Sunday, January 18, 2009

gunung nuang trek

| 18 january 2009 | sunday | 6.30 am | arrival at car park at pangsoon, ulu langat, selangor, at the foot of gunung nuang | introductions and then sean ong gave a briefing | 7.00 am | start of trek | first stretch of trail wide enough for a vehicle to drive | 8.15 am | end of motorable trail | arrived at a stream with 2 huts | trail narrows to a footpath | followed pipeline until abandoned water catchment | crossed stream halfway at abandoned water catchment pond | the ascent was very gradual | 8.30 am | arrived at kem lolo | kem lolo is a big campsite spread over several areas on both sides of the stream | kem lolo can easily take at least 30 tents | there were huts at kem lolo as well | unfortunately the place is quite literally a dump and could be cleaner | took a break | 8.45 am | resume trek | after kem lolo, trail started to ascend a bit but not too steep | red clay trail | 9.30 am | arrival at kem pacat | small campsite | fortunately was not greeted by any pacat | no leeches | kem pacat is a clearing which can take about 20 campers | 9.40 am | resumed trek | trail goes on a steep incline after kem pacat | steep climb most of the way until the arrival at the false peak also known as puncak pengasih | 10.25 am | arrival at false peak | a small clearing | there was a green signboard with an arrow pointing left towards the summit of gunung nuang | after short break, descended from false peak followed by a steep ascent to gunung nuang peak | 10.55 am | arrival at the peak of gunung nuang | height of gunung nuang was 1493 metres or 4898 feet | it was windy and chilly at the peak | there was a group camping at the peak and a big group which trekked to the peak from kem lolo | a solo trekker and 2 japanese trekker also arrived the peak | took a nap as slept only 2 hours the night before | 12.30 pm | started the descent | 3.30 pm | arrival at the car park and the end of the trek | it was a tough and challenging trek | for more information on gunung nuang trek, please click here or please click here or please click here | for the photos taken by sean ong, please click here | for the photos taken by jimmy chew, please click here |

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

shoelaces

| 13 january 2009 | only learned to tie shoelaces not too long ago | apparently was tying shoelaces the wrong way for decades | not long after the trek to yong yap peak in november 2008, resolved that something must be done about the shoelaces which were undone annoyingly regularly | to tie the shoelaces with gloves and a backpack on the back can be quite a challenge and a tiring affair | in thick jungle the time taken to tie shoelaces may be enough for the person in front to disappear from sight | it was a relieve that there was a website to teach how to tie shoelaces | unbelievable | the site is named ian's shoelace site | learned that the reason why shoelaces were untied were because they were probably tied with a granny knot | learn more about the granny knot by clicking here | no wonder the shoelaces came undone | ian's shoelace siterecommended two alternative knots namely the fast ian knot and the secure ian knot | having tested both knots for more than 2 months in various trekking conditions, both the fast ian knot and the secure ian knot did what their jobs very well indeed | use the fast ian knot most of the time | but use the secure ian knot in treks where shoelaces may come in contact with plants, rocks and other things | take a look at ian's shoelace site and fairly sure you will learn something useful | to ian figgien, a big thank you |

Sunday, January 11, 2009

taiping hash baptism

| 11 january 2009 | was baptised as a member of taiping hash house harriers this evening | given the hash name sweet potato junior aka farn see chaih which meant the same thing in cantonese | quite a mouthful | hash name was given on a democratic basis and election was by a show of hands |

Saturday, January 10, 2009

trong waterfalls

| 10 january 2009 | saturday | trek to sungai trong upper waterfall | trek inspired by the report at http://www.waterfallsofmalaysia.com/30trong.php | exit north south plus highway at changkat jering toll | after paying toll, turn right at the first junction | drive on until reach trong traffic lights | go straight and turn left at the first junction after the traffic lights | go all the way until end of road where there was a small parking area | road was pretty level until after the bridge over sungai trong | thereafter it goes into a climb | there were places to set up camp between the road and sungai trong before the parking area | after the parking area the road became a dirt track | this track led to the upper trong waterfall | from the parking area, there was a steep flight of steps leading downwards to the lower trong waterfall | the lower trong waterfall was easy to find | the lower trong waterfall had 2 tiers | there were people swimming and dipping in the pool below the lower tier but no one seem to venture into the pool below the upper tier | did not go into the water | going to the upper trong waterfall was not so easy | the trek to the upper waterfall will take about 1.30 hours | the track became progressively narrower and overgrown closer to the upper waterfall but with some care and thought the track was discernible up to the upper waterfall | just before reaching the upper waterfall, there were 2 campsites | the first campsite can accommodate around 15 persons while the second and smaller campsite can only accommodate about 5 persons | beside the first and bigger campsite, the stream flowed gently and there was a big rocky area for sunbathing | the upper waterfall had 2 tiers | the pool below the lower tier looked nice | a narrow track led to the top of the upper tier | took 1 hour and 15 minutes to trek from parking area to first and bigger campsite | took 10 minutes to trek from first campsite to the second campsite | between the campsite is a nice pool | the second campsite was situated very close to the lower tier of the upper waterfall | took 15 minutes to climb from the bottom of the lower tier to the top of the upper tier | for the photos, please click here |

Saturday, January 3, 2009

tabur east trail

| 3 january 2008 | enjoyed tabur west trail very much | had time to kill until evening | decided to take a look at tabur east trail | at about 10.58 am arrived at the car park area under twin water pipes about 50 metres from trail head | while preparing for the trek, started to drizzle and then it rained | decided to go for teh tarik to sit out the rain | at about 12.15 pm rain was reduced again to drizzle, so decided to start the trek as have to finish trek before 3.00 pm | at 12.25 pm arrived at housing area next to the twin water pipes | nicer road and looked a safer place to park the car | was drizzling so after putting on a windbreaker, and putting stuff in plastic bags, started the trek | at 12.30 pm, arrived at trail head to the right of the twin water pipes, shortly after the pipes reach ground level | at the start the trail goes steeply upwards | during the upwards climb, the vegetation was typical rainforest | at 12.44 pm saw first moss which means that the vegetation will turn to shrubs and "bonsai" plants due to meagre soil on tabur ridge | 12.48 pm, arrived at first outcrop with a fine view of the klang gates dam | thereafter, the trail goes along the spine of the ridge except for parts where it winds down along the side of the ridge to avoid the breaks between the outcrops on the ridge | as with the tabur west trail, the scenery was beautiful | there was no one else on the trail and strangely enjoyed the solitude and peacefulness of the trek | at 1.25 pm, arrived at the middle of the climb to the last outcrop on the tabur east trail which was the only long steep climb on the ridge itself | there were ropes at hand for most the steep climb | reached the end of the east tabur trail at 1.33 pm | the trail ends with a steep drop | after a short rest for lunch, started the trek back to trail head | arrived safely to civilization at about 2.35 pm | it was an enjoyable trek | quite safe | only slightly harrowing experiences were as follows | the first was where the trail "dissappeared" just before the second last outcrop and was replaced by twin white lines on narrow rocks | follow the twin lines on the rocks and the trail will resume | the passage on the rocks were fairly level | not sure whether the twin white lines were natural or made by a kind samaritan | the second was where the trail appears to end on a steep drop on the way to the last outcrop | backtrack a bit | just before arriving at the drop you will find a trail to your right which goes off the ridge and goes along the side of the ridge | this trail goes a fair bit downwards before it head up again towards the last outcrop | at the end of this detour, arrive at the final steep climb up the rocks to the last and highest outcrop on the tabur east trail | strangely the third and the most harrowing occured on the way back immediately after the steep descent down the last outcrop | somehow missed the detour downwards to the side of the ridge | must have been day dreaming | went forward to another outcrop | at this outcrop which was covered with some kind of grass, spent some time looking for some way down to no avail | took some time to reflect | instead taking risk decided to back track | found the detour, indeed wondering how could have missed it in the first place and continued the track back without further incident | a pair of gloves are advised as got cuts on my hands although did not feel any pain during the trek itself | pain from cuts felt keenly when washing the hands | for some climbing, some flexibility will be required | all in all will revisit tabur east trail as the trek was enjoyable | fewer photos were taken during this trek as it was drizzling throughout and the kodak c713 used was not waterproof | the kodak c713 a faithful and much abused gadget of many treks started to act crazy during the trek but served till its last breath at the end of the trek | for the photos taken during the trek, please click here |

tabur west trail

| 3 january 2009 | woke up early | arrived at kolam air road at about 7.30 am | it was drizzling | waited for rain to stop |arrived at klang gates dam entrance at about 8.30 am | this is the starting point for the tabur west trail | trekking solo | reassured to see many cars parked near the entrance which is a good sign that there were many trekkers on the trail | there were 4 persons near the entrance at the time | was shown the trail head which was located about 10 metres on the road to the entrance | trail head was marked by a low and short cemented wall | the trail started with a steep uphill gradient which took about 10 minutes to complete | reached the ridge | thereafter the trail gradient became gradual except for the rock climbs to the outcrops | view along the trail while on the ridge was very good | enjoyed the experience | recommended trek | the trek is unique in the sense that the vegetation were stunted and the shrubs were unlike anything that can be found in the rainforest | the trail was exposed and could become rather hot under a strong sun | fortunately the sky was cloudy and overcast | it was a good trek | met some people along the trail | trail was very well marked and used | although there were some forks on the trail, the forks eventually come together so it did not matter which sub trail is chosen | for example, just before the place where a girl fell from the ridge on 14 october 2008, there was an alternative and safer route to the right | an early start is recommended so that you can tag along or alternatively you can stop and wait for others to ask for advice | the people met along the trail were universally friendly and will greet you with smiles | got some friendly advice from bob mini met at about 9.25 am | bob mini came from behind while was checking out site of the infamous accident | tagged along with bob mini thereafter | but no guide was necessary as the trail was clear enough | just before the last outcrop with mossy floor, there was a junction with another trail going downhill | took the alternative downhill trail but in retrospect ought to have backtracked as the alternative downhill trail was quite boring | would have enjoyed another stroll on the ridge | arrived back at trail head at about 10.50 am | do not find trail particularly dangerous | just use common sense | if the way forward look dangerous, there is probably an alternative route | trail safe with use of common sense | just do the trail | this is a trail worth savouring so take your time | will do it again | for the photos taken during the trek, please click here |

Thursday, January 1, 2009

putih hill

| 1 january 2009 | new year's day | slept at 3.00 am and woke up at 7.00 am | tough, almost decided to give the event a miss | anyway managed to get up and about | met up with a group of moths (malaysian outdoor trekking hiking society) members at a restaurant in taman taynton view in cheras at about 7.50 am | trek organized by toh say li | the trek was on the various trails at putih hill aka bukit putih aka bukit datuk aka ah pek hill aka ah pak san | headed to trail head after breakfast | reached the starting point of the trek at about 8.45 am | completed the trek at about 3.30 pm | highlights of the trek were station 6 which was located at the peak and the 2 waterfalls | the trails on putih hill were very well maintained | names and phone numbers of the putih hill maintenance and rescue team were posted at various places | it is almost impossible to get lost if one stays on the well marked trails | many people were trekking on puteh hill and one can always ask for directions | puteh hill trails provide a good place for exercise and training | if staying near puteh hill, use the trails for your regular exercise | the rumours concerning the "closure" of puteh hill trails were probably unfounded as the hill is rather big and the hill can be accessed from a few location | for the photos taken during the trek, please click here |