After weeks and weeks of rain, suddenly the most beautiful weather for the weekend ~ and the whole of Taipei spent yesterday on Yang-Ming Shan Mountains!

Mega-long walk, 4:00am start from Sanzhi  三芝 via the graveyards – 5 hours to the top of Datun Shan 大屯山 (1092m), then 2-3 more hours to Qixing Shan 七星山 (1120m), finishing in a free foot-bath at the Lengshueikeng 冷水坑 Hot Springs and bus back at 2:00pm…..

Typhoon damage on the roads and paths meant some are still closed, and vandalism to the summit pillar on Qixing Shan means that it is currently all wrapped up in plastic…

As well as millions of people on the summit of Qixing Shan, there was also an ‘Asian Giant Hornet’ (虎頭蜂 ‘tiger head bee’ in Chinese) sitting there awaiting us…

Despite it’s name, it wasn’t too giant, and fortunately there was only one of ’em, and this one kindly posing for photos – without getting angry!

Thanking God for such an amazing range of mountains so close to Taiwan’s capital city, so well-traversed with paths and trails, so well-managed by the national parks authority, so accessible for cars and buses, and so well-used by so many ~ such a blessing!