testmeat photoblog

the main reason that i went to tainan was because it looked like the closest, interesting city from which to make my way inland to the bamboo forests in the centre of taiwan. i came across a blogpost about walking the fenrui historical trail which sounded absolutely magical as you get to walk right through the heart of the bamboo forest, surrounded on all sides by thousands of towering sticks of bamboo. the only aspect which gave me pause for thought was that this trail is 7km of predominantly up or downhill trekking, and once you get to the end the only way back is the way you came. i wasn't sure how i'd be able to cope with 14km of steep gradients, so i set my alarm early the morning after i arrived to give it a go.

i soon realised that there would be more challenges than whether my unfit body would be able to endure the full journey. not long before i arrived a typhoon had ripped through the island, and the strong winds had shaken and snapped a lot of the forest, leaving the bamboo scattered at unpredictable angles all across the path. it started out as fun little obstacle course where i had to climb over or duck under the shoots to continue climbing up the initial ascent. however as i continued it became clear that the obstacles were considerably more restrictive as i struggled to contort and squeeze my body through the small gaps. a couple of hours in i made it to this shelter to take a little break, but i only made it a few hundred metres beyond this point before i encountered an impassable barrier. i was so reluctant to give up, but after assessing it for way too long i had to concede that the number and density of bamboo sticks that were blocking my path could not be overcome. i turned back to retrace my steps just as the heavens opened and rain started showering from the sky, so i raced back to seek shelter in this hut. i was frustrated that i couldn't make it any further, but as annoying as the rainstorm was it did help validate my decision to turn back.

here's another photo from the outside of the hut, showing it's position in a clearing of the bamboo towers