North Section 2: Mt. Wuming & Ganshu Peak D2 Waypoint
20 Jun 2026 30 waypoints 35 photos 14.51 km
D2 Itinerary
Today is more tiring — mainly because when you're not in the sun, you're usually wrapped in dense, airless arrow bamboo, and when you are in the sun, there's no cover at all. On top of that, the routes to both Baiyue peaks go up and down and wind around constantly, which wears on you. On this trip, a few of my hiking companions ran out of water before getting back to camp — if you're not planning to filter water at Heishuitang or Wuming Pond, and you need a lot of water, I'd suggest bringing 2.5 liters or even 3 in hot weather!
Leaving the Campground below Yuanduozhi Mountain, you pass Yuanduozhi Mountain, Ganshu South Peak, and Guimenguan Peak along the way. Since we set out before dawn, it was already light by the time we reached Guimenguan Peak — for the other peaks, you might want to save the photos for the way back.
Leaving the Campground below Yuanduozhi Mountain, it's a 400m climb, about 1.5 hours, to Ganshu South Peak Campground. For a two-day trip, I'd suggest carrying water on day one all the way to this campground and resting here. After a short break to sort out gear at Ganshu South Peak Campground, the trail goes down then up; about an hour further brings you to the vertical rope at Waypoint 25, and 30 minutes past that is the rope at Waypoint 28. Both of these feel fairly exposed — make sure your body is stable before moving. About 30 minutes past the second roped section, you reach the Guimenguan Peak (Devil's Gate) Triangulation Point at 3,395m elevation; there's no triangulation marker here, just a piece of paper held down with a rock.
Mt. Wuming
Leaving Guimenguan Peak, it's again down then up. Along the way there's Heishuitang and Wuming Pond, and without a map to tell them apart, I couldn't tell which one 'wasn't the black-water pond.' Past Wuming Pond at Waypoint 33, another 20 minutes brings you to a short stretch of crumbling slope, and about 15 minutes past that you reach the Mt. Wuming Triangulation Point at 3,451m elevation. Mt. Wuming has a full 360-degree view, and being close to Nanhu, you can make out the unmistakable shape of Zhongyangjian. Cutting down beside the triangulation point takes you to the Wuming Cliff that the O-loop route passes through.
After leaving Mt. Wuming, retrace your steps back to Ganshu South Peak Campground. Since there are still two fairly exposed roped sections in between, plus the constant up and down and arrow bamboo to deal with, if you're getting frustrated, I'd suggest slowing down or taking a break — only move forward when you're focused enough to keep yourself safe.
Ganshu Peak
Back at Ganshu South Peak Campground, since it was light out by then, you might want to tag Ganshu South Peak first — it's only 2 minutes from the campground, at Waypoint 51. The route to Ganshu Peak goes down then up, so the return is the same, down then up; aside from a bit of rope and forest road, it's mostly pushing through arrow bamboo the whole way. About 1.5 hours from Ganshu South Peak Campground, there's an exposed scree slope — the schist underneath absorbs heat and radiates it back out, so this stretch is both steamy and blazing hot. I'd suggest drinking some water and resting before crossing this terrain, then pushing straight up following the cairns and ropes in one go. About 30 minutes past this terrain, you reach the Ganshu Peak Triangulation Point at 3,158m elevation.
The Ganshu Peak triangulation point has a half-view, with a small, exposed clearing. After noting the point, retrace your steps back to Ganshu South Peak Campground. Once back at camp, if you haven't been to Ganshu South Peak yet, remember to tag it on the way. Then it's downhill the whole way; past the Campground behind Yuanduozhi Mountain at Waypoint 52, about 5 minutes of walking gets you to the Yuanduozhi Mountain triangulation point at 2,888m elevation. Coming this far, it's worth stopping for the record before heading back. From the Yuanduozhi Mountain triangulation point it's about 20 minutes back to the Campground below Yuanduozhi Mountain, wrapping up this long summit day.
While climbing toward Ganshu Peak, maybe from drinking too much water earlier, I got my first thigh cramp since I started hiking — and both legs took turns cramping! Special thanks here to my hiking companion MEI, who gave me a full cup of beet-root electrolyte energy drink. Not only did it save me from having to come back and make up for this peak, it also bought my body the buffer time to go on and finish the whole route smoothly. Resources up in the mountains are worth more than gold — my most sincere thanks for her generosity 🙏
Trail Log
20 Recording resumed
3,454 m2,726↓3 min 100 m ↑17 m
21 Can also camp here
3,454 m2,726↓1 h 6 min 1.55 km ↑289 m ↓13 m
22 Windy on the ridge — protect your head
3,454 m2,726↓35 min 560 m ↑137 m
23 Rest Platform beside Ganshu South Peak
3,454 m2,726↓21 min 290 m ↓48 m
25 Photo stop on the ridgeMentioned in text
3,454 m2,726↓53 min 1.01 km ↑32 m ↓35 m
26 Vertical rope — stow your poles
3,454 m2,726↓12 min 120 m ↑69 m
27 Photo stop
3,454 m2,726↓14 min 160 m ↑73 m
28 Photo stopMentioned in text
3,454 m2,726↓8 min 70 m ↑28 m
29 Roped section
3,454 m2,726↓8 min 70 m ↑36 m
30 Rest Platform
3,454 m2,726↓12 min 0 m
31 Recording resumed
3,454 m2,726↓16 min 160 m ↑59 m
32 Guimenguan Peak (Devil's Gate) Triangulation Point
3,454 m2,726↓9 min 180 m ↓13 m
33 HeishuitangMentioned in text
3,454 m2,726↓5 min 170 m ↓15 m
34 Wuming Pond
3,454 m2,726↓16 min 490 m ↑50 m
35 Rusty rhododendron
3,454 m2,726↓4 min 40 m
36 Crumbling slope
3,454 m2,726↓13 min 340 m ↑57 m
37 Mt. Wuming Triangulation Point
3,454 m2,726↓2 min 0 m
38 Wuming Cliff
3,454 m2,726↓1 h 22 min 1.42 km ↑17 m ↓152 m
40 Short break
3,454 m2,726↓1 h 22 min 1.71 km ↑95 m ↓259 m
42 Long break
3,454 m2,726↓1 h 36 min 1.33 km ↑110 m ↓207 m
44 Brutally exposed scree slope
3,454 m2,726↓34 min 600 m ↑97 m
45 Ganshu Peak Triangulation Point
3,454 m2,726↓9 min 0 m
46 Recording resumed
3,454 m2,726↓11 min 170 m ↓27 m
47 Short break
3,454 m2,726↓46 min 680 m ↓167 m
48 Short break
3,454 m2,726↓1 h 27 min 1.09 km ↑233 m ↓29 m
50 Short break
3,454 m2,726↓11 min 20 m
52 Ganshu South PeakMentioned in text
3,454 m2,726↓39 min 1.22 km ↓268 m
53 Campground behind Yuanduozhi Mountain
3,454 m2,726↓5 min 70 m ↑12 m
54 Yuanduozhi Mountain
3,454 m2,726↓19 min 890 m ↓170 m
55 Back at camp (feat. porter Ah-Chi)
3,454 m2,726
End of record16:34 2727 m 14.51 km Campground below Yuanduozhi Mountain
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