Sharps Peak

On Sunday, a few other exchange students and I decided to hike to one of the peaks in Hong Kong, called Sharps peak. We arrived at the trailhead and then started hiking toward the mountain. When we first saw the peak from afar it was a little discouraging to know that we still had a very long way to go both horizontally and vertically.

The Peak from Afar

Free Range Cow

For most of the way to the very base of the peak the trail was paved which made it easier to hike, but it still was slightly challenging to hike up and down the steep hills. We were also in a bit of hurry because we didn’t want to have to come back down in the dark, so that made the hike even more strenuous. All along the trail we notice “evidence” of a cow, but we didn’t actually run into one, until we got to a small village and then it appeared around the corner. It was kind of odd just to have free roaming cattle, especially in the mountains, but I guess that is the tradition.

We eventually reached the point where we had to diverge from the paved trail and go on more treacherous terrain, at which point we were greeted by this sign.

WARNING SIGN

We then started the hike/climb to the top. The entire way was full of excellent views and you should check out my facebook album to check out some of the pictures I took. There were points along the way when I doubted my ability to safely make it to the top, especially the gravely and steep parts.

Steep Climb

Finally though we reached the peak, and were rewarded with a fabulous view of the surrounding mountains, as well as some beaches and in the distance we could even see China! We took many pictures at the top of ourselves and the landscape. It was for sure worth the climb, and is one of the coolest things that I have ever done. It also gave me a new appreciation for real mountain climbers. Sharps peak is a little under 500m tall, so techinically is not really a mountain by most definitions, and we were able to climb it without special equiptment. I can only imagine what it would be like to climb a real mountain. Although my pictures were cool they fail to capture the amazingness of what it was like.

Marker on Top

The View

Me on the edge

Mountains off in the distance

On the way back down we chose a different path down in order to go to the beaches we had seen. It was a bit of a risk because we weren’t 100% sure the trail led there, but our risk paid off. We even got to stop at this giant rock that overhangs the valley a bit and take a bunch of pictures.

Way down

Pride Rock

The beach we arrived at was awesome. A long white sand beach, with very fine sand. The water was very shallow and warm and there were also perfect waves for body surfing. It was excellent!

Awesome Beach

At that point we were ready to head back, so we went to the village that was on the beach. At this point we found out that the only way to reach this village is by a ferry (which was closed and it cost 900 HKD for a private ride) or a 5 Km hike back to our starting point. We chose the hike and trekked back through the hills. The only thing that was keeping us going was the fact that on the other side was food!

Eventually we reached the starting point where we had called a taxi to pick us up at. We took it to Sai Kung and finally our sweaty and salt-water smelling bodies were able to eat real food. I got a slice of pizza from a local pizza place, and it was amazing.

That night after taking a shower I slept amazing. Hiking Sharp’s peak was one of my favorite things, possibly my favorite. Everything about it was amazing. The views, the hike, and the people I went with. Hopefully I am able to do a bit more hiking before leaving.