| Monday, January 08, 2007 - 07:01 pm This is "wing@lava.net" I just want to see if anyone has ever done this Nai Chung ridge. It is completely overgrown now and needs major work. 12/31/2006 HK-NAI CHUNG RIDGE This is Ma On again. Nai Chung ridge is mentioned in a hiking book written by a Brit named Graham in 1938 or so who was director of the HK Observatory. He claimed to climb up from Nai Chung (or Kwun Hang) and from Tai Tung. Later commentaries say that these trails are nonexistent, and it is next to impossible to summit. I checked the internet, and no one to date actually claims to have done these two. However, there is a contour path / ledge about 1500 feet high that passes thru all these ridges, Ma Mei, Nai Chung, and Tai Tung, plus it goes to Elephant Trunk and then the Horse Head peak. This is today named Nei Tin Ledge Path, which means Near Heaven. Ma Mei is definitely doable to the top. Nai Chung and Tai Tung start reasonably, but get very steep near the top. Elephant Trunk is steep almost the whole way, but people have definitely done that one: there are pictures, http://hk.geocities.com/outdoor802/LingCheung.htm No one says they have done Nai Chung, even the bottom. So I checked it out. It is beyond the end of the railway, and I got a taxi. There is a BBQ site, with lots of people, it being Sunday. No one has heard of a trail. After looking around and around, I decided to use the lopper and start from the very bottom. There is a swath at all times, but this is majorly overgrown, the most overgrown trail shown on a map in HK I've ever seen. In fact it reminds me of Papali Uka (to Castle) when it is overgrown. Ridge is very easy. But I took 3 hours clearing that only took 35 min. walking back. I glimpsed the way ahead, and did behold the section which steepens, at least 60 degrees. This calls for major trail-clearing. Maybe the govt. can be notified. The HK govt. actually clears trails, and it also makes lots of trails.
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