Short&Sweet: Baojia Historic Trail
One of the major benefits of living on a countryside hillside is that there are numerous trails where I can refresh myself within just a few minutes' drive. Baojia Historic Trail(保甲古道) is one of them. It's short enough to finish one way in 30 minutes. It's a remnant of the lost Hakka art of building roads by stones. What makes it really unique is that, despite its short distance and proximity to the main road, just walking upwards 5 minnutes the tranquility that is often only found in bigger mountains will embrace you –– if you go early enough, the countless spider webs will embrace you, too.
In this season, the white petals of the tea tree along the road gently sprinkle. The fragrance of osmanthus fills my lungs the moment I enter the wood. Together with that tranquility, it almost feels surreal that 5 minutes ago I was on that busy road smelling car exhaust fumes. Plus, silvergrass is blooming. It's funny how they are normally seen as weeds but become something people would drive hours to see in Autumn.
Whenever I visit, I look for this huge fungus—antrodia camphorata if I'm not mistaken. The weather is cold now, so it looks asleep. The best season, or worst, to visit this fellow is summer. You can see the cloud of spores swirling and dissipating from it, glowing in the sun like a cloud of golden dust. I might be lucky I'm not allergic to that.
At the end of the trail sits a fancy hotel resort with a big sign rejecting me from going farther. That's fine since I'm here to visit another "friend", an acacia tree. I always sit under it idling like a doll for a while. Sometimes I'd even meditate under it for a bit.
Time to go home.
Going down is a lot faster. Maybe it's because my mind is gradually getting into working mode already. My feet are faster; my eyes don't wander but seek out the exit.
At the exit, this good old trail surprises me with another seasonal special: mulberries.
Short and refreshing walk. Inviting place to rest. And now sweet, literally.
Thanks for the treat.