Photos: Andrew Leung
“Blocked”, “Unfinished”, “Unsuccessful”, “Failed the fifth attempt”… We often see people share pictures of beautiful scenery, rare birds, insects or happy group photos after their hike, but the hiking record of TrailWatch user Andrew is something different. His records are not always exciting, but he informatively writes down the places that he has been to and the species he has seen. And once every few hikes, the words “failed on the first visit” appears on his profile.
If we can see a world in a grain of sand, then Andrew’s 800-plus hiking records on TrailWatch can show us his temperament and mentality. His hiking records in Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, the UK, Scotland, the US, Canada and Madagascar reveal how one person can interact with mountains and its culture through hiking.
What drives Andrew to keep exploring and climb overseas? Out of curiosity, we invited him to tell us his inspirational stories as we sat next to the Red House in the mountainside of Hong Kong Island East.
First Analyse the Risk, Then Take up the Challenge
“Analysing the risk is actually the best part of the hiking experience!” Andrew summarised his years of hiking in this way. Unsurprisingly, he showed up to our meeting wearing an earth-tone shirt, trousers and a backpack. On the surface, he looks like he is in his third age, but the way he talks is like a teenager who loves adventure.
Andrew shared about his experiences hiking around the world. We couldn’t help but ask about the well-known ladder crawling experience when he talked about his visit to Yarigatake in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. “It was not too hard to climb the chain near the peak of Yarigatake on my first visit, but when I looked down…” Andrew always looks calm but he gasped when he recalled the moment, “I was still a newbie back then and I was lucky to meet a Taiwan hiking team at 4pm-ish when the weather was still good, so I decided to tag along with them! When you climb the ladder… remember to hold on tight. But actually it was not dangerous, the ladder is firm and solid. The facilities in Japan are never too much, which keeps the fun of hiking while not disrupting the scenery.”
Hiking of course is usually to experience the nice view but Andrew also enjoys the trips with unexpected weather. “Once, on the day to summit Tsurugidake, we found out the weather was not good. But when we arrived at the mountain hut, we ate delicious ramen, shopped for clothes, had a hot shower and slept soundly that night. It was a luxury!”
Another time he was at the highest peak of Scotland – Ben Nevis – which he had already visited once before when the weather was nice, but on the revisit, he encountered a heavy snowstorm. It was incredibly painful as the snow hit fell on Andrew, “I was a man who could not do anything, every step was difficult and I could see nothing. It was only 1,000m in height or so but I felt like I was climbing K2. I was grateful that I hired a guide who knew the way and he kept on encouraging me to walk forward.”
Despite his extensive hiking experience, Andrew humbly researches thoroughly before every climb. He uses a map to analyse the terrain, learns where the challenging spots are and plans his meals. When you look at his description in the hiking record, you can even tell how many sweet potatoes he had eaten.
Hallasan: An Unfinished Ambition After Three Visits
Andrew struggled under the blizzard in Scotland, still, to be able to enjoy a snowy view up at the highest mountain in South Korea, Hallasan, is one of Andrew’s biggest wishes. To make this wish come true, he visited Jeju Island with his family three times. “First soak in the 38°C warm water for 10 minutes to get used to the temperature, then soak for another 10 minutes in the 43°C water. This is an effective way to eliminate fatigue. The third time we climbed Hallasan we were hoping to see a snowy land but we did not see it. The weather forecast predicted -1 to -4°C, but there was no snow, just a little residual ice.”
“The weather for this climb to Hallasan was sunny. Although the ground was frosting, the gunny sacks helped a lot. There are enough road signs but unfortunately I still couldn’t see the snowy view that I had envisioned.” This is what Andrew wrote for his third visit to Hallasan.
Sept 2018
Jan 2020
“Hiking in Hong Kong is actually dangerous, it is not that hard, but we disregard the danger because we think we are familiar with it.” After hiking in so many places, Andrew still takes caution when he hikes in Hong Kong. For him, there are still many places that have not yet been discovered. His own mentality together with the lands, the trails and the snowy mountains around the world give him a special “mountain mindset”.
Andrew's TrailWatch Footprint:
