Taiwan Beech Trail at Taipingshan, Octorber 2026
Taiwan Beech Trail at Taipingshan, Yilan County, 10th October 2026
山毛櫸步道, 太平山, 宜蘭縣, 2026年10月10日
The Taiwan Beech Trail in Taipingshan was a place where I had never recorded before, so one of my goals on this autumn visit was to make a recording there.
Looking at the map, the farther you walk along the trail, the farther you get from the road. This makes it an ideal location for recording natural sounds with minimal human-made noise. However, from October to November, the beech leaves turn yellow, attracting large numbers of visitors and making the trail a popular autumn destination. During the day, the trail is often filled with the chatter and noise of visitors.
The first half of the trail is relatively flat and easy to walk. I made my recording in the forest about 1.8 km along the trail. Compared with Wangyangshan Trail and the eastern and western entrances of the Cueifong Lake Circular Trail, engine noise was barely audible here. The birds in the mountains also seemed to start singing later in the morning. It was not until around 7 a.m. that I was able to capture the dawn chorus.
📍 Location: 24.505005, 121.620003 Yilan County, Taiwan
🌤 Weather: 17-20°C, Cloudy, 97-99% Humidity, 0.2-1.2 m/s Wind Speed
🌿 Ambient Sound: Birds
🎤 Setup: Lom Usi Pro (Baffled AB), Zoom F3
🎚️ Editing: 80Hz HPF 12 dB/oct
太平山山毛櫸步道, 2026年10月
太平山的山毛櫸步道是我過去從未錄過音的地方，因此，今年秋季造訪太平山的目的之一，就是希望能在這裡進行錄音。
從地圖上可以看出，沿著步道愈往深處走，距離車道也愈遠，因此這裡可說是相當理想的純自然聲音錄音地點。不過，每年 10 月至 11 月，山毛櫸的葉子逐漸轉黃，吸引許多遊客前來賞景，使這條步道成為熱門的秋季景點。白天時，步道上經常充滿遊客的交談聲與喧鬧聲。
步道前半段平緩好走，我選擇在約 1.8 公里處的樹林裡錄音。與望洋山步道及翠峰湖環山步道東、西入口附近相比，這裡幾乎聽不到引擎聲的干擾。山上的鳥兒似乎也起得比較晚，直到早上 7 點左右，我才錄到清晨的鳥鳴合唱。