Kowloon peak is close to the place where I live and so, it is a very easy hike, when you do it via the stairs. I did it previously via suicide cliff shod and barefoot. I did go back up barefoot and at night. This time, I wished to satisfy my daughter, who had been demanding a hike for a while now. It is not often that you see a child on Kowloon Peak.
Children on Kowloon Peak?
Although it can be dangerous on the Suicide cliff side, some parents do take their kids up on suicide cliff.
However, given that my daughter was only aged six and had never been there before, I did not wish to confront her immediately with the challenge of climbing suicide cliff by herself. We thus headed for the stairs, but walking until those did already put a couple kilometers in the legs of my daughter. We had to stop several times to make a break along the way. Finally, we got set to start climbing.
The trail on the stairs
The big inconvenience of the trail was that it had rained the day before. As a result, on the shaded part, a number of very hungry mosquitoes took us as targets. My daughter ended with about 12 bites, despite having used insect repellent. I had a few less, but the presence of aggressive mosquitoes is a new factor (they were less of a nuisance the previous times).
While it climbs continuously, the presence of stairs does not make it as challenging as the climb on suicide cliff.
Nevertheless people who are not trained may find the climb arduous (as I did the first few times I climbed Kowloon Peak). We made several stops along the way, to allow Maria-Sophia to take a breather.
Once arrived at the top, Maria-Sophia was totally exhilarated.
On the top
At the top of Kowloon Peak, there is usually quite a strong wind, so caution must be used when flying a drone. Despite this, we managed to take some “dronies”.
Later, we moved lower down, closer to suicide cliff. When there is no fog, the views are spectacular. However, with the fog, the spectacular views on the side of the cliffs were hidden under coton-like clouds. We passed near a radio tower and the passage is a bit tight, but my daughter handled it marvelously and with confidence.
As can be seen, I continued hiking barefoot all the way, while my daughter kept her hiking shoes.
Going down
Going downstairs proved much slower than climbing. In part, this was because my daughter was unaccustomed to the place, so sought my hand to climb down from rocks or stairs. Myself being barefoot, I took extra care. On the way down, we encountered two groups who admired my daughter for her fortitude. Being aged only 6, it was quite a feat for her. The length of the hike took its toll, in the end, and she started showing signs of fatigue, once we got down, despite frequent halts.
In the end, it was a wonderful bonding moment for father and daughter, with my little girl enjoying the possibility of catching the clouds on the mountain. You should never hesitate taking your kids with you when going out, whether barefoot or not!