The Shei-Pa National Park Headquarters and Hsinchu Forest District Office have improved hiking service quality by adjusting the bed capacity at Jiujyu Mountain Lodge from the current 100 applicants per day to 150. They are also piloting a regular motorbike-based supply transport system. Moving forward, they will also tidy up the work huts along the eastern section of the Dalu Forest Road and add outdoor rest facilities outside these huts, providing hikers with temporary resting and emergency shelter spaces.
Situated at an altitude of about 2,700 meters, Jiujyu Mountain Lodge covers a large area and has substantial accommodation capacity, making it a key base for those climbing the Daba group of peaks. Observing the growing popularity of hiking in recent years and the high volume of weekend and holiday visitors, the Shei-Pa National Park Headquarters recently discussed service improvement measures for the Daba Ridge hiking trail with the Hsinchu Forest District Office. The first step is to increase the number of available beds at Jiujyu Mountain Lodge to help accommodate accommodation demand during peak times.
Zheng Rui-chang, deputy director of the Shei-Pa National Park Headquarters, stated that in consideration of the working rights of tribal community members and to reduce the physical burden of transporting supplies, a pilot program for regular motorbike-based supply transport has been launched. He explained that in the past, food supplies for high-altitude support staff were transported entirely on foot. Transport personnel had to walk the approximately 19-kilometer-long eastern section of the Dalu Forest Road, and then climb a 1,000-meter elevation gain over a roughly 4-kilometer stretch from the Madala River trailhead—an extremely strenuous task for the knees.
Zheng Rui-chang said that the motorbike transport system replaces the previous foot-based transport process along the eastern section of the Dalu Forest Road, now allowing motorbikes to assist with carrying supplies during scheduled time periods. This significantly reduces the physical strain on personnel. In the future, the interior environments of the work huts along the route will also be tidied up and cleaning and maintenance will be strengthened. Since this section of the road has unstable geology and is prone to rockfalls and landslides in bad weather, hikers are reminded to pay close attention to weather forecasts to ensure their safety during the hike.
(China Times)