a white wall, but it's not. It's probably HK island in the background, but all I can see is white.

As I descend down the slope, the view got clearer and clearer. Reminds me of a quote:

"Everyone strives to reach the top, but it's not always the best. Sometimes the top is too misty that you lose sight of what happens at the ground."

Have you heard of it? Probably not right? Coz I came up with it LOL! They say running clears the mind, and being with nature promotes creativity. I agree with that.

Could be an awesome viewpoint on a sunny day with clear blue skies. 

Hey Spidey, haven't I seen you in Ubin?

My only selfie of the day. 

Apart from seeing trees all the time, sometimes the trail cuts across rivers and mini waterfalls, which is awesome! Maybe during heavy rainfalls some trudging across mini streams is necessary.

Gentle flow of water calms the soul. 

Soon, Section 1 of HK Trail was completed. 7km in about an hour, including numerous photo-taking stops. Decent timing. Easy warm-up run, as mostly gentle down slopes. Some slippery and steep stoney steps along the way, have to slow down and walk if necessary. 

Next up, Section 2. Just 4.5km. Just. 

The beauty of trail running is that you have to be constantly focused. Just like the steps, you have to decide if it's worth running down and risk falling, or better to just walk. You don't know exactly what's ahead, which keeps you on your toes, literally. There could be a wild boar/bear/dog/monkey waiting just round the bend, or....you may accidentally run off the trail. 

The start of Section 2 was breezy, gentle downslope of tar road. Which leads you to the beautiful sight of Pok Fu Lam Reservoir.

Then things started to look wrong. Looking at the map, Section 2 is not supposed to go to the reservoir. The route breaks away from the main road (at the white arrow) and southwards (blue dotted line). Being human, I naturally followed the obvious main road all the way and didn't notice the junction. And now I am at the red "You are here"! Sigh. 

Oh well. Tried to find an alternative route back to Section 2 but not successful. Decided to come back and do this stretch tomorrow as I'll be meeting Mel M in awhile, don't want to be late. Trails.... you'll never know what you'll get. 

Just when you think that things can't get any worse, it did. As I was leaving the trail and walking to the bus stop, I clumsily dropped my phone. Usually the phone was be unscathed as I do have a good phone cover, but this time it dropped right onto the screen. Multiple cracks. Ouch! It's so bad I can't really see what I'm texting. 



End of Day 1. Looking forward to a better day tomorrow. At least I'm alive and back in one piece, although the phone screen (and my heart) is shattered. Btw the phone still functions! 

Section 1 completed     Peak to Pokfulam Reservoir     Distance: 7km      Difficulty: Fairly difficult
Total distance: 7km + few km of getting lost