太平山翠峰湖的春季 Spring at Cuifeng Lake, Taipingshan
2025-04-27黎明時分的太平山翠峰湖 (Cuifeng Lake at Taipingshan on the dawn of April 27, 2025)
太平山座落於宜蘭，是有名的臺灣北部自然景點，除了翠峰湖、蹦蹦車、秋冬季的山毛櫸和雪景以外，近年又因翠峰湖環山步道的寂靜山徑而聞名。當我在網路上看到有關太平山音景有關的訊息時，這裡早已經是充斥著遊客的景點。
過去我已經在翠峰湖錄過幾次音，都沒有取得滿意的內容，因為在假日的太平山錄音，除了要避免人為干擾的時段，還必須與太平山多雨的氣候相處，尤其翠峰湖並沒有大眾交通可以利用，沒有開車的我必須包一台車才能夠前往，而多次的失敗錄音經驗讓我很猶豫是否還要為了田野錄音投入時間和金錢前往太平山。此後1-2年我都沒有去太平山錄音了，今年春季因緣際會分別有家人和朋友也想去翠峰湖走走，所以我又帶著錄音設備上山了。這次我的運氣很好，並沒有碰到大雨的氣候，而人為的干擾只要避開白天即可，3月和4月我分別在翠峰湖觀湖平台及環山步道西口，錄製了夜間至清晨這段時間的音景。
Taipingshan, located in Yilan, is a well-known natural attraction in northern Taiwan. In addition to Cuifeng Lake, the Bong Bong Train, and the beech forests and snowy landscapes of autumn and winter, it has recently gained fame for the serene mountain trails of the Cuifeng Lake Circular Trail. By the time I saw information online about the soundscape of Taipingshan, it had already become a tourist hotspot.
I had previously attempted to record audio at Cuifeng Lake several times but was never satisfied with the results. Recording in Taipingshan on weekends poses challenges—not only do you have to avoid times with human interference, but you also have to contend with the area’s frequent rain. Moreover, since Cuifeng Lake isn’t accessible via public transportation, and I don’t drive, I had to hire a private vehicle to get there. After several failed recording attempts, I began to hesitate about whether it was worth investing more time and money into field recording trips to Taipingshan. For the next one to two years, I didn’t return to record.
This spring, however, things changed. By coincidence, both my family and a friend wanted to visit Cuifeng Lake, so I decided to bring my recording equipment along again. I was fortunate this time—the weather stayed clear, and avoiding human noise was as simple as not recording during the day. In March and April, I recorded the soundscape from night to early morning at the Cuifeng Lake viewing platform and at the western entrance of the circular trail.
下面的錄音是4月份在翠峰湖觀湖平台的凌晨5點20分左右，因為翠峰湖本身幾乎沒有動植物發出的聲音，而我帶的麥克風是心形指向的，因此錄音時我將麥克風朝向樹林而不是湖面，避免需要將錄音機的增益開的過高而造成更多底噪。
The following recording was made around 5:20 a.m. in April at the Cuifeng Lake viewing platform. Since Cuifeng Lake itself produces very few natural sounds from animals or plants, and the microphone I used was cardioid directional, I pointed it toward the forest rather than the lake during the recording. This helped avoid having to set the recorder’s gain too high, which would have introduced more background noise.
本來我認為這次可以錄下長時間的自然寧靜，然後翠峰湖比我上次來的時候多了飛機飛過的人為噪音了，大約在即將天亮時我便聽到來自空中的飛機引擎聲，這種聲音的影響範圍很大且對於自然錄音來說是致命的，對此我無能為力，以後再有機會來翠峰湖不知又是何時。
I originally thought I would be able to record a long stretch of natural tranquility this time. However, compared to my last visit, Cuifeng Lake now had more human-made noise from airplanes flying overhead. Just before dawn, I began to hear the sound of aircraft engines in the sky. This kind of noise has a wide impact and is devastating for nature recordings. There was nothing I could do about it, and I don’t know when I’ll have another chance to return to Cuifeng Lake.
錄音筆記
地點類型：海拔約1,840公尺的溫帶針闊葉混合林及高山湖泊
天氣：微風有霧、下著細雨，溼度90%以上，溫度約13度
錄音方式：ORTF，麥克風高度約1-2公尺
使用器材
錄音機：Sound devices Mixpre-6 II
麥克風：Sennheiser MKH 8040
錄音設定：+50dB gain，後期在RX上+18dB gain及20hz HPF、80hz roll-off
Recording Notes
Location Type: Temperate mixed coniferous and broadleaf forest and alpine lake at an elevation of approximately 1,840 meters.
Weather: Light breeze with fog and drizzle, humidity over 90%, temperature around 13°C
Recording Method: ORTF configuration, microphone height approximately 1–2 meters
Equipment Used
Recorder: Sound Devices MixPre-6 II
Microphones: Sennheiser MKH 8040
Recording Settings: +50 dB gain; post-processing in RX with +18 dB gain, 20 Hz high-pass filter, and 80 Hz roll-off