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.
