HK Trail - Day 3

I'm tired after 3 days of running (and 3 days of blogging), so shall keep it short and let the pictures speak for themselves. 

Section 4

Wanchai Gap - Wong Nai Chung Gap    7.5km    Easy

This is the first "easy" section so far, but every easy section also has its difficulty part. This was especially true for the last part, an uphill climb with little shade.



Don't you just love these sign posts - so wooden, so simple



The trails are littered with nature info. I admit I hardly notice them when running, but if I were doing a leisure walk they would be very useful. Here's an explanation of why fruits are usually green before they are ripe, do you know why? 

The seeds in a fruit take time to be mature and able to reproduce. Thus the fruit protects the seeds and is green to camouflage itself with the surroundings. When the seeds are mature, the fruit turns into a bright colour and increase its sugar level to attract animals to eat them, so that the seeds can be excreted with their droppings and thus dispersed. 

Talk about cover and concealment, SAF would be proud 

First glimpse of the city after coming out of the forest

That's Ocean Park in the background 

A less obstructed view of the city below 



End of section 4, reward myself with a Coca Cola 


Section 5
Wong Nai Chung Rd - Mt Parker     4km     Very difficult

Finally met with a section rated as "very difficult". Again, very difficult sections also have easy portions. Whenever you go up a slope, you'll be rewarded with a downslope or stairs later on.



Halfway mark

 Part of HK Trail section 5 joins with.....Wilson Trail!! My favourite!! Long time no see, Wilson!


Where Wilson Trail meets HK Trail 

 I have trekked this section before, being section 2 of Wilson Trail. My memories of it....lots of steps. Endless steps! Here I am again. But whenever you stop and look back, you'll see a breath-taking view of the city. Ok so today the view is not fantastic due to the mist.

Steps after steps after steps. Huff and puff.....

The reward of climbing up stairs - beautiful views of the city below.



The actual view is 100x more awesome than whatever you see in pictures 



Summit of Mt Butler 

Just as I was running along the trail and enjoying the breeze, suddenly in front of me.....HOLY SHIT!! I literally jumped backwards! It was a bright green snake right in the middle of the trail. It was motionless except for its tongue. I waited and observed from a safe distance, finally it slowly slithered away into the bushes. What did I say about trails? You'll never know what you're gonna get, always keep your eyes and ears open. Do your risk assessment....CONSTANTLY!

Section 6
Mt Parker - Tai Tam Rd    4.5km    Easy

This is by far the easiest section, lots of gentle downslope.

Damn! I mean dam! 

Final water-stop before the end of section. Refreshing! 



Finally, end of section 6 and end of the longest day so far. 

Leaving my t-shirts to dry while I rest 



Section 4 completed     Wanchai Gap to Wong Nai Chung Rd     Distance: 7.5km    Difficulty: Easy

Section 5 completed     Wong Nai Chung Rd to Mt Parker Rd     Distance: 4km   Difficulty: Very hard

Section 6 completed     Mt Parker Rd to Tai Tam Rd                    Distance: 4.5km     Difficulty: Easy 

Total distance: 16km 

The day didn't just end with the run. That night, I went for a climbing Meetup group session. Pretty crowded, 20 climbers for 3 lanes. Anyway just did 2 easy climbs for fun, really tired from the running already. 

Met a fellow Singaporean who's in HK for work. He's wearing NTU Hall 6 t-shirt!

Pretty high wall