One Night on a Mountain Top Near Wulai
“So this one night on a mountain top near Wulai…” is not something I thought I’d ever say, much less do. But I can, because I did. It was a night that had my inner biologist geek jumping up and down in excitement. As much as one can jump at 3am, while resting on a mountain road, with the possibility of wild pigs giving chase. Because that happened too. Fortunately, sans the wild pigs.
The Adventure Begins
Joseph (East Asia’s Influence on My Life: The Taiwanese Influence) has a good friend named Cole whose passion is entomology. His specific focus is beetles, and not just any beetles. The fantastic creatures he seeks are the ones that this biologist appreciates, as does my daughter, Chloe (who made this trip too). However, it’s safe to say they send most people running quickly in the opposite direction. They vary in size, though they are often large. The most exciting ones have large pincers on their heads. Sometimes they come in fantastic colors, though they’re frequently the color of the forest and night they live in.
You can’t find these beetles just anywhere or at just any time of the year or month. Getting to the sample site on a moonless night during the precise time of the year when the beetles are active takes coordinated planning and effort. In our case, it required taking a lot of unusual looking equipment on a public bus out of Taipei. With people surreptitiously glancing at us, we wrestled our gear through the bus doors and made our way undeterred to the end of the bus line. Our waiting taxi took us the rest of the way up the crazy, winding mountain road to our destination.
We zoomed upward around curves, past waterfalls and through ever thickening, primordial looking forest, until the road simply ended. The taxi driver’s deft turn around on the tiny mountain road was terrifying. There was nothing but a sheer drop on one side of the road. He would insist on backing off the road towards that drop as he made his 12 point turn.
The Setup
Safely out of the taxi, and high above the Atayal aboriginal village of Wulai in northern Taiwan, Cole picked out a site for the light trap.
He and Joseph quickly assembled the equipment, attaching a large white sheet to a framework. Positioning a bright light above the sheet, we waited for nightfall and the arrival of the beetles. And the people.
I didn’t believe people would show up. Our site was surrounded by gorgeous, forest covered mountains stretching as far as the eye could see. Who in the world would trek all the way up this mountain in the middle of the night?!
Party on the Mountain Top
Twilight deepened into night and the insect traffic increased around the light trap. So did the people ascending the mountain. Those in the know could see the light for miles and sought it out. Suddenly, there was a small entomology convention in full swing. Discussions of various beetles or insects ensued. The pros or cons of different trapping methods were debated. One of the party-goers set up a mercury lamp and generator next to our light trap as an additional lure. Wait. He was actually prepared and brought that with him?! This is a bigger deal than I thought.
Through out the night Cole or Joseph would pluck a beetle off the sheet and pour through the ID handbook. My limited knowledge of Mandarin didn’t allow me to participate in the identification process. It is the nature of the scientist to want to participate, understand, and share in the work of discovery. Lack of knowledge in this language frustrated my attempts, so back to YoYoChinese.com and the Mandarin books for me!
Descent into Wulai
Staying up through the night isn’t something I do on a regular basis, but this night was exceptional. Watching and hearing the mountains settle from day into night and back again is something I’ve never experienced. Watching day break over the landscape is breathtaking, with its mists and slow slide into daylight. It was worth being tired just to see that. Chloe and I saw and heard so much more because we made this trip up the mountain near Wulai.
The four mile descent into the village of Wulai was done on foot. Joseph and Cole kept watch for feral dogs, another mountain peril. But feral dogs, like the wild pigs, kept their distance and we arrived unmenaced and bleary-eyed at journey’s end. The luxurious car ride from Wulai to Taipei made me ever grateful for my dear friend who supplied it. Thank you, my sister!! And thank you to Cole and Joseph for the amount of planning and coordination required to make this journey happen. We have amazing memories because of your efforts.
This isn’t a journey for everyone. For those up for the adventure, though, I promise you’ll love being able to say, “So this one night on a mountain top near Wulai…”