Hiking trail representatives from Canada, Japan and South Korea forged a bond with hiking trail organizations in Taiwan on Sunday at events initiated by the Taiwan Thousand Miles Trail Association (TMI Trail).
Following a day and a half of symposiums, hiking trail delegations from Canada, Japan and South Korea headed out to experience first hand several hiking trails around Taiwan.
At the conclusion of the 4th Asia Trails Conference presentation and discussions, representatives from Canada’s Bruce Trail Conservancy embarked on a two and a half day trip to Alishan to experience the national park’s historical hiking trail and sign a friendship trails collaboration with Tefuye Historical Trail.
Meanwhile, representatives from South Korea and Japan walked parts of the Tamsui-Kavalan Trails in Houtong, New Taipei on Sunday.
“The climb was kind of hard because of the wet weather and steep stairs,” said South Korean representative Eunjoo Ahn. “However, I enjoyed the natural scenery of the trail.”
Ahn is the CEO of Jeju Olle Foundation, a non-profit hiking trail organization based in South Korea.
The foundation was named after the Jeju word “olle,” meaning a small alley leading to a house from the street.
The foundation previously visited TMI Trail in Taiwan in November 2019 and signed an official friendship trails partnership agreement with Taiwan’s Raknus Selu Trail.
Currently, the foundation has namesake trails in Mongolia and Japan, including one in Japan’s Miyagi Prefecture, from which a delegation was also present at the New Taipei hike.
The Japanese prefecture also sent a delegation of assembly members to experience Taiwan’s trails as there are plans for the Golden Letters Tablet Trail part of the Tamsui-Kavalan Trails in Houtong to sign a friendship trail collaboration agreement with the Oku-Matsushima Trail route of the Miyagi Olle Trail.
“The Miyagi Olle Trail is the sister trail to the Jeju Olle Trail, created as a healing experience after the prefecture suffered from the devastation of the 2011 disaster,” said Shuya Takahashi, a member of Miyagi Prefectural Assembly. “We look forward to the possibility of establishing a friendship trail agreement with Taiwan, which lent a helping hand to us during the disaster.”
On the signing of a Taiwan and Japan trail collaboration agreement, Miyagi Prefectural Assembly Chairman Keiichi Kikuchi added: “Between nations, conversations may get complicated when it comes to politics. However, when it comes to hiking, communication becomes easy and comfortable.”
“We really appreciate all the work and effort that TMI Trail put into the whole conference,” said Auran Buckles from Hong Kong, “especially the trail experience today.”
Together with her partner Nate Harris from the United States, Buckles and Harris are the founders of Henro.org, a digital organization that advocates for pilgrimage trails around the world, who was invited to participate in this year’s Asia Trails Conference.
“The Asia Trails conference was full of expertise from trail professionals hailing from Asian countries,” Harris said, “who had really good knowledge on trail maintenance and how to better connect with communities.”
Both Buckles and Harris are also two of twelve individuals to be honored as a World Trails Ambassador by the World Trails Network in 2022.
Before the delegations took off to experience the Golden Letters Table Trail on Sunday, New Taipei Mayor Hou Yu-ih (???) opened the event by thanking TMI Trail for its efforts to bring together Taiwan trails with their Asian counterparts.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel