Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Walking from Hōgen (Toyohara) to Tōsei, and back again

On this sometimes warm, sometimes cold afternoon, I took a long walk along the Tūng​fēng Bicycle Trail 東豐自行車緑廊. And I do mean long, for if the distance markers were correct (and my sore feet have me thinking they were), I covered roughly 16 kilometers (9.9 miles) round-trip in about 3¼ hours. Next time I'll know better than to wear my ordinary shoes.

The cherry blossoms 櫻花「サクラ」 were still hanging in there today.

The Tūng​fēng Iron Bridge 東豐鐵橋, the ostensible reason for my walk today. The last time I strolled this route , I was stopped by the Tà​chiǎ​ River 大甲溪, as the bridge didn't exist at that time. Crossing over to the Tūng​shì​h 東勢 side meant that I had finally walked every part of this trail. Mission accomplished!

The trail looks prettier now than it did almost four years ago.

On the site of the old Méi​tzu Station 梅子車站, there was a photo display of scenes of damage from the Sept. 21, 1999 Chí​chí​ earthquake 921大地震 (the Fēng​yuán 豐原/Dongshi​ area was hit hard by the quake). How apropos in light of recent events in Japan.

An old Japanese-style home.

A section of railroad track near the former Shíhkāng​ Station 石岡車站 that had buckled as a result of the 921 quake.

One difference between walking this trail today compared to October 2007 was that there were a lot more cyclists out riding on this weekday afternoon. Still, it was a pleasant walk, and proof that bicycle trails are not just for bikes.

No comments:

Post a Comment