Bilu-Yangtou Traverse D1 Waypoint
11 Sep 2026 12 waypoints 16 photos 5.15 km
D1 Itinerary
From the trailhead there is almost no flat ground and no downhill: it starts on a ladder and climbs all the way to the 3K Junction. The elevation profile bears this out — every 100 metres gains at least 15 metres, mostly 30 to 60, not a single stretch goes down, and the junction is a little over a thousand metres above the start. Luckily nearly all of it is shaded. For reasons I couldn't tell, there were very, very many flies before the junction at mark 7, and they fly right into your eyes, so it's worth bringing wraparound sunglasses to keep insects from getting in. The 1K rest platform at mark 3, the 1.8K mark at mark 4 and the big lunch platform at mark 6 are all good places to stop and catch your breath. I forgot to resume recording after the 1K rest platform and only turned it back on at 1.8K; that short stretch in between was rebuilt along the OSM trail from my walking speed before and after
Mt. Yangtou
At the 3K Junction we dropped the big packs, waited for everyone to arrive, and set off for Mt. Yangtou with light packs. The signpost at the junction reads Mt. Yangtou 1.1K, and it took me about 50 minutes to reach the summit. In good weather the viewpoint at mark 8 has fine mountain views, but when I passed it was a whiteout, and the sky only opened once I reached the 3,035 m summit of Mt. Yangtou — I've recorded it here for other hikers anyway. Back at the junction we picked up our packs and carried on past Ju Mountain East Peak, reaching Judong Shelter in under 30 minutes
Judong Shelter and the campsite sit back to back. The shelter is small — just two little rooms and one toilet — but very clean, and besides the guides' table there is a long table with benches where hikers can sit, chat and eat. The campsite is larger, and that is where I slept this time. The area is well shaded, and since the shelter has a water tank you hardly need to go down to fetch water any more. That is also the thing to remember on this route: fill up before leaving camp, because I don't remember seeing anywhere to refill along the way
Trail Log
01 Yangtou Mountain Trailhead
3,059 m2,011↓5 min 110 m ↑12 m
02 Trailhead
3,059 m2,011↓1 h 4 min 840 m ↑331 m
03 Past the 1K rest platform
3,059 m2,011↓1 h 10 min 690 m ↑288 m
04 Past 1.8K, rest
3,059 m2,011↓29 min 310 m ↑100 m ↓14 m
06 Big lunch rest platform
3,059 m2,011↓1 h 22 min 660 m ↑300 m
07 Packs dropped at the junction
3,059 m2,011↓1 h 10 min 270 m ↓46 m
08 Viewpoint
3,059 m2,011↓40 min 770 m ↑103 m ↓52 m
09 Mt. Yangtou summit
3,059 m2,011↓1 h 21 min 1.02 km ↑96 m ↓95 m
10 Repacking for camp
3,059 m2,011↓16 min 240 m ↑37 m ↓12 m
11 Ju Mountain East Peak
3,059 m2,011↓11 min 240 m ↓37 m
12 Jushan front campsite
3,059 m2,011↓10 min 0 m
13 Judong Shelter
3,059 m2,011
End of record16:41 3003 m 5.15 km Judong Shelter
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