Like a local - Yuanyang lake and Cueifeng lake DAY 3

The third and final day started with a freezing morning. After breakfast, we stepped out to get ready to load all the equipment into the car, and Dr. Tang spotted the beautiful ocean of clouds! We were about 1800m above sea level, and due to the cold and the geographical location, the cloud have gathered below us, and it looked like the ocean (only that it was made up of clouds). It was mesmerising, looking at the clouds tumbling below us...

After standing there staring into the beauty of nature for a couple more minutes, we were ready to roll out - back to Yuanyang lake again. 

The lake was really calm this morning, and the reflection of the mountains formed a very beautiful, postcard image. However, in a couple of hours, the thick fog started rolling in (and it was really thick as compared to the first day). Before long, the lake was no longer visible, and the whole forest has this mystic, eerie feel to it. "Sleepy Hollow" kept popping into my mind when I was taking photos of the forest :)

We finished all the field work just after lunch time. Had a quick lunch and started driving back to Taipei. I was really thankful and happy to be able to experience these two beautiful lakes.

Like a local - Yuanyang lake and Cueifeng lake DAY 1

Dr. Tang came to me one day, and asked if I want to follow them to collect water samples in a couple of lakes in the mountains. Without hesitation,  I agreed - it is not everyday where you get to visit restricted parks. These two lakes are restricted to researchers with the proper permit, and are not open to the public. We are supposed to collect water samples from Yuanyang lake and Cueifeng lake. The interesting fact about these lakes are that both lakes were at an altitude of about 1800m, and due to the geographical and environmental factors, the lakes are covered in fog everyday in the afternoon.

The two lakes are about 3 hrs drive from Taipei,and we would be staying in the field station near Yuanyang lake. The field station is very established with all the living amenities that we need. I found a box that was left behind by University of Wisconsin - there had collaborative work with a few Taiwanese labs a couple of years ago, but due to budget constraint, they were not here for a few years. We arrived at the field station around 11am, and after packing all the equipment (including a deflatable boat), we were ready to set off. 

Today, we are only going to Yuanyang lake to collect samples. Trees in the forest are covered in moss, and you can feel the moisture in the cold air. We had to track about 1km through the forest to Yuanyang lake.

After getting all the instrument ready, and inflated the boat, Mingtao and Beck were ready to roll the boat out to the middle of the lake to collect samples. While they were out there, Dr. Tang, Jiajing and I were just hanging out. I took the opportunity to take lots of pictures! It was indeed a very cool, undisturbed forest. Jiajing decided that she is going to check on some of the instrument she left behind a couple of weeks ago. I followed her, and we had to walk on a huge fallen tree trunk out to the edge of the lake. Everything went fine, until she lost her footing and fell into the swamp!

The fog came in just after noon time (almost like clockwork!). However, Dr. Tang said the fog wasn't as thick as before, and maybe we would experience a thicker fog tomorrow at Cueifeng lake.

After we got back to the station, Dr. Tang prepared dinner for all of us. I wasn't expecting a full dinner being out in the field. So I was pleasantly surprised when Dr. Tang whipped up dumpling noodle soup - the hot soup feels great in the cold winter night. Nothing to do in this field station, so after dinner, Dr. Tang and I chatted for a while, and we turned in early. Tomorrow, we are having an early start to Cueifeng lake.