Bukit Kutu - 6th October

A local resident of Pertak

I haven't been writing blogs for some time now, mainly due to the fact that I have getting lazy. The lull was also because Alex KL Hiking was hiking in Indonesia and that takes another week. I did joined Kayee on one of his hikes in FRIM though. Mabel was not working on this Saturday and the hike organized this Saturday was a Bukit Kutu hike. Seems so many are hiking this wonderful hill, there was two organized in Facebook alone the past week. I don't usually missed hikes where my whole family is available to hike on the same day so I signed up for it, for all three of us.

It was 4.30am when I hopped out of bed. I couldn't get a wink since midnight yesterday. I just loitered around the house, staring at the PC and then woke Mabel up. Lilian was already up and we set off at 5.30am. The route to Kuala Kubu Bahru was becoming very familiar but I usually take the Rawang route. I drove very slowly as I anticipated that with 50 hikers and the number of cars, the hike won't usually start at the expected time. I stopped by at an Indian coffee shop in KKB and had a simple 'roti canai' bread and a mug of tea.

 Group Photo

 At 7.15am we started off to Kg.Pertak. Although I expected the hike to start late, I still don't want to be late at the appointed time. I reached Kg.Pertak at 7.25am and a few hikers were already there. Parking space near the bridge was quite full but we managed to get a space. Put on our hiking shoes and also ease ourselves, Satvin arrived with Sumi. After a while, the whole horde arrive and as usual Alex passed me the name tags. It was 8.00am. The hike started off!

River crossing, not hard but still needs to be careful.

Went over the bridge and along the 4WD trail. Follow on the trail leaving the left junction we came to the river crossing. Just before the crossing a group photo was taken and then the river crossing after taking off our shoes. There's was another smaller crossing after 100 meters to the left so we walk bare footed there. When I was a kid, I can run all over the village barefooted, even getting spiked by nails! Now, it was a torture getting over that distance, must be the condition of our body. It is said that you can pinpoint our weakness through the points in our sole. Seems my whole body organs is out of shape as every part pebbles spiked, it was painful!

I have done Kutu a few times and I know the trail fairly well but I am really out of shape. My breath was not regular and I was gasping for air all the time. By the time we started climbing, Kutu is all climbing! I was already panting. I am really out of shape and I am in trouble for this hike. Luckily for me, that is, Siva was also not feeling well due to flu! At lest someone was with me all the time and Satvin although capable of hiking anywhere she wants to, complains about tiredness. Almost reaching CP5, that's where the big boulder is, which I will label "The Hangar", I said to myself, "I am going to rest there and wait there". I am going no further!

Finally we reached the "Hangar" and sat there with the usual back markers. Alex was with us. I told them my intentions and Siva was with me. Satvin initially agreed too, then Alex and Sumi frowned. After the jokes and banter, we continued and there was no question of staying behind! At this stage, I was not actually thinking about the climb but rather about the later stages,  descending! At one stage, Siva was panting and he told Alex to go ahead and I quickly added, " Yes, go on, I will sweep". Satvin was doubtful, she remarked," they are up to something". Lilian was also quite out of form, after all she hikes with me all the time. So, we trudge on and on and on and....................... Then even Siva was out of our sight.........not at the back butin front, and with me with me was Lilian. Finally, we saw Alex and the rest (the backmarkers lah) waiting for us in CP8.

The "Hangar"

I made it to the top at 12.20pm and that's 4 hours 20 minutes hike which was 50 minutes more than usual for us on this trail. Anyway, we did managed to reach the top but my worries is descending. My whole body is aching and the peak was like a festival or sorts. As I heard there were groups of 50s and 30s and another 50s hiking up today. KLH itself is numbering in the 50s. There was not a proper place to rest. I didn't want to climb the boulder at the peak, knowing very well it's packed up there. Lilian went up there to check on Mabel and after a while she joined me with Mabel in tow behind. 

This is how we accumulate "chi" as Siva instructed, hahahah.

I hung on for a while and at 1.00pm, I suggested to Lilian that we descend first. I know I am going to be very slow as my knees are sore already. I don't want to slow down the group. "We can wait for them at the "Hangar", I said. She agreed and so three of us made our way down first. There were already many who had left at that time. Slowly we made our way down and within the hour we were already back at the "Hangar". There was a hiker there cooking with 2 stoves. I found a nice place to rest. I should have brought a mat today! I chatted with the elderly hiker and after 30 minutes, I bade goodbye and left. The bees was flitting all around me as I sat there as I was sweating like a downpour. I was stung by two of them. I think I am going to wait for Alex at the river crossing.

An hour from the car park, Michiko and her daughter caught up with us. They were fast! Tham was with them. We met many hikers and campers on their way up. Finally I heard a "Hooray!" from Mabel. That's a sign we made it back to the river. It was 4.15pm. Mabel was already wading across the river in her shoes but Lilian and me took it off. We rested on the rocks dipping our poor soles, not 'souls' into the cool water. I chatted with a mountain guide who reached there after a while. Then I put on my shoes and continued, I think I will wait for Alex at the car park, heheheh! I need to clean myself up.

Another 15 minutes, we crossed the two metal bridge and I was wiping myself with the cooling water. After a while waiting, my tummy was growling and was thirsting for cold water. I know, I know the thermal shock will do more harm but a cold sweet liquid sounded like a good idea now. I only had an apple since the hike started! After resting, the appetite returned and the hunger was harder to bear. I am looking like a creature of comfort now, huh? I think Alex would be fine with Siva, Sumi and Satvin. Chin was also not out yet. So, I left for KKB for a meal and then home.

By the time I reached home, it was already 7.15pm. How about that? I spent a whole daylight time today breaking my back and enduring hunger and thirst. Why? Maybe other hikers can tell me. It's getting to puzzling to me too! 

Gunong Angsi again! Nice tempat!

Group photo at the peak.

After much stuffing myself over the Merdeka holidays (there was only a caving expedition by Kayee and also another Rajah hike which I was not invited........sigh!), I was feeling quesy with too much fat not to mention bloated. The week after, Thank God! Alex organized a hike to Angsi. I signed up and also on behalf of Lilian. I would have sign up even if the trip was a walk in Lake Gardens! As the Bukit Putus trail head was choosen, I decided to wait there as my Kancil is also in a bad shape, ha,ha,ha. It can hardly follow a  steam roller, let alone catching up with a speeding bunch in a convoy!

The group at the trail head.

I reached the venue at 7.15am and was way too early. I did not stop for breakfast as I woke up early and cooked myself a nice breakfast at home. As I was waiting there, there were many early arrivals, mostly locals and their motivation was actually to avoid paying the RM5.00 entrance fee! They even urged me to start my hike and after explaining that I am waiting for another group, they even advised me to wait on the trail itself. The ranger arrived a short while later and I chatted with him for a moment. Anyway, I feel RM5.00 for a day's hike is not a burden after all a pair of shoes or a back pack is way much higher than that. Someone has to hack a trail for hikers, right?

The whole gang arrived on schedule and after the usual "hellos" and "Good Mornings" and the group photo was taken and fees collected, we were off! Alex planned to have the slower ones hike up 15 minutes earlier and hold back the faster hikers. This is to minimize the waiting time at the peak for them, lest they get bored! Sadly, none actually understands the reason behind the action and the faster ones started off as soon as the last slow hikers are one step onto the trail. Five minutes onto the hike the faster ones was already zooming past all the slow ones and was at the front. Ha,ha,ha, a wasted effort by Alex. Anyway, they still have to wait at the peak. Some are too 'kiasu' to be seen at the back as many mentioned that they need to prove themselves. It was fine with me as I was always the last, ha,ha,ha and at least I know who to forget hiking with. The faster ones can actually accommodate the slower ones but not in reverse but it's up to their moral judgement to either wait or not but Alex is a sure bet to be looking after all the hikers. That's why Alex's hike are always popular!

The start!

I hiked here before last year and the trail was wider this time around. You will never get lost at this trail proven by the fact that there are many hikers here on week ends. Much vegetation on the trail sides were trampled and destroyed, sadly just as the case of Bukit Saga in Kuala Lumpur. The so-called committee which was suppose to take care of their playground are actually destroying their beauty. Easier trails are hacked, cement stairs are laid, ropes tied haphazardly to assist hikers to descend or ascend, building shelters on the peak and building structures on the peak etc. Some groups even build dining tables at the peak, "YES!" dining tables. Later, maybe you can see A-huts or lodgings that can be hired for the night. I think we should all hike in Megamall, it has all the needed trimmings required by this bunch of hikers. After all, the hill looks barren anyway! The real essence of nature is gone!

A short breather.

As usual I was with the last pack and time to time Alex check up on us. Meng Oye over stressed herself a bit this time and was feeling dizzy. Siva told me to keep a watch on her. She was joining every single hike organized in KLH for the past few months! My GPS recorded "01:26mins" moving time and stopping time was "00.45mins". It took me 2 hours 11 minutes which was much faster than my first time although quite slow to the other's standard. The total distance was 4.5km one way. Though hungry, I can't swallow anything, even when Sumi offered some nice food. I was only able to munch on an apple and gulped down a bottle of 100Plus. Before the group starts to have fidgety feet, Alex requested everyone to group up and snap a group photo on the peak. As predicted by Alex, the moment group photo was taken many have started down. Me and Lilian was not joining as the rest at the peak was nice. I don't mind spending another hour here and a few others was there too, still chatting away. Sumi, Siva, Satvin, Monika was among us. We saw another group arrived from the other trail and they were preparing to cook.

At 11.15am, we all finally started down and since Alex has scheduled the hike to end at 2.00pm, we descended slowly. Time to time, me and Lilian just tried to hasten the pace to test our knees and also the effects on us after gaining a few kilos, ha,ha,ha. My knees need to slow down and Satvin and the rest caught up later. Alex zoom past me and Lilian earlier on. We reached 'Panjang's R&R' after an hour and some guys asked us, " Are you from KL Hiking?" We answered "Yes". He told us Alex has pass and we said we knew that. Barely 5 minutes after that we saw Alex reclining on a tree and we all joined him. We spent almost half an hour making jokes on each other and our laughter can be heard even from the peak, ha,ha,ha. Usually Satvin was bears the brunt of the jokes. We were really enjoying ourselves.

The Angsi dames!

We reached our cars at 1.15pm and still we were taking our time. I help Alex check the hiker's list and then sat on the concrete at the ledge overlooking the Kuala Pilah highway still chatting with Siva. I saw Chin was still cleaning himself up for the open house party at Ann Daim's. Siva, Sumi and me is going too later but I definitely needs a bath first. After a short rest, I bade my 'Goodbyes' and left.

Much laughter!

During Alex's absence (due to leg injuries), the trips was not organized for beginners and this has left many unable to hike. Most hikes by the more able hikers were harder ones. It has also splintered many smaller groups and each were trying to outdo each other! I too, for a moment fell into the same category and was doing unpopular trails, harder trails and even doing recce trips. It has left me with ankle and wrist injuries where pain is still felt. The harder push has also made me quite reluctant to do hikes. This has expand the gap on the beginners and suddenly there was not much activity until Kayee started doing some easy hikes again. It has side lined a lot of potential hikers which I felt was more important group to actually expand the number of hikers. Many who joined the harder hikes gave up and became quite wary of the activity.

Alex returned and I resumed joining Alex's hike and I enjoyed more on easy hikes. Me and Lilian, we laughed more, relaxed more and also workout more, see more new trails without over stressing and most importantly the company is as important as the workout! I also realized that we don't need to exert oneself till the brink of a stroke to prove that we are a hiker. I also realized that doing more easy hikes and once in a while do a hard one in between is more beneficial to me than the reverse. Most importantly, we interact with each other without trying to outdo each other.

 

Lepoh Falls, 18th mile Hulu Langat.

Small waterfall for a large group.

Another week has passed since the hike in Lata Naning and it seems the knees and ankles are looking OK. I wanted to sign up for the Bunga Buah hike but I was expecting a parcel, another lens actually , heh, heh and it was expected to arrive on Saturday which was the day of the hike. I deferred my hike to Sunday and also to test the new lens. This is my third Minolta lens actually, I still liked them as I was a loyal customer of Minoltas before Sony took over the company. 

Lilian has to work on that day actually but I have signed up, so we just went. We have to shoot back as soon as possible and since this should be an easy hike, she should be able to work after the hike. Lilian drove this morning and we had breakfast at a 'warong' at the 14th mile Hulu Langat road. Later, an old friend Tang Weng Kong and Meng Oye and another joined us. Just before 8.30am (the appointed time), we drove to the mosque but it was full of cars. As usual, I took my name tag and after a while, we all convoyed to the trail head.

Group photo!

At the trail head, we took a group photo but we couldn't start as Brigitte was a bit lost and we waited for her to arrive. She finally arrived but not much later. I took the sweeping role today and after all went ahead, me and Lilian crossed the bridge. In front of us was Robinson and company, a hiker I didn't see for quite some time. I took a slow hike and Satvin was not far ahead from us together with Siva and Sumi. Monique and her mom who also hike in Lata Naning was among the few last hikers. There's no rush actually, the trail was well marked by Alex's trail and although quite wide, it was under quite a heavy foilage. The humidity after the rain made me and others really sweat. The trail was not steep so this made hiking today easier.

Oh! Langsat, glorious langsat.

The trail passed through an orchard and there was a few 'langsat' (my favourite) trees. There was so much fruit on the branches and so many just fell to the ground. What a waste! There was durian trees but not bearing fruits. Betty was suffering as this was her first hike, well she did do FRIM. But FRIM can't really compare to a real jungle trail, can it? As the trail meanders deeper into the jungle, the elevation increases and finally we came to a steep ascend. Betty was telling Robinson off! Robinson promised an easy hike, he,he. She did managed anyway. She was happily joining the crowd and having lunch once at the falls.

From L to R, Satvin, Alexandre, Sumi, Sive, Robinson and Betty.

After 1 hour 40 minutes, we came to a shack. There was a solar panel there but it was not maintained at all. Also another waste of funds! A bit after that, Alex was there waiting for the last few. There was a dangerous section there, rocks! It was slippery and narrow. One slip and down into the gulley , you go!

The rest was there when we arrived and the place can hardly accommodate all of us, ha,ha,ha. Wei Ching, the 'water duck' was already in the waters. This time Sumi and Siva did not do any swimming. Mary was in her swimming attire and was enjoying her lunch, probably after a swim. The place, so small and all of us was laughing and joking there. The biggest joke was Soli who went water sliding from above the falls and rammed into the crowd below. No one was hurt but the lady gave Soli a big whack on his shoulders, ha,ha. Wei Ching was splashed! And I got it on camera!

Craaaaaash! Poor girl!

I sat at the far end with Lilian and Tang and few others just chatting and the topic was leeches. I did not encountered any, maybe spraying 'MosiGuard' into the shoes and also on the socks before putting them on helped. After a while, at 12.15pm, Lilian went over to Alex to bade him goodbye as we are descending. Lilian has to catch up with her job. Tang wanted to follow me and there were already a few others doing the same.

Today with the knees doing OK, descending just took us 65 minutes. By 1.20pm, we were already changing our shoes and on our way back home. On the way home, there was a downpour, I wondered how the others fared. The trail can be very slippery when it rains.

A total of approx. 9 km. hike, to and fro.

Today's hike, although easy was refreshing. At least we are sweating it off and also enjoying some nature time. We can't be doing tough hikes all the time. In fact, I think it is wiser to hike more simple ones and do a tough one once in a while. As the pictures here proofed, the new lens ( not new but bought newly as Minolta lenses are usually more than 20 years old! ) Ha,ha, ha! Like the Bahasa words, " Bukan beli baru tapi baru beli ".

A sneek revelation by Satvin says, " next week we are planning Kutu again ". So let's see if I am going to do Kutu again next week.

Lata Naning

The Group Photo

It's been quite a while since the last time I have been there. I think the last was March, so that's almost half a year ago. Time seems to pass so fast. There was actually another hike that was planned a day earlier where me and Lilian did signed up but we opted for this trip instead. Maybe she liked the place as I am not particular where I hike. There was another hike the next day to Tabur but I will have to judge if I can do after this hike.

Like usual, I like to wait at the venue instead of the appointed place because I like to travel slower as my 'Kancil' can only do so fast! It's also safer as I have experienced once when I was younger, we convoyed in 4 cars to Port Dickson and one car was involved in an accident and two of my friends perished. Maybe, that's why I don't like cars travelling in convoys.

Chamang in the early morning.

I did't get a wink of sleep the night before and I was all ready by 5.00am. I asked Lilian to drive and we were already there by 6.30am. It was still dark and there were already quite a number of cars parked there. Before long the rest arrived and Alex handed me the name tag. There were almost 50 hikers at this hike and it seems Alex's system of name tagging and 'compulsory' filling in a form works.

The hike begins like this!

As usual a group photo was taken and a briefing was given. So, off we went! As usual with Naning or Rajah, the start is a killer! You practically have no warm up and it's steep. It's probably a 70 degrees incline. Once up onto the 'logging trail' the hike is a slow......................tedious hike of 4 kilometers. And as usual me and Lilian is always the last. We do meet a few slow hikers but we are usually the last. By the time I reached 'Matau' a name given by the rangers here for a flat plain where the 'logging trail' continued to a sluice gate for the river, I barely had time to rest, Siva was moving the rest on.We are going offroad now, into a jungle trail. It's already been 75 minutes since we started.

It's a long road.

I must mention that this is the 4th time that I am on this trail and I do know the trail well. I know what to expect and what lies ahead. I didn't see much of the hikers as me and Lilian was taking it slower as we did not rest. When we reached 'River Y' only half the group was there taking a rest. There was a jam as there was a large rock to climb down to the river. I took the 'shoes taking off time' as a good time to take a breather. Then after crossing, the 'putting on shoes' time was also a good needed rest time for me.

Breather at 'River Y'

After putting on my shoes, Lilian was already ready and so were the rest. We started off again but Lata Naning is not far from here. The trail from here gets more tricky. Narrow ledges, fallen trees, coffin looking like tree..ha,ha. Trees roots, overhanging branches and small stream crossings with a sudden descending and an immediete ascending after crossing. Just before reaching the ridge where we hike on a small ledge with a deep gulley on one side and the cliff of the river on the other, I suffer a small cramp on my calfs, both of them! I had to slow down from now on. I took off my gear bag and took out a bottle of '100plus'.

It seems my engine is slowing down. There's a shortage of fuel treatment in my fuel systems. I am like a diesel, slow but reliable with good torque but really bad on the acceleration and top speed. From then onwards, I knew I am going to suffer on the way down! I was already thinking of the return leg. I was the last to reach and Bella urged me to sit down. The rest were already enjoying the rest and many others enjoying the waters. Boy! they should see the water here in Naning when the weather was good. The waters that day was murky with fine sand precipitating the waters after a downpour. A few campers on the way down confirmed this when we exchanged greetings.

Lata Naning

I had a lunch of leftovers, ha,ha,ha. Leftover spaghetti that was brought from my own fridge. Bella had some, Patrick had some too. Lilian boiled water for a good cup of Earl Grey, my usual drink! I asked Alex, what time will we be moving out and he replied, " latest by 2.00pm ". So I have a full solid 105 minutes to rest. That should be good. It was drizzling a bit up there and the weather can't hold long, I've guessed. By 1.00pm, you can see many have started to pack up and some even are ready to move. Many have started down already and I don't want to be the last again. 

We started off too at 1.20pm and Patrick passed me a walkie talkie. He wanted to test the range and effectiveness. We started off and I kept a fast pace but my fast pace was never a faster than the other's slow pace, ha,ha. It started to drizzle and I was thinking of 'River Y' where I had an experience the last time. I crossed 'River Y' and Lilian was relieved and just after starting a heavy downpour started. Lilian took out the ponchos and also covered her backpack with he rain cover. I stuff both cameras into the dry bag which I was carrying. I was actually anticipating rain today as it has been the past few days. That was why I choose the 'dry bag' over the more comfortable back packs. The uncomfortable 'dry bag' makes my effort worthwhile afterall.

A sign never obeyed.......sigh!~

A while later my legs were paining again. My feet was wet as water has already soaked the shoes in and out. The shoes seems to be getting smaller in size and was like seizing my ankles and toes. The last toe was starting to blister. The pain got more and more painful after a while. We have no alternative and our choices for now is, either you walk in pain at the same pace or you slow down to decrease the pain and 'God knows', how long will the hike be? Without asking or answering each other, we continued on as fast as we could. To her, the choice is easier but to me, one square feet of skin is barely enough to take 100 kgs in a fast pace. It's like 4 bicycle tyres running on a normal car. The pain on the blister and soles were excruciating

We kept on going and tried the walkie talkie without any reply. I had a few leeches on the way, something I never experienced before on this trail. I kept toying with the walkie talkie to no avail but I accidently switch on the radio. "Might as well entertain me for a while", I thought. Even the FM reception was bad, I doubt the UHF transmission will be of any use in the jungles. It was like the last experience we had the last time from then on. We were alone in ponchos, legs paining, heavy downpour, clearing all the obstacles that comes in view and I was following and watching Lilian's steps without looking around.......except that this time it's still daylight. We know the trail well, so, after reaching this cut log, stream etc we know how far we were from 'Matau'.

Matau

We reached 'Matau' at 4.15pm which was fast compared to the first time we did. I rested a while here and tried calling Patrick. This time there was a reply but I can't make out what he said. The signal was breaking off so much. I took a 'pee pee' here and then set off again. Like the last time, after a rain, the mud at the logging trail will stick to your soles. It makes walking harder and the mud flips all over after your steps and some will end IN your shoes. Patrick called in to say he's already 3 kilometers on the logging trail. That means he was 25-30 minutes ahead. when I reached the pipeline, Patrick called in and said Bella and him has reached the car park. I and Lilian finally reached the car park at 5.05pm.

First thing I did was took off the shoes and socks and then sat there. I did not want to do anything else. The bathrooms was dry without water supply. There was one source of water though, outside the toilets. After Lilian cleaned herself up, she used a bottle to store water and clean herself in the toilet with that. I on the other hand, took off my shirt and then drenched myself and then walked into the toilet to dry up and changed into a set of dry clothes.

EC Chan was looking at me and said I am to take them somewhere for something good in Bentong. I was like , " HUH! ". I only know 'ice kacang' in Bentong and they said a proper meal was needed. I told them Janda Baik is a better place and they said too far. So, I just took them back to Bentong town and hunt for the place with the most customers. Ha,ha,ha. So much for a foodie. We sat ourself in a place called " Talk 3, Talk 4 Restaurant". There were 14 of us and it kind of intimidated the boss. He dared not take our order and instead pushed her young daughter to take our orders. Seems funny, if I was the boss, I will try my best to hold on the customers if you never seen a crowd before. So, we joked and ate and then paid and say our 'goodbyes' and left.

The Route

Can I called it enjoyable day? The friends and jokes was, the hike was painful but it never makes us give up. Don't ask me why, I don't know. So, till the next hike.

Chilling Waterfalls.........A place I never get bored with!

The majestic falls of Chilling.

Ever since the first time I went to Chilling, I have loved the place. Maybe because the river crossings, the easy hiking or maybe because of the fishes. It  has been a long time since I been there and last Sunday, 5th August 2012, KL Hiking group organized an outing there. 

Since I have been there before and knows the place, I have opted to go there first and not rendezvous at Bukit Beruntung toll plaza. Me and Lilian took a very leisurely drive as the meet was quite late, at 9.00am. The place opens at 8.00 am anyway. It is actually a fish sanctuary managed by our Fisheries Department for the preservation of our local species of fish, namely the Kelah. This is a very highly prized fish which is fished almost to extinction due to the quality as a table fish. Looking at the fishes swimming in abundance here actually makes me happy and it can be called towards your wiggling fingers.

Hikers congregating at the entrance.

I was at the entrance at 8.00 am after a breakfast in KKB. Me and Lilian was the first one there and I had the opportunity to chat with a KKB local who cycled there. Cycling seems interesting too! The convoy arrived shortly and after Alex passed me my name tag, we were on our way into the sanctuary. Wei Ching collected RM2 for the entrance fee and there was a total of 66 participants. After gate collection was given and also a short briefing by Alex, we crossed the '4X4 bridge', a term coined by the rangers there, meaning to cross the bridge 4 person at one time!

The trek was an easy one so I don't have to be on sweeper duty this time. I was free to take photos. It was not as wet as the last time too and this makes the trek faster. Not long after we started, we came to the first river crossing, it's called the second one as the first one is the bridge, where you can choose to walk cross the bridge or cross the river. Like before, there were many hikers that are there to assist in the river crossing and even me had a helping hand, much to the dismay to Siva! Someone held a helping hand, off course being polite I held on to it, ha,ha,ha, eventhough I was firmly standing on my own.

One of the many river crossings.

We came to the third, fourth, fifth and then the final one before reaching the lower falls. All regrouped here before deciding who wants to stay or carry on to the upper falls. I brought some biscuits to feed the fishes here but sadly, it was hardly enough. I must bring more next time. The fishes were swarming all over!

Abundance of 'Kelah' swimming in safety.

It seems that only one person stayed back due to a weak knee and all the rest were going to the upper falls. The elevation here was 290 meters asl. I wanted to stay too as the tendonitis on my achilles heel is still there and I am on some weird drugs sold by some chinese medicine shop which seems to cure until it wears off! Lilian urged  me to climb and I was contemplating on staying. Finally I relented and followed them. The  trek started with a steep slope but it was not hard on me, quite suprising! I managed to follow them but the trek was slow due to the many obstacles ahead. We came to a fork where one leads higher to the third level and the other the second but Alex suggested that we do the higher one first. All made it without much difficulty and by the time I got there, many were already in the cool water. My watch recorded 420 meters for the elevation here. It's just a mere 130 meter climb but took us 40 minutes. Much to my suprise the climb was not hard, maybe because of the training I had in Lone Pine last week!

The merry group enjoying themselves.

Lilian choose a nice spot and we sat there, having a nice picnic. We finished our lunch hastily and drank a lot too. We chatted with other hikers and I was taking snaps of everyone enjoying the water. Monika cut her knee on some fallen bamboo and Alex decided to take her down first after some first aid. Satvinder has to follow as she gave her a lift. The moved out first, leaving Sivamohan and Wei Ching to take charge.

At 1.00pm, Siva gestured everyone to move to the lower falls. I was the nearest to the exit and me, Lilian and EC.Chan was first down. We caught up with Alex, Satvinder and Monika but after a while we took the lead down.Siva caught up later but we stopped at the fork to the second falls. Siva guided them towards the seconds falls but since I was not going, I was given the task to herd the rest towards the path. Except for Alex and Monika, the last swept by Wei Ching arrived. I told Wei Ching I am going to wait for the them at the Ranger Station.

The local resident of Chilling.

Me and Lilian headed down first. The descend was as usual fast paced and we met Uma waiting there at the lower falls. He has crossed the river and was waiting for all the others. We told him that the others are coming soon and he waited for the rest while me and Lilian kept our pace back to the crossings. We managed to reach the bridge to the station by 3.00pm. We clean up at the facilities there and waited at the gazebo there. It was relaxing and we finished up all the food we had left. I was watching some families enjoying the cool river there when it started to rain.

One by one, the others came out of the jungle and rejoined the group at the station. some overshot the junction and have to cross the river instead of crossing the bridge. The rain was getting heavier at this juncture and finally Alex appeared with Siva, Sumithra and Satvinder with Monika in tow. After much bantering around the gazebo, the rain finally slowed down to a drizzle. A list check was made and we all made our way to our cars which was parked outside, a half a kilometer walk away. We finally parted, leaving me still grinning from the jokes and bantering the whole trip. It was fun and sometimes I think, we should do some simple hikes time to time, instead of torturing ourself on tough hikes all the time.

The injured is taken care, not by one but FOUR!

If there's another Chilling, I bet you, I will sign up.

Pine Tree Hill........as quoted, Going up is optional but going down is mandatory.

I have RVSPed this hike a few weeks ago as it is hard to get my daughter's and wife's holiday on the same day. We were supposed to book a room and head to Fraser's Hill on Friday afternoon but something came up so we abandon our plans and woke up at 3.30am to get ready. I reached quite early, too early in fact, at 6.30am where there was no one around and also it was still dark! I was the first one there, I guess, barring those who were there last night. Anyway, I never like to be late nor like to wait for others too! A fact too unfavourable in my terms especially in KL.

Briefing by Alex.

Alex came next before the other came in droves. It was already past the expected starting time but Alex got a call informing him to hold on as they are on the way. We took the time to have a group photo at the clock tower right in the centre of a roundabout. But after 45 minutes delay (Alex usually don't wait that long) there was still no sign of the vehicle. We convoyed to the trail head  and everybody got ready and listen to a briefing by Alex.

I and Siva was appointed sweeper while Wei Ching took the lead while Alex will coordinate in between. Incidently, there was a few weak hikers and Siva made sure they laughed on every steps of the way. Laughter has the coaxing  and feel good solution on problems especially tiredness. Ha,ha,ha! At this time Mabel and Lilian was also along with us. Alex made sure that Mabel joined the faster group as he knows she's a faster hiker, than her mommy and daddy-lah but not the other supermans and superwomans. I wonder what they eat, probably not much delicious calorie filled foods that I crave so much.

Really cooling and breezy hike.

This group of new hiker actually needs to join nature walks more. They freaked out, really freaked out seeing a harmless millipede. I was behind them all the way until the group splintered into smaller two by two with each group a sweeper. A few while before I reached the false peak, I got a call from Mabel and she was saying I might meet an obstacle later before the false peak. All of us needs to clamber up a nearly 60 feet vertical slope with help of ropes anchored there. And "yes", there's another peak to scale after the false peak!

We started off at almost 9.00 am and it was already 11.30am now and we are just at the vertical slope. By the time we all made to the false peak, Mabel was already on the way to the actual peak. There was a 'lookout point' here and there was also a sign proclaiming that it is the Pine Tree Hill. If not for Mabel's absence here, I would have stop my hike here and Alex asked me if I am going to the peak. I answered," Yes!" He gave me a thumbs up and that is the sign that I must carry on.

The almost vertical slope!

I was still sweeping Kim but she was moaning all the way and was contem- plating turning back after her fingers got pierced by spines from a rattan plant. I wish Mr.Chul was here or there was 'kimchi' on my menu as  she was moaning about her finger. There was nothing I can do except maybe kiss the finger, ha,ha,ha which I did not, obviously! Keep your head clean. On the way up, I saw Daniel was heading down and many were already making their way down, especially those fast ones. I asked if Kim wants to turn back and she was straggling in-between of turning back and going forward to the almost-there peak. Daniel said she was on his car pool list and a little push she was off with Daniel.

I speed up (as if I can, ha,ha,ha) and I met Alex after a while and he was still sweeping the other slow hikers and I was at the back. Alex prolonged the turn around time a little as we were all almost at the top and another hiker was missing. He went venturing into the Semangko trail and was still not back. finally, as usual, I am always the last to arrive. I took a breather, although hungry but was unable to whip up an appetite. I just had a banana and a lot of 100 Plus. The missing hiker was still not back and I can see the worried faces on Wei Ching and Alex. The top was nice and it had a 360 degree view but sadly, it was hazy.

Funny looking cave made of tree roots.

The group was getting smaller as more and more were heading down already. Fortunately, the hiker showed himself and after that we took another peak group photo and then left the peak. I have under estimated this peak. Although we were hiking in between 1200 meters to 1350 meters asl, the number of ascends and descends really tires me out. In two of the ascends and descends, the difference was more than 150 meters. The return trip to the vertical slope was not hard and the lowering myself down holding the ropes was not really a problem for me, Lilian or Mabel.

Me at the peak!

The return trip of this hike is similar to the start. If you ascend long, the descend is long and vice versa. So, there's no advantage of faster descends in this hike, both ways are the same, in fact harder as by that time (it's almost 6 hours already), we were all really tired, I mean real tired!

The designated natural sweeper!

By the 3.9 km mark (which is a camp site with water point just nearby), I was practically dragging my feet. I was unable to lift up my legs. I was really tired and water is running out fast! As they said, "Going up is optional, Going down is mandatory!" But Alex was still behind me, as he was sweeping two other female hikers. I was switching places with Samantha, Jaycee and Lilian. Sometimes they were in front, sometimes us. They were dead tired too. Still the trail goes up and down, up and down, tiring us out tremendously.

Finally we came back to the steps which is a sign that we are nearing the trail head. But there was still 1.9 km. to go and this direct measurement over a map is misleading. The signs were also measured with GPS as they tally with my GPS reading. You can hiked like ages but you only gained 300 meters in distance! The return was really tiring, the moment we descend we know there will be another ascend. The last few ascends were really steep and this practically causes me to pickled in my sweat. In my opinion, the trail is even longer than the Chamang to Lata Naning trail which is 10.5 km one way. I was not this tired doing that. We won't know, will we? The distance measured was in a straight line and the diversion from the line and the ascend and descend was not taken in consideration.

Finally at 6.00pm, we emerged from the jungles. There was still Alex behind there sweeping. EC Chan was there while many has left and a few went for tea. Luckily EC Chan has extra water as ours are all dried up. 20 minutes later, Alex showed up with the other two hikers and they were estatic to see the road. This is a real tough one and I won't be doing it again soon.

Dinner time!

They were all having a blast at the tea house when I passed them, I can hear their laughter but I was now hungry for real food. Still pickled in my sweat , I went to the 'Kedai Kopi' , the only one there, I think, to have rice. The drying sweat makes me cold and cool breezes was blowing  and we sat outside. Nothing like a hot soup on a cold evening! sitting there, waiting for food, I see lots of tourist from KL, in my opinion. They were also coming for the lousy food dish by this restaurant. They should have brought their own meal, maybe that's just me thinking or maybe since I am a cook by profession, I think differently. As said, the food was LOUSY and also expensive. Anyway, you don't do this daily and I was enjoying the moment, resting my legs and sitting with my family. That's worth the price!


I started back at almost 8.30pm and reached home nearly 11.00pm. Still it was fun day! That matters and also this is another feather on my cap.

Back to Basics.......and it was enjoyable too.

Gunong Datuk, Rembau - 22nd July 2012.

The happiest hikers!

After the Berembun trip twice, we did manage to get to the right trail though, my wrist was still paining after a fall. Add salt to injury, I somehow pulled my achilles because of the weakened knees. I was hobbling for the past week and I skipped a week of activity. The last hike was with Kayee and gang from KL Hiking Group and that's also where I met Alex again after a long time.

Lilian (my wife) has not been hiking for the past two months due to work and she has wanted to hike so much. It was also unfair to her as I only did recce trips with hordes of leeches and she detest leeches! So, I signed up for the KL Hiking trip to Gunong Datuk. Although we have done it before, there's no wrong in doing it again, in fact it might be better as we know the terrain.

Hikers mulling at the starting point.

On the said meeting day, we woke up early, prepared and drove to Seremban for breakfast. I then drove to Rembau via the old Tampin road which was the main trunk road to Singapore many yeas ago. The road has changed! At the junction to Chengkau, I saw the KLH's convoy but I was already passed them when I noticed Alex's car. So, I just drove on to the Gunong Datuk's base station. After the handling out of name tags and so, Alex separated the group into two, the slower ones will move out first and the faster ones 10 minutes later. This is make the gap between both of them smaller so that the wait on the summit won't be long.

My plan was just to send Lilian to join them and wait at the station. But last night I popped two 'muscle relaxant' pills bought from a chinese medicine shop. I popped another two this morning before starting our journey. The ankles were OK and so is the wrist. I suspect these pills sold under the counter are actually pain killers with steroids and maybe 'muscle relaxant' was  part of it. It seemed to work so I joined in the hike.

The steep start!

Alex's faster group appeared just a moments later and I was still with some back markers. Honey Romenza was sweeping Michelle and Jenny at the back and  me and Lilian decided to stick with them since Lilian was out of touch and I was injured! We were noisy and we laughed more at the back. My opinion is, a sweeper has more discipline than a normal or better hiker. A sweeper has more compassion and it takes a lot of patience to actually care for other fellow hikers. For this, I admire Alex and in this case Honey!

The jungle ensemble!

Alex once told me that in Belgium, when there are hiking activities, the slowest hiker is always within 5 minutes of the first hiker. When he said that, our hikers here has the wrong idea that all their hikers are fast and there are no slow hikers. BUT you know how wrong they are. It means no matter how fast there are, they also care and wait for the last hiker.

It will never happen here,that I can be sure as we Malaysians (I am not generalising, please) are glory bound. They want acknowledgements for their achievements and they train hard for that too. That's why I say the sweeper has more courage and patience than the ones at the front. That's my personal opinion though after so many hikes and encounters with many hikers. I mean among the hikers there will be slow hikers, first time hikers even injured hikers, ha,ha,ha.

The steep roots clambering.

As we hiked up and almost near the peak, we felt colder and can see that rain was coming. Like usual, our hikers are all made of paper cartons, they wilt and  decompose in rain, all were already rushing down but we didn't care. We still clamber up. I reached the peak later but I did not want to climb the ladders to the top of the boulders as I know it might be slippery, not a worthwhile risk in my condition. Jenny and Honey went up.

The jubilant Jenny at the peak with Alex and friends.

Another shot which makes nurturing new hikers worthwhile. Look

at the jubilance and happiness in Jenny.

We were drenching at the base of the boulders but we were wet anyway. We waited and most of them went directly down after dismounting from the ladders with some disorientated hikers going into the wrong path but we redirected them. Finally the last few that were left finally came down. All was left was Alex, Satvinder, Siva, Sumi, Alexandre, Michelle, Jenny, Frankie and off course me and Lilian. We did not start down immediately but were joking and laughing.  Especially with Satvinder and Siva around and throwing Alex and Alexandre into the fray, it was havoc. Joking all the way down, we didn't really feel the slippery slopes but Jenny and Michelle did slip and sat on their butt once or twice.

When we reached the broken shed, Alexandre was sitting on the rock just in front of the broken down shed with it's pointed roof. He was sitting so grandeur like and Siva snapped at him, " You looked so comfortable there." I added in, " Yeah! you sitting like the Emperor of China. " Without further delay, Alex was bowing to him, " Shall be go down, Your Highness." We were practically laughing all the way down. I think back markers are more fun, we interact more, know each other better and most importantly, our sense of camaraderie spirit is even stronger.

The tired but still laughing their way out from the jungle.

We finally emerged from the jungles at 2.00pm and I changed into dry clothes and waited a while for the rest. Wei Ching was there waiting and so were a few others. After the name tags check, I said 'goodbye' to Alex and made my way to the car. Satvinder was asking," Why do we do this if it is so tiring and hard?" I answered, " To burn calories." She replied, " We can burn calories in so many ways." I replied, " I think it's the friendship, the togetherness and also the crazy jokes and banter." To this she agreed," That's it!"

I drove on to my usual 'Hakka Noodles' outlet if I am around Seremban but upon reaching there, it was full! Me and Lilian in our dirty garbs felt uncomfortable standing and waiting, we went to another famous Seremban noodles, "Seremban Beef Noodles." We satisfy our hunger and then drove back slowly home.

Till "Pine Tree Hill" then. It's only a week away, again I am sure I am also going to be the last hiker again. Ha,ha,ha.