原作 March 26, 2012· (修作 March 14, 2016)

我對海有種深不見底的恐懼，但深被山林吸引。

童年的記憶中，關仔嶺是我故鄉嘉義人經訪的度假地。當日便可來回, 故是它吸引人之處。但我猜，那山懷裡湧出的稀有濁溫泉，給人舒心暖身的快意，才是它最大的魅力。雖是如此，過去的關仔嶺對我只是一個地名，就算童年去過，也毫無印象，直到2011年十二月間，哥嫂帶我入山尋勝。雖然只是一個短訪，關子嶺的帶霧清晨，留給了我珍惜的台灣印象。

黃昏才上山，緩行至小街上去品嚐了鄉野味十足的晚餐，觀光淡季，我們獨享了山間夜裡的清閒。我原不是看日出之輩, 月色星光才是我活絡的時刻。但, 那夜, 我臨睡前，我心底直想著的是: “明日要起早”，趁下山前走一回山路。隔晨, 我一人滑入關子嶺的清晨。山中的清晨，連硬板的柏油路都有了帶霧的靈氣。我順著地圖來到一個樸實的寺廟，廟旁一個由幾片木板隨意舖成的小橋便是登山道入口了。初行時, 原先有些失望，原因是那步道舖的太好，讓我覺得像在公園散步。 但轉念一想，這山間的靈氣此時讓我ㄧ人佔盡，我如何挑剔腳下踩不到真土石。天山無界，霧的墨筆灑作了一個無隙的連結，這般意境，竟只耗我約莫一小時的腳程，這該是南台灣的魅力吧。我原路下山時，背著若大登山包的登山客才一一出現，與我交身而過。我雖有一些羨慕, 但也有些得意…覺得最好的已被我佔去了。

回台前曾看到一組台灣山岳的照片，那陽剛的壯麗，青綠的生意，和柔美的高山鏡湖，融和出一股特殊的魅力，讓我一直後悔年輕時沒有好好當一個登山客。和台灣的名山百岳壯漢相比，關仔嶺只是鄰家男孩，但確是我觸摸得及的可能，安靜的拱上溫柔的擁抱。

I fear of the depth of sea but am drawn to the mountains.

A while back, I saw a set of photos featuring the mountains in Taiwan, masculine magnificence softened by feminine subtlety of the gentle green and reflecting body of water. I only wished I had been a serious hiker in my younger days, when I lived by their feet.

Guang-Zi Mountain is nothing like any of the famed mountains/peaks in Taiwan. But, its unique “muddy” hot spring is known for offerring rejuvenating sense to the vacationers submitting themselves to its embrace. Although it is close where I grew up, I had little memory about it until the December of 2011 when my family took me for an overnight trip.

December is a quiet month for the town thriving on the business brought by the vacationers, and we arrived in the early evening.  We spent much of the evening enjoying a dinner of the local delicacies, taking in the crisp mountain air, and soaking in the luxurious hot spring.  But when the morning came, I was determined to see the mountain, tracing the beauty at its wakening. I slipped into the mountain’s morning quietly.  There was no one during my solo adventure from the hotel, to the paved street, and onto the trail.  It was just me and the mystic fog, caressing my face, unveiling Guan-Zi Mountain-one tree at a time. I found the trail head by a modest temple, and an improvisedbridge opened up the trail. The solitude that I enjoyed was beyond my capability for words; how lucky, such nature’s inspiration only an hour of walk away.  While heading back, hikers with large backpacks began arriving the trails, and I had a sneaky smirk on my face with a satisfaction that I, alone, had the best of the morning in Guang-Zi Mountain.