in-all-places: Hong Kong best hikes: stage 4 & 5 MacLehose Trail

Stage 4 & 5 MacLehose Trail

From Sai Kung, Kei Ling Ha, O Taw new village - to Sham Shui Po, Tai Po Road, Piper's Hill

To do only Stage 4 it was not an option because the stage 4 ends somehow unusual - in the middle of nowhere - at Gilwell Camp Site; there’s no way you can access any public transport from this end so if you choose to leave the trail now you'll have to walk to civilisation of Hong Kong. That means another 5/6 km, walking down the hill to Clear Water Bay Road. Better keep the trail, isn’t it?

From Kei Ling Ha - the bust station name is ‘O Tau New Village’ - follow the signs directing you into the woods: forests and real hiking trails going up and up. My best hikes ever!

The landmarks of the hike:
Section 4:
The Hunch Backs (Ngau Ngak Shan) (674 m)
Ma On Shan (702 m)
Pyramid Hill (Tai Kam Chung) (536 m)
Buffalo Hill (606 m)
Gilwell Campsite

Section 5:
Tate’s Cairn
Jat's Incline on Fei Ngo Shan Road
Sha Tin Pass (here is finally! a small restaurant selling drinks and food)
Lion Rock (495m) - this is optional, you an skip it and still be on the trail
Reunification Pavilion
Beacon Hill (458m)
Tai Po road, Piper's Hill - where buses will take you back to town

At the end of stage 4, we kept the path and avoided Gilwell camp which was on our left side; big mistake since we could replenish our water reserve in the camp. Lucky enough some of our hiking companions did it right and visited the camp for few minutes. And when they did catch up with us later, they kindly shared their water bottles with us!

Stage 5 is a long, long haul; it starts down the road from the camp site and heads up and over Tate's Cairn (Tai Lo Shan), with lots of military relics. Once you pass over the hill you reach Jat's Incline, take the road down on your right, on the ridge behind Diamond Hill until you hit Sha Tin Pass. Take a short break and move on!
Actually this was the most difficult part of the hike for me: the path was constantly slippery - sandy or wet, and going up was actually climbing up! Although after Beacon Hill the trail goes mainly down I still felt it heavily on my legs. It was a killer to my knees as I was to find out next day!