Green Trails exploresthe Wutai Incident

Wu Yuan-ho, the trek leader, holds forth during the trek out of Gulou. PHOTO: IAN BARTHOLMEW, TAIPEI TIMES

The Green Trails trek along the foothills of the Central Mountain Range enters its third week with no major mishaps but plenty of small surprises, not all of them the kind that the promoters of the National Trails Network might be particularly happy to know about.

Having missed out on climbing the Northern Dawu Peak on the fifth day of the trek, the participants of the Green Trail Trek headed for the trailhead to make the walk up to Old Haocha, from where they would cut up across to Wutai, a center of the Lukai Aboriginal people.

The biggest excitement on this part of the trail was assaults by bees, who took a numerous and varied toll on the trekkers. The first attack by bees had happened on the second day of the trek, but was relatively minor. The second attack, on the road to Haocha, laid low Chen Hsin-nan (陳信男), one of the four participants who aim to complete the whole length of the trek.

A strong walker, Chen was unable to do much after taking numerous stings, but at the time, the trek was already close to Haocha, and help was on hand for the trekkers in the form of local residents and Forestry Bureau staff who were expecting the arrival of the trekkers.

Another moment of excitement with the sighting of a 100-pace snake, a sacred animal of local Aborigines and also one of Taiwan's most deadly venomous snakes. General precautions ensured that the meeting was educational rather than frightening.

Speaking to Forestry Bureau staffer Weng Li-hsin (翁麗芯), she said that part of the aim of the National Trails Network would be to revitalize some of the more remote regions, bringing in money and services that might be required by trekkers once this area was developed. Certainly the friendliness of local residents is something that trekkers would be able to enjoy once these trails become more easily accessible, even if locals are not unreservedly optimistic of what an influx of trekkers might bring to the area.

Haocha presented another sight of abandoned slate villages, though these in somewhat better condition than the previously visited Gulou. It gave trekkers plenty to think about, an aspect of the trip that group leader Wu Yuan-ho (伍元和) constantly emphasized.

Passing through these monuments to the Paiwan people's former glory, the trekkers were headed to a meeting with another, and better documented historical event -- the Wutai Incident. This event, which led to the death of many Aborigines, took place in 1914 as a result of a rebellion against the heavy hand of Japanese rule.

"When climbing through these areas, you are in close touch with Taiwan's history," Wu said when explaining the course of the trek before it set off.

Living history was met with in the shape of Tu Ba-nan (杜巴南) a 70-year-old Lukai Aborigine who after a career as a porter and mountaineer, has established himself as an artist, bringing alive the Lukai tradition and passing it on to the next generation.

As the trek entered its third week, they moved into central Taiwan.