Welcome to the Hike of all Hikes!
Intro to this Cache Location
After a very challenging , yet rewarding 5-kilometer hike, you get to Wochuan Cave, a spectacular natural cave about 30 minutes before you get to Thousand-Person Cave (千人洞). It gets its name from the fact that it looks like a boat lying on its side. As you enter the cave traveling in the direction of Thousand-Person Cave (千人洞), you'll see a faint red arrow that has been spray painted onto one of the rocks. Shine your flashlight into the rocks underneath that one with the red arrow to find the small Tupperware container cache. You can click on the spoiler photo to help you better locate the right rocks.
Info About Road Condition (from Shih Gu Pan Villa (石鼓盤山莊) to Trailhead Parking Lot for Thousand-Person Cave)
Please note: The road (beginning at Waypoint 1) to the parking lot is a very narrow road that is only wide enough for one car and has very few spots to allow enough room for another vehicle to pass, so please drive this route very carefully. If you meet oncoming traffic, pulling off to the side is very difficult to virtually impossible as there is way too much plant overgrowth on either side to allow for safe parking so please note that you may have to back up to a wider area somewhere along the road to allow for oncoming traffic to pass. With that said, this route is usually not busy so it is unlikely you will run into any oncoming traffic but still be prepared. Please park your vehicles at the parking lot referenced in Waypoint 4.
Info About Trail from Xingfeng Bridge (行豐吊橋) to Thousand-Person Cave (千人洞)
IMPORTANT INFORMATION: This hike is very demanding and requires a lot of physical strength. The one-way distance from the Xingfeng Bridge (行豐吊橋) to Thousand Person Cave (千人洞) is about 6 kilometers and takes about 3 to 4 hours to get to. (This is walking at a leisurely pace with periodic stops for breaks accounted for.) There are many steep parts that go up rock faces and these challenges will go from the beginning of the trail after crossing Xingfeng Bridge (行豐吊橋) and continue all the way to Wochuan Cave (我船洞), which is about 5 kilometers from the beginning of the hike. After Wochuan Cave (臥船洞), the trail will become much tamer and flatter. However, before this point, the trail is very steep and challenging. Even though the trail is well marked with trail banners tied to trees, be careful when using trees or other plants to pull yourself up the trail as there are a lot of poisonous plants or plants with thorns. The trail does, though, have a lot of ropes tied around nearby trees to assist in pulling yourself up so make good use of those ropes; however, there are still a few precarious spots that lack safety ropes and the dirt/rocks below can be quite loose at times and may give way, causing you to slip and fall so please be extra careful. Also, there are a few sections along the trail that are near cliffs and the trail at these sections is extremely narrow--about a meter or so wide. As this is a trail deep in the mountains of Taiwan, you must stock up on food, water and other necessities before beginning the hike. The closest convenience store, as well as other small food places and lodging, is in the village of Shigupan (石鼓盤), which is about a ten-minute drive from the Parking Lot referenced in Waypoint 4. Supplies may be limited in this area so please plan accordingly. Please only attempt this hike if you feel physically fit to do so and have the necessary equipment (i.e. proper hiking shoes, gloves, additional ropes, etc.).
Please Note: I have only done the round-trip hike (approximately 12 kilometers total) starting at Xingfeng Bridge (行豐吊橋) to Thousand-Person Cave (千人洞) at a leisurely pace in about 8 hours total (including stops for breaks and lunch). So plan for a full day if you wish to find the caches along this trail to Thousand-Person Cave (千人洞). The trail continues onwards past Thousand-Person Cave (千人洞) to Shuiyang Forest (水漾森林) and other locations past that but I have not hiked to any of those places yet so I cannot access the condition of the trail beyond Thousand-Person Cave (千人洞). If you decide to continue on, you do so at your own risk and must be fully prepared!
Remember: Geocaching is all about going to a new place and being introduced to something new but with some caches come inherent risks. This one will be much more enjoyable and the risks minimized if you heed the suggestions and keep in mind the warnings outlined above. I did not place this geocache to put people's lives in danger or to scare people. This geocache was placed to give a challenging hike to the adventurous Geocachers that will reward them with one of the most stunningly beautiful places I have ever visited in Taiwan. I hope you will love this secret place as much as I do. Hike slow and take in all the beautiful sights Mother Nature has to offer.
Miscellaneous Info
Also, you will need to get a hiking permit to enter this region. You can apply for one by clicking on the website here. Unfortunately the website is only in Chinese at the moment so please ask a native speaker of Chinese to assist if you need help applying for a permit.