There are different legends roaming around the hiking community, the most well-known stories include the red dress ghost who is said to have drowned in Bride's Pool, compasses stop working in So Lo Pun, and the legendary Sai Kung mystic realm. Looking across the country parks, there are also several places called Haunted Bridge or Ghost Bridge. As the Chinese Hungry Ghost Festival comes, the smell of burning joss paper and other paper-made material goods for the departed spirits has filled the streets. At the same time, reminders about being extra careful when going into the water has become more frequent between friends and families. In Chinese culture there is folklore about water ghosts seeking substitutes in water. Vicky, a TrailWatch user who enjoys mountains and sea and also the founder of Mon. Aqua hiking team shared her paranormal experience in the mountains with us.
We met Vicky at Yuen Long Park which was an execution and burial ground during the Japanese occupation. As a native resident of Yuen Long she is familiar with its surrounding terrains and history. Vicky enthusiastically introduced Yuen Long Park to us and led us to the top of the Aviary Pagoda (which is rumoured to be suppressing the surrounding ghosts), then she continued to tell us local stories that have been shared since the 1960s. When we asked her about her supernatural experience in the wild, we received smiles and whispers, “let’s go somewhere else to talk about it.”
We then sat on a bench outside Yuen Long Park and Vicky started to tell us her story. “People like us who have been wandering in the wild since we were young rarely take mountaineering courses. When two of my friends, both very experienced in hiking, lost their lives in the mountains I became interested in learning mountain theory. I took the mountaineering course in 2016 for my own safety, as well as to accompany friends.”
However, strange incidents happened during the course…
During a mountaineering assessment, Vicky went through a continuous 22 hours training. They first finished the orienteering in Chek Kang, then climbed up to Sharp Peak at 11pm and descended to Ham Tin Wan during midnight to camp for a few hours. The next day there was a knot tying assessment, a hike across Sai Wan and the entire Sheung Luk Stream, before ending at the Pak Tam Au Management Centre. After hours of training while carrying over 10KG of weight, Vicky and her classmates were exhausted. At the latter section of Sheung Luk Stream, a classmate had accidentally fallen between rocks and seriously sprained his knee with several ligaments torn. A helicopter rescue was needed so a few coaches stayed for assistance, but Vicky’s group was told to leave first because it was late.
The group decided to take Pak Tam Road to the finishing point at Pak Tam Au Management Centre. They walked along the road until a ramp where Vicky started to experience tinnitus and her surroundings became very silent, almost without any insect chirps. There was an ancient traffic kiosk on the side of the road at a distance, and someone wearing 70s’ police / AFCD uniform with shorts was standing there. Vicky and her classmates were extremely confused and paused in their footsteps. They all took out a map and compass to confirm the location; however, the guard and the kiosk both disappeared when they looked up again. The road looked normal.
It might be an illusion if just one person experienced this scene, but how do you explain when many people saw it and it suddenly disappeared? Some tried to explain it using science: visions occurring when one is extremely fatigued and the mind starts to play tricks. Some people have lost their lives when climbing snowy mountains and were found undressed. It sounds strange but it has been suggested that this is due to the illusion of elevated body temperature at the time near death.
In ancient Chinese classics tracing back to the Warring States Period, there are already records of mountain and water spirits. Those evil spirits in the mountains were believed to confuse people and create various illusions.
“The most important thing for hiking is to respect nature. Do not hike alone so you will have a helping hand when an accident happens.” Vicky summed up with an important principle. Believe it or not, just respect nature. Regardless of what you can feel or see, try to minimize the disturbance to nature. Hike with your friends to avoid dangerous situations. All these reminders match with Leave No Trace principles.