Fill some water bottles. Wear comfy shoes. Peter Spurrier suggests hiking on four long-distance trails at the fringes of a crowded city. What? Where? When? Why? He elaborates in The Serious Hiker's Guide to Hong Kong (2010, 6th edition, FormAsia Books Ltd, 308 pages).
This author gladly tells his readers to “take a hike” and “where to go”, but not “get lost”. His advice, supported by detailed maps and spectacular photos, indicates the way forward almost stride-by-stride.
Living in skyscrapers, most Hong Kong people lack private gardens. Luckily, they can commune with nature on all or parts of the 50-kilometre Hong Kong Trail (high on Hong Kong Island), 78-km Wilson Trail (edge-to-edge across Hong Kong), 100-km MacLehose Trail (meandering in the New Territories) and 70-km Lantau Trail (circular on Lantau Island).
“Tackle each stage separately or bring a tent and make a weekend of it – if you choose the latter option and spend a night away from the usual neon glow, you may make the arresting discovery that there are indeed stars in the Hong Kong sky.”
Sights along the way -- rugged coastline, impressive peaks, hillside streams, historic ruins, pesky monkeys and roaming cattle – so differ from urban Hong Kong's street scenes that first-time trail-walkers may gape in disbelief. A few spectacles are absolutely unique. “You pass a disused military installation on your right, fenced and shuttered since British forces departed. The sign warns, ‘Government Property – Unauthorized Entry Prohibited’. Who holds the key to the lock and sliding bolt, both now rusted solid?”
A polished guide (unlike some in Hong Kong, he won't insult anyone for ‘spending too little on shopping'), Spurrier constantly gives helpful details. He covers the trails in manageable sections, rating each portion as “strenuous”, “fairly challenging” or “easy rambling”. At the right moments, he identifies landmarks and tells where to find refreshments, snacks or toilets. It's all part of revealing what to expect, such as: “You can be confident of meeting no cars..., but you may encounter horses from the riding school....”
Some instructions are amazingly precise. “The village shop is a little way off to the right. Drag the shopkeeper away from her TVB drama to supply you with drinks and nibbles....”
With time to ponder when hiking, Spurrier indulges in a little personification. “At Pottinger Gap, the road ends, seemingly exhausted from pushing its way through such thick undergrowth.”
At times, the author reveals a sense of humor. “Some lad has carried a KMB bus-stop sign over hill and dale, 5 km from the nearest road, to place it in his front yard. Don't wait for a bus here.”
As needed, Spurrier shares snippets of history. “The level track is named for the wife of Sir Cecil Clementi, a former Governor of Hong Kong (1925-30).... Lady Clementi was a notorious prude. She vetted all the books bought for the Helena May Library. Any reference to a kiss or a cuddle and the book was out.”
There's a little music commentary too. “The Twins, not a mediocre Canto-pop duo but a pair of hills with equal musical talent, appear ahead of your line of travel.”
Even the 1989 Beijing Massacre gets mentioned. No book about any aspect of Hong Kong or China should ignore that.
Exercising foresight, the author mentions all the hazards that hikers dread. “Of all the dangers naturally present on a Hong Kong hike – snakes, macaques, feral dogs, ravines, flash floods, hill fires, landslides – it's the heat which is most likely to affect you, in the form of sunstroke or dehydration.”
Every hiker fears snakes. “Should you encounter a serpent, your best course is to stay still and let it escape. I have twice come face to face on Lantau with Burmese pythons, but in each case the gigantic snake was given a respectfully wide berth and allowed to slither away into the undergrowth.”
Spurrier tells how to find public transport before and after each outing. Even then, he wants no one getting lost.
Despite the author's finesse, it's the hundreds of color photos taken along the trails by Kwan Kwong Chung and Sathish Gobinath that make this book extra special. Not only do the images match the author's descriptions, but they will deeply impress even those readers unlikely to hike.
The photo captions contain alliteration -- with “rivulets of rocks”, “gregarious great egrets”, “vertiginous vantage points” and “Sunday solitude – short of the summit”. Sometimes the clever caption-writer gets outsmarted, as in “rain-swollen waters rush rapidly downstream”. Who, or what, ever rushes slowly?
Much too abruptly, the book ends after the fourth trail, just as its readers crave a few conclusions. Did long hikes leave the author lacking the energy and enthusiasm for proper parting words?
Hiking in the hills dominates Spurrier's list of hobbies. He also wrote The Leisurely Hiker's Guide to Hong Kong about 40 shorter, easier walks, each easily done in an afternoon.
With The Serious Hiker's Guide, amateur “explorers” can set out in confidence. They'll be well informed and protected from wrong steps.
Approval rating: 78 per cent.
For more information: www.formasiabooks.com
(July 26, 2010)
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