Marble Mountain Nl

[Marie Ota]

Allof the mountains have cave entrances and numerous tunnels, and it is possible to climb to the summit of Mount Thủy. Several Buddhist sanctuaries can also be found within the mountains, making this a tourist destination.

The area is known for stone sculpture making and stone-cutting crafts. Direct rock extraction from the mountains was banned recently. Materials are now being transported from quarries in Quảng Nam Province.

The mountains were very near the American Marble Mountain Air Facility during the Vietnam War. According to William Broyles Jr., the Marble Mountains contained a hospital for the Vietcong, probably within earshot of the American air field and Da Nang Beach (which bordered the air field on the side opposite the mountains). He describes the enemy as having been so "certain of our ignorance [...] that he had hidden his hospital in plain sight".[2]

The Marble Mountains are home to several Buddhist and Hindu grottoes. A stairway of 156 steps leads to the summit of Thuy Son, the only Marble Mountain accessible to visitors. It allows a wide panoramic view of the surrounding area and the other marble mountains. There are a number of grottoes, including Huyen Khong and Tang Chon, and many Hindu and Buddhist sanctuaries, the temples of Tam Thai, Tu Tam and Linh Ung, and the pagoda of Pho Dong. The sanctuaries feature statues and relief depictions of religious scenes carved out of the marble.

For the uninitiated, the Marble Mountains is a cluster of five marble and limestone hills located in Ngũ Hnh Sơn District, south of Da Nang city in Vietnam. According to Wikipedia, The five mountains are named after the five elements: Kim (metal), Thuy (water), Moc (wood), Hoa (fire) and Tho (earth). All of the mountains have cave entrances and numerous tunnels, and it is possible to climb to the summit of Mt. Thuy. Several Buddhist sanctuaries can also be found within the mountains, making this a famous tourist destination. The area is famous for stone sculpture making and stone-cutting crafts. Direct rock extraction from the mountains was banned recently. Materials are now being transported from quarries in Quảng Nam Province.

The Klamath group of terranes has a long and complicated history. In a blog post about my local region around Ashland, Oregon, I provided a brief introduction to these mountains: -revealed.net/the-rogue-valley-region-in-sw-oregon-displaying-300-million-years-of-geologic-time/. Basically, the Klamaths consist of a vast variety of oceanic materials, including all parts of the oceanic crust and overlying marine sediments. These oceanic pieces were accreted to each other and then to the continent via a long history of subduction that included colliding volcanic islands.

Before it was metamorphosed, marble was limestone. Shells of organisms on the seafloor created limestone rock overlying oceanic crust formed by volcanic (magma erupted on the seafloor) and plutonic (magma cooled beneath the seafloor) processes. Because of the high metamorphic grade, very few fossils are preserved. The limestone probably formed in a reef around a volcanic island that was located closer to the equator and that traveled eastward and northward with an oceanic tectonic plate. When the plate encountered a subduction zone, pieces of the plate and the overlying sedimentary rock were accreted to the continent through a complicated series of collisions.

For a suggested complete tour of the Marble Rim, leave the trail at lovely Paradise Lake and find a usepath that heads upslope to a saddle between Kings Castle and Point 7082. From the saddle, the usepath turns north toward Kings Castle before petering out in the grass, but the way to the peak is obvious. The summit rocks of Kings Castle look like they might require some scrambling from afar, but upon arrival small gullies cut through the cliffs providing easy access to the summit.

From Kings Castle the rim traverse begins. The next 3.5 miles is an undulating traverse over numerous points and small peaks. Each of these points contains excellent views of the surrounding terrain. The terrain is generally easy over grass and rocks, but expect more ups and downs and cumulative elevation gain than one might guess from inspection at Kings Castle. As one continues south along the crest Black Marble Mountain becomes more prominent.

At the foot of Black Marble the alpland of the prior miles abruptly transitions to rock. Here one encounters the first expanse of gleaming white limestone. One can stay on top of the crest for some enjoyable class 2/3 scrambling before reaching steep meadows directly underneath Black Marble. For the easier route, traverse right to reach the crest just south of Black Marble and then loop back around to the summit. Black Marble has two summits, but the higher summit is the eastern one and contains a summit register as of this writing. The high point requires a few exposed class 3 moves but the summit area is surprisingly spacious. From Black Marble enjoy a tremendous view looking north toward Kings Castle, the entire southern portion of the rim and points farther afield including virtually all of the Marble Mountain Wilderness, Siskiyou Wilderness, Russian Wilderness and even the Trinity Alps.

At Marble Gap meet the only trail that crosses Marble Mountain. Here is a brief intermission in the white limestone but it picks right back up for another mile of limestone traversing. Peak 6,990 is the next point on the traverse south of Marble Gap which may look intimidating from underneath. However, a steep left to right ramp provides a class 3 scramble route directly to Peak 6,990 allowing one to essentially stay right on the crest. From Peak 6,990 the terrain to the east mellows out with excellent views to Marble Valley but the cliffs on the west side continue to be precipitous. Eventually reach Peak 6,881 and look back at jaw-dropping views of White Marble and Black Marble. Here one can appreciate the marbled nature of the massif.

Either Paradise or Lovers Camp Trailhead are logical starting points for the route. Either trailhead will require use of the Pacific Crest Trail to loop in the Marble Rim traverse. Route on Strava here (with more photos).

A few minutes later I was almost sure I was again on the wrong path, because I came across this big metal cube of machinery, but when I went to investigate, the trail did indeed continue onward; sure enough, a trail sign appeared!

This is where that actual trail began! Huzzah! There was no register or anything, but I continued straight up the path where the climbing began. It then occurred to me that the machinery at the bottom was from an old ski lift up the mountain; this trail just followed the ski lift straight up. It was actually really cool to be able to look back and see exactly where I had started, because it was a straight shot.

This is when the poop really hit the fan for me. The heckin lousy microspikes. During the hour it took me to return to the junction on the ridge, the other strap on the right one broke, so the set of spikes under the front of my right foot kept slipping and popping up over the top of my boot, often stabbing my other leg when it happened. To make matters worse, both straps on the left one also broke during that hour. I was so frustrated and angry at this point, I very nearly chucked both of them off of the mountain, good riddance, but decided to strap them onto my pack in case of emergency, or to burn maliciously later, or whatever. I resolutely took both poles out of my pack, and very carefully made my way up Whiteface. Wow, it looked soooo far away, and TALL. At one point, I reached a really cool clearing that must have been an old ski slope or something, and it was nicely shielded from the wind, so I decided to have a seat on a convenient boulder and have some lunch.

I climbed up very carefully, and at about that point realized that there was NO WAY that I would make it back down the whole mountain without my microspikes. Even the slightest decline can be extremely difficult when icy. I was a bit nervous, but decided to worry about it more after I had reached the summit, because there was no way I was turning back now.

I stayed up here for all of 5 minutes. Seriously. It was cold, and it was soooo much later than I had anticipated arriving (stupid microspikes!). So I took a few last pictures, and turned back. Unfortunately for me, the road was closed past that point, so I had to go back the treacherous way I had come up, until the trail met the road again.

WHAT IS EHLERS-DANLOS SYNDROME?

I have a rare degenerative connective tissue disease called Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, and it makes every aspect of life more difficult. Nevertheless, I will not give up on hiking! Read more about EDS here:

Most tourism comes from day trips from Da Nang and Hoi An as it lies almost directly in the middle of the two. This option is fine and still worth the time invested, but by the time most tours arrive the destination is already packed. I wanted to view this place without the hordes of tourists and constant chatter.

As day trips are the main form of touring the Marble Mountains of Vietnam, and wanting to travel straight to Hoi An afterward, the issue of luggage storage arose. Nothing online I was able to dig up confirmed or denied any type of storage facility at Marble Mountains. As well as my luggage storage, this taxi was supposed to then make the trip to Hoi An. This was confirmed possible by the internet and hostel staff, but without a fixed rate, it would be more than double the price suggested online.

It was around a 1km walk to the secondary, more secluded, almost secret entrance of the Marble Mountains. The whole side street approaching the entrance was littered with marble statue shops, as this area is renowned for crafting out of the rock. Even though marble extraction directly from these mountains is now illegal. Early morning sunshine gleaned from the smooth, polished surfaces of stone chiseled into figures of Deities and mythical beasts.

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