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About Yushan Rear Four Peaks (玉山後四峰)
The Difficulty Rating: ★★★⯪☆ 3.5
Yushan Rear Four Peaks (玉山後四峰), Yushan South Peak (玉山南峰), Nanyushan (南玉山), East Xiaonan Peak* (Dongxiaonanshan 東小南山) and Lushan (鹿山), are on the southern ridges of Yushan Main Peak.
If climbing Yushan Main Peak is like a crowded festival, then the hike to the Rear Four Peaks is the field of solitude, more suitable for experienced and keen hikers.
Yuanfong Cabin (or Yuanfeng Cabin 圓峰山屋) / Campground functions as the base camp for hikers to reach each peak. A tight but possible schedule for this trip is a 3-day hike.
The first day starts from the trail head at Tataka Saddle (塔塔加鞍部); have your park permit checked by the ranger at the Paiyun Lodge, then go up along the trail above treeline and underneath the Yushan South Ridge; after turning to the corner of Yuanfeng (圓峰), the route descends smoothly into a small basin with the cabin only a few hundred meters ahead.
The second day will be a big day which you may want to reach Yushan South Peak during the sunrise, then head to either Lushan or East Xiaonan Peak first. Remember the hike back to Yuanfong Cabin from Lushan will have a long “uphill” section. The third day is still a big day as hikers will have a return trip to Nanyushan plus the hike from the cabin to the Tataka Saddle trail head.
I hiked on these trails solo in the summer of 2013 when I lived in Madou (麻豆), Tainan. It was a tough trip, not just because of the hike itself but also the traffic time on my ancient scooter between Madou and Shangdongbu (上東埔). It took my poor scooter 3.5 hours up to Dongpu Lodge (東埔山莊) and 3 hours back to Madou right after the hike. There were a couple of times the engine almost failed on the winding highway but it still made it, really appreciated!
Find more information about the hikes on the more popular Yushan Front Five Peaks (玉山前五峰) and a special route to Yushan Main Peak via Yushan South Ridge (玉山南稜).
*The English names of this peak (東小南山) may include Dongxiaonanshan, Siaonan East Peak, East Siaonan Peak or Xiaonan East Peak; the first one is a word for word pronunciation.
From the trail junction of Yushan South Peak to Lushan the elevation drops over 800 m.
The top of Lushan is actually just on the edge of the east ridge from Yushan South Peak; the only angle of view that Lushan may look like a mountain would be from valley of Laonong River (荖濃溪) on the eastern side, a difficult position for ordinary hikers to arrive.
If you look toward Lushan from South Section 2, all you can see is just a side ridge angling down from Yushan South Peak. Anyway, the way back from Lushan to the South Peak trail junction was a strenuous uphill hike.
