West Xue Trail D4 Waypoint
18 Jul 2025 19 waypoints 26 photos 8.7 km
D4 Itinerary
Leaving Danan Mountain West Saddle Campground, it's a steep climb the whole way back up to the ridge; the morning dew was heavy and it had rained the night before, so protect yourself well — the endless arrow bamboo won't go easy on you. Around Waypoint 52, you start scrambling up the boulder field with a full pack. Pick out rocks and plants you trust, put your gloves on, and work through it section by section! You eventually cut back onto the trail at the top right of the boulder field.
Touying Mountain
The bad news is you have to scramble up the boulder field with a full pack on the way to Touying Mountain; the good news is that scrambling up the boulder field is itself part of the climb toward Touying Mountain. So as you slowly work your way up past the boulder field, before you know it you'll see the sign toward Touying Mountain, and about half an hour past the sign gets you to the Touying Mountain Triangulation Point at 3510m elevation. The triangulation point here sits on fairly broad ground — if you're moving fast, you might consider drying out gear or clothes that got wet over the past few days here before continuing.
About 90 minutes past the Touying Mountain Triangulation Point, as shown at Waypoint 60, there's a running water source. Since the trail ahead is almost entirely along the exposed ridge with no cover, and the pond at Pipida Campground, where we stay tonight, isn't running water, I'd strongly suggest filling up completely here before setting off. After that, it's just following the trail and ribbons, enjoying the scenery along the ridge as you go. Then it's a continuous series of ups and downs over peaks along the ridge — watch for protruding tree roots or hidden holes in the ground, and avoid any questionable muddy sections, sticking instead to more solid-looking plants if in doubt — the key is careful, continuous progress. Along the way you'll pass a fallen sign for Daxue Mountain North Peak — take a photo and keep going.
Daxue Mountain
Leaving Daxue Mountain North Peak, about another hour along the trail brings you to the Daxue Mountain junction at Waypoint 66; drop your pack here and go light for about 100 meters to reach the Daxue Mountain Triangulation Point at 3530m elevation.
Coming down from Daxue Mountain back to the junction, pick your pack back up and it's about another 20 minutes toward Pipida Campground. A special reminder: since there's not much cover around Pipida Campground, when pitching your tent, try to find a spot surrounded by grass to block the wind a bit. Also, there are plenty of rocks near the campground — don't let them go to waste, use them to weigh down every one of your tent's stake points!
Trail Log
51 View
3,534 m3,084↓20 min 160 m ↑40 m
52 Scrambling up the boulder field with full packMentioned in text
3,534 m3,084↓32 min 140 m ↑88 m
53 Drink some water and keep going
3,534 m3,084↓17 min 220 m ↑43 m
54 Toward Touying Mountain
3,534 m3,084↓5 min 80 m ↑42 m
55 Drink some water and take in the mountains and meadow
3,534 m3,084↓35 min 340 m ↑104 m
56 Touying Mountain Triangulation Point
3,534 m3,084↓43 min 550 m ↓55 m
57 Looking toward Touying Mountain
3,534 m3,084↓16 min 160 m ↑74 m
58 Flat ground at a false peak
3,534 m3,084↓35 min 470 m ↓91 m
59 Toward Qijun Mountain Campground
3,534 m3,084↓7 min 130 m ↓34 m
60 Water sourceMentioned in text
3,534 m3,084↓1 h 5 min 840 m ↑11 m ↓113 m
61 Hidden pit
3,534 m3,084↓13 min 250 m ↑19 m ↓17 m
62 Keep moving
3,534 m3,084↓37 min 300 m ↑95 m
63 Good spot to sit, rest, and eat
3,534 m3,084↓16 min 220 m ↑53 m
64 Daxue Mountain North Peak
3,534 m3,084↓57 min 1.10 km ↑115 m ↓92 m
65 Look back for a moment
3,534 m3,084↓25 min 340 m ↑57 m
66 Daxue Mountain Triangulation PointMentioned in text
3,534 m3,084↓16 min 60 m ↑10 m
67 Drop your pack here, continue on to summit Daxue Mountain
3,534 m3,084↓2 min 0 m
68 Toward Pipida Campground
3,534 m3,084↓23 min 580 m ↓118 m
69 Pipida Campground
3,534 m3,084
Start of record05:42 3087 m 0 km Danan Mountain West Saddle Campground
↓1 h 32 min 2.75 km ↑196 m ↓95 m
End of record14:59 3416 m 8.7 km Pipida Campground
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