Hiking up and down Junk Peak (釣魚翁山)

We hiked up and down Junk Peak near Sai Kung on Saturday.  It looked scary enough when I saw it from a distance.  At first, I thought we were not going to climb up, but simply skirt it around the foot of the mountain. 

At the foot of Junk Peak, however, my friends decided to climb up.  I knew I would have a problem, with my height-induced vertigo.  But I decided to give it a go.  I told myself I would look straight ahead and up.  And if necessary, I would just close my eyes. 


Surely, climbing up was not too bad.  I did look over the sides, but only when I was crouched down safely on the rocks.  And the scenery was really worth it (will post the photos later).

Coming down was the part that I was worried about.  My friends went down first.  S deliberately went slowly just a couple of steps in front of me, and many times he kicked away loose stones to make it safer for me.  With people in front and below, I felt much better.  Even then, at the steepest places, I had to crouch down and use my hands to make sure I did not loose balance.  I was glad I had some real buddies there.  I was so relieved when I finally made it down safely.  I think my friends were relieved too.  Later on, one of them remarked that I walked much faster on level ground.  On the mountain, in contrast, I had to think before every step.  I am not proud of my height-induced vertigo, but I am proud that I made it down.

Looking back at Junk Peak from 布袋澳, It still looked really sharp and steep. We were amazed that we made it up there, and down safely.  

We rewarded ourselves with a sea food lunch.