More checking of small streams around Maclehose stage 1. Barely one nice waterfall and a little more. For the “I want to see them all”s
- Beauty/fun: 3/10 the stream could be cute, but it has almost no high waterfalls, the flow is medium low, and it is a pain vegetation wise.
- Difficulty (check this link if new here, this is not your standard HK hiking web): 6/10 just because of the bushwalk navigation atop. Not easy in the current conditions and I guess this stream is seldom hiked, so I don’t think it will improve in the future.
- The map (how to download to your phone offline maps)
See full screen & the Garmin track.
I had still a few more streams pending in the area. So another early start in Pak Tam Chung, this time directly hiking from the bus station there. Cross the bridge and on the Pak Tam Chung Nature trail. In no time, the start of Sheung Yiu Hang 上窰坑. Called that way because of the hamlet just next to it, with several restored old houses and a mini museum. Just meters after the lower entry. The stream looked recently opened. A group had used pruners or a machete to open (only) this first section. Heavy vined before, it was easy to go through.
Full of “healthy hikers” ribbons too. There are a few water gathering structures here although in early November the water flow was low.
After the renewed old path crossing I could continue finding hikers traces (broken or cut branches & plants), but way less and therefore the vegetation was denser. A few dense vine sections and some thorns up until the exit, which was complicated. I tried to continue on the stream after (5) but it got muddy and it didn’t looked hiked (no machete cuts and others). There is a hiking path marked on the East at 40m distance. So I headed up that way in the woods (2:36). Initially easy. Heavy bush fight later, full cloth cover and pruners. 17 min for 80m… Most of it in the last 10m 😅
Once in the “path” it was tricky to follow. It seems it was originally created by the family going to the grave (6). Instead of ribbons they put empty plastic bottles (3:08) and cans on branches. But the bush was quite dense and a recent typhoon had broken several trees. I lost the bottle path at least once heading down to a little valley, but I was able to reconnect a little bit further. Eventually, I arrived at a newer tomb (7) and from there the hike was significantly easier. Nevertheless, I changed my original plan. I had thought to go back directly to the coastline through one of the paths around, but after the bush walk I decided to loop through the road and main path instead, just in case. Next spot 曝罟灣 Po Kwu Wan & PKHang.
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