Segment times are from my own track — my pace, not advice; guidebook times are transcribed verbatim from Sunriver Culture's step-time charts (Gaoshan Baiyue topographic maps), a public yardstick. Every station's position and name was checked by hand and aligned with Sunriver's naming, so names and elevations match what hikers actually call them. Route is for reference only.This route wasn't planned — it's a GPS-recorded log of my own hike in November 2025: Nenggao-Anton Jun, a six-day traverse, seven Baiyue peaks, 69.4km actual distance, 4551m total elevation gain. A few things to note:
- Qilai South Peak and Nanhua Mountain on Day 1 aren't officially part of the Nenggao-Anton Jun section — you need to detour from Tianchi Cabin, an out-and-back with nearly 10 kilometers of ups and downs, on top of the 13 kilometers from the trailhead to Tianchi Cabin, meaning day one alone is a 23-kilometer day. If you plan to tag them, watch your recovery — don't burn too much energy on the very first day of a multi-day traverse.
- For extra safety margin, bring a climbing helmet. On Day 3, right after Guangtou Mountain, put it on before descending the big landslide wall — if another hiker has already made it down to solid ground, it's even worth lowering your pack down the landslide first, then climbing down the rope yourself, to keep your body more stable.
- Baishi Pond on Day 3 and Tunlu Pond Campground on Day 4 regularly see large herds of salt-craving sika deer — please put away anything salty, like clothes, shoes and socks, trekking poles, food, and trash, or you might wake up with no shoes to hike down in.
- Wading a creek isn't about crossing straight across the current — go at an angle following the direction of the flow. It's a longer path, but moving with the current is actually more stable and safe.
- For the same volume of water, a narrow channel flows faster and a wide one flows more gently. Since you have to wade across anyway, cross where the current is gentler, not just at the nearest point.
- In late autumn to early winter, running into a weather front and rain at over 3,000 meters can leave you too cold to function. Weigh the balance between going light and staying safe carefully; condensation also builds up inside the tent before dawn, so do what you can to keep your warm clothing and sleeping bag dry.
- Day 5 and Day 6 start descending, through a badly eroded high-bypass route, a contour trail that's mostly soft mud and pine needles, wet creek-bed footing, and stretches of continuous scree. During the descent, you'll get the feeling that you've walked for a very, very long time and barely made progress. At that point, stay calm, focus on your footing, and pay attention to your balance — even if you don't feel very tired physically, if your concentration isn't there, take a break or look at the scenery to reset before continuing.
- Every hiker and porter I met along the way recommended the high-bypass route over exiting via the Wanda South Creek waterway, even in the relatively low-water autumn-winter dry season.
- The official reflective markers on the Nenggao-Anton Jun section count up to 500/500, totaling 50 kilometers. But from the end of the Nenggao section to the visitor center parking lot, there's still about 2 more kilometers to go, crossing 2 suspension bridges and climbing the 456-step Haohanpo stairway.
- From the second day onward, the Nenggao section is almost entirely exposed with no cover — watch for sun exposure as well as wind and rain.
- There's a major landslide wall at both 5.6K and 10K — I'd suggest wearing a climbing helmet and moving quickly along the rock face through both.
- On Day 01, there are several small running-water spots along the way before Tianchi Cabin, so you don't need to carry much water; once at Tianchi Cabin, drop your full pack, switch to a summit pack to tag Qilai South Peak and Nanhua Mountain separately, then spend the night back at Tianchi Cabin.
- The Monument of Spread Light Across the Land has been damaged by an earthquake and half of it has toppled over; about 70% of the trail past this point is arrow bamboo of uneven height.
- The map data for Guangtou Mountain was wrong — the app I used at the time showed two possible locations for Guangtou Mountain; the one to the northeast turned out to be nothing but meadow and trail, with nothing there at all — the real triangulation point is to the southwest (this site's coordinate is the actual triangulation point in the field; the error has been reported to the app's support team). In bad weather, don't wander around looking for it — the summit is exposed and lingering there risks hypothermia.
- The landslide terrain after Guangtou Mountain is vertical and fully exposed — before descending, make sure your pack's weight is balanced, stow your trekking poles, and wear gloves to climb down the rope. After the landslide there's a full stretch of scree — take small steps, planting your trekking pole securely before moving your foot.
- Baishi Pond is where large numbers of sika deer start to appear, gathering close as soon as it gets dark — put your gear and food away properly, and don't feed them.
- Day 05 is a creek-wading day, with several crossings deep enough to go above the calf — even in the autumn-winter dry season you can't avoid getting your shoes wet, so prioritize stability over speed. Tent stakes are hard to drive into the creek bed campsite, so gather plenty of rocks to weigh your tent down instead.
- On Day 06 I chose the high-bypass exit (about an hour longer than wading down Wanda South Creek, but the porters and other hikers there all chose the high bypass too) — the terrain is broken up with several roped sections, and a mix of pine needles, fallen leaves, and slippery scree. The official distance is 50K, but there's still 2K more to the visitor center parking lot, ending with the 456-step Haohanpo stairway.
- This GPX keeps the original timestamps — that's the record of my own pace, not a suggested pace; hikers should judge by their own condition and the weather. Every track point has a timestamp.
The switch points between full pack and summit pack are at Tianchi Cabin (Day 01) and Andongjun Junction Campground (Day 04). Actual conditions on the ground take priority over this record.
