虎山賞螢去 / Off to Tiger Mountain to See Fireflies

俗話說，明知山有虎，偏向虎山行，其實，真的有座山叫做虎山，它是 台北四獸山中的一座，四獸山分別是虎山、豹山、獅山、象山，人們比較常爬或廣為人知的是象山，因為象山距離知名景點台北101很近，是個眺望101大樓、觀看跨年煙火或拍攝信義區夜景的好地方，所以，知名度較高，而其它三座就相對默默無名。

每年春末夏初，就是一年一度欣賞螢火蟲的時間，有螢火蟲出沒，象徵著這個地方環境還不錯，最佳觀賞時間落在晚上七點到九點，前陣子，朋友在揪團看螢火蟲，所謂欣賞螢火蟲的秘境很多，不過交通方便的話，在台北大概只有幾個地方，最後，朋友決定去虎山賞螢，就是因為大眾交通工具就可到達，而且，看完後，還可以下山吃點東西。

於是，出捷運站後，我們一行人說說笑笑的就往虎山步道前進，越接近虎山登山口，人就越多，看來，今晚賞螢的人可能不少，我觀察一下，上山的人群中有一些在校學生們，爸媽帶著小孩，或兒女扶著父母，大夥兒沿著山徑緩步而上，林間不時傳來蟲鳴鳥叫，空氣中帶著濕潤的草木氣息，走了大概二十分鐘左右，我們到達了所謂的賞螢地 (濕氣較重的林地)，四下無光，只有地上有志工貼的反光貼紙，輔助人們行走，大家一邊摸黑前進，一邊開始用肉眼捕抓點點螢火，或間歇的交談及驚呼聲。

說實話，螢火蟲不多，發出點點微光，但是朋友說，這裡的螢火蟲已經比他上週去看的地方要多，因為現在都市過度開發，已經不可能在都市近郊，看到滿山滿谷的螢火蟲，其實，我已經很滿足了，只要花半小時到一個鐘頭左右，就可以欣賞到螢火蟲，看到都市夜景，及和朋友打屁聊天，又有小小的運動到，我還能要求甚麼呢？

You know the old saying, “Knowing there are tigers in the mountain, yet still heading toward it?“ Well, there actually is a mountain called Tiger Mountain. It’s one of the “Four Beasts Mountains” in Taipei: Tiger, Leopard, Lion, and Elephant. Out of the four, most people are more familiar with Elephant Mountain, mainly because it’s really close to Taipei 101. It’s a popular spot for checking out the skyline, watching the New Year’s Eve fireworks, or just taking cool photos of the city, which makes it more well-known. The other three mountains are kind of under the radar in comparison.

Late spring to early summer is firefly season. When you see fireflies, it usually means the environment there is still pretty healthy. The best time to catch them is between 7 PM and 9 PM. A while ago, my friend invited me to go firefly watching. There are lots of so-called “secret spots” for fireflies, but if you want something easy to get to by public transportation in Taipei, there really aren’t that many options. In the end, we chose Tiger Mountain, mainly because it’s convenient to get there, and you can also grab a bite to eat after coming down.

So, after we got out of the MRT station, our group headed toward the trail, chatting and laughing along the way. The closer we got to the entrance, the more people we saw. It looked like a lot of folks were out to see the fireflies that night. I noticed students, parents with kids, and even adult children helping their elderly parents up the path. Everyone was walking slowly, and you could hear bugs and birds in the forest. The air was humid and smelled of leaves and soil. After about a 20-minute walk, we reached the “firefly zone”, a damp forest area. It was pitch dark—except for a few reflective stickers on the ground that volunteers had put there to guide people. We walked quietly, eyes scanning for the flickering lights, mixed with occasional whispers and excited gasps.

To be honest, there weren’t a lot of fireflies. It is just a few scattered sparks here and there. But my friend said it was already better than where he went the week before. Because of overdevelopment, you can’t really expect to see hills full of fireflies near the city anymore. Still, I was pretty happy with what we got. After all, we only needed half an hour to get there, we saw some fireflies, enjoyed the night view of the city, had some fun conversations, and got a bit of exercise in. What more could I ask for?

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