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About Qilai East Ridge
The Difficulty Rating: ★★★★⯪4.5
Qilai East Ridge (奇萊東稜) is a prominent side ridge diverging from Central Mountain Range. It runs eastward from Qilai North Peak (奇萊北峰). The hike along this ridge is much more challenging than Qilaishan Main & North Peak (奇萊主北) or even Qilai Range (奇萊連峰). Traditionally Qilai East Ridge, Mabolasih Trail (馬博橫斷), South Section 3 (南三段) and Ganzhuowan Peaks (干卓萬群峰) are considered as the four most difficult Baiyue hiking routes in Taiwan (四大障礙). Although this general consensus may be partially based on some subjective impression, but Qilai East Ridge is definitely not for a novice or an unprepared hiker.
I hiked on Qilai East Ridge in September 2011. Before the trip I already heard its reputation a lots.
Many hikers figure out the bush bashing in the tall and dense arrow bamboo (箭竹) forest is a nightmare on this hike and it can be easy to get lost in the bush. But I found my experience not that painful and actually there were abundant of trail markers on the bamboos because many hikers thought if they do not leave enough makers the following people would go missing.
From time to time I did have to push the canes apart to be able to move forward, but it was more like a test for patience. The steep and tricky terrains where hikers need to scramble diligently was the tasks that made the hike challenging.
When we were about to finish the hike on Yanhai Forest Road (研海林道), we encountered a hornet attack; we all survived, but the lady whose face was sprayed by a hornet got stung twice, fortunately not resulting in more serious condition. The hike was during to a hornet active season and we were at their altitude range, even I got a bee sting for the first time for no reason.
Overall, this 6-day hike on Qilai East Ridge was unlike its notorious reputation. I think the great leadership of our guides and the fine weather should take the credit. Even so, during the 14 years after this trip I have not had any incentive to visit this trail again.
