STONE DEER TRAIL

we rode the trail on april 1st 2007.
its in North Taiwan, HsinHsu area,
and about 23km long with an elevation from 1300m-2300m.

> you can click all pics for a larger view<

06:00am in Taipei City - 4 bikes in a minivan.

the team - Norbert, Jonny, Me(Georg) and Mark
at the trails beginning - fresh and motivated

we were incredibly lucky with the weather!
it didn't rain for a couple of days, so the ground was firm and grippy.
the sun was shining, it was nicely warm, but not hot,
and we had a slight breeze to cool us down.

Norbert -
lucky the rocks missed you!

No! we didn't see the sign !

oh yes!
i remember that rope ladder from 2 years ago...

...where is Frodo ...?

ride ....


and ride ....

fallen trees blocking the trail

the old mountain police post

Oh yeah, baby !!!

wild wild wild
...and green

!!!!! watch out !!!!!
... at this point the cliff goes down vertically 150-200m.
you dont want to slip at that turn!

...
stone deer trail is super smooth with good flow, but
watch out this one section behind the police post:
after a bit of downhill with lots of narrow sweepbacks,
once it gets smoother and you start to ride faster again...
right there is a 90° right turn around a rock, ... and this cliff!
its just a few minutes before the big bridge.

Shit!
where did that came from now...?

here she is!
130m long and at least double that high!

in reality it looks and feels 10 times higher.
trust me!

this is real mountain biking

besides fallen trees and rocks that we had to climb over, there are
still 3 big landslides what really slowed us down and left us totally
exhausted. for 2 km over the landslides it took us more than 2 hours!

were the trail is broken they lead you down with stairs or steps to where its not so steep and you can cross the landslide. than you have to get up the slide on ropes to get to the trail again.

taiwans jungle.
a cool place to rest in the shade.

didnt Mark just say "i could do one more landslide, but definitely not a 3rd one".
this is the second! so why are you looking so grumpy now ?

the 2nd landslide.
marks still stares in disbelief...

Mark does a stirling job on the second ascent of the day. This rock fall was so severe, and the ground so unsteady we decided to dismantle the bikes.

they are very steep, and the ground is more or less loose.
the only help to hold tight are these tiny ropes what you can grab with
one hand while carrying your bike.

Yes! we know!
fortunately we had a dry day with spring-like temperatures.

Jesus carried the cross - Mark his bike
here is the 3rd landslide with the steepest drop.
the path is only 30cm wide with a vertical drop down of almost 20m.
if you slip here, or if your bike looses its balance, you will crash down the
on the rocks.

the trails exit.
beautiful sunset in our backs.
after all, we have done it, and it will be an
unforgettable memory!

relaxing in the hotspring.

even we were a small group,
even we were riding quite fast and only had one little bike problem,...
... from the entrance to the hot-spring it took us nearly
8 hours!

finally rewarded with an ocean of clouds

here our recommendation:
don't ride the trail
- if it was raining in the days before
- if there is the slightest chance of rain on the day you ride
(you will not make it over the landslides, or risk severe injury)
- if you are not 100% physically fit
- if you suffer vertigo.
(not only the bridge. there is one really steep unsecured section to walk over the landslide)
- if your bike weighs much more than 14kg (it's just a pain in the ass)
- if you want to go with too many people
(just slows you down even more and you have more mechanical failures.
4 of us was a perfect team, to stay together and to help each other)
- if you take a minibus instead of a van
(there is one narrow curve just behind the mountain police post in the bottom,
where a minibus cannot turn.
you would have to ride up 9k to the start of the trail.
this curve was rebuild smaller after 2005)