Thursday, February 26, 2009

kamunting hash 10 km run

| 26 february 2009 | thursday | 5.45 pm | arrived at start of run next to pejabat pertanian on the road to burmese pools | most runners already arrived | mostly members of kamunting hash house harriers and harriets but some non members as well | most of non members regular lake gardens hard core runners | weather was good for a run | just after rain | first 10 km run in a semi competitive environment | 6.00 pm | run started | 6.54 pm | run ended | time was 53 minutes 35 seconds which was yelled out by a stopwatch wielding man when crossing finishing line | interesting | much food for thought | way behind the top runners | much room for improvement |

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

maxwell hill search and rescue

| 24 february 2009 | tuesday | 10.30 am | called fire yu to ascertained status of search for 5 teenagers lost in maxwell hill | glad to hear that they were rescued and led out of the jungle in the morning | apparently, fire yu was given the wrong information leading to the team searching in the jungle on the wrong side of the road | the team went on a wild goose chase | but perhaps, the team's search in the jungle on one side of the maxwell hill road narrowed the search to the jungle on the other side | who knows | if team obtained correct information, the teenagers could have been out of the jungle by yesterday evening |

Monday, February 23, 2009

maxwell hill search and rescue

| 23 february 2009 | monday | 7.15 pm | got called from james aka fire yu about 5 teenagers who were lost in a jungle trail on maxwell hill aka bukit larut | was asked to join a search and rescue team | agreed | finished dinner, changed and packed | 7.45 pm | met up with fire yu, ah pian and ah chui at jeep station at foot of maxwell hill | fire yu was team leader with ah pian as co brain | fire yu and ah pian decided to enter the jungle from pondok tiga | got a ride from a jeep to pondok tiga | 8.20 pm | entered jungle | was dark | trail was lit using headlamps only | fortunately there were markings on the trees | also a paper trail was laid to enable team to get out if could not find another way out | the first part of the trek was fairly level until a stream was reached | team then trekked uphill towards the abandoned tea gardens | throughout the trek, fire yu was tooting a horn, ah pian and ah chui were calling out using their voices while yours truly made do with a whistle | 9.10 pm | break | ah pian and ah chui had food | heard another rescue team uphill tooting the jeep horn and shouting | shouted back | fire yu decided to trek downhill as contact was already made with the uphill rescue team | 9.20 pm | started downhill trek and search | 11.00 pm | arrived at water treatment plant at the foot of maxwell hill | met another rescue team | headed back to jeep station using road | 11.15 pm | started raining, fire yu decided to end the search and the team dispersed |

Saturday, February 21, 2009

bukit kutu trek

| 21 february 2009 | saturday | trek to bukit kutu aka gunung kutu | was lucky there were many trekkers on the trail and there were many numbered red and white plastic ribbons some with numbers to show the way | asked around and followed the ribbons to counter check | red and white plastic ribbons showed the way, especially the new ribbons with numbers in a circle | ribbon with the number 81 in a circle was tied at the clearing next to peak of bukit kutu | ribbons numbered in sequence | the higher up, the higher the number | just next to the peak there was a nice place to camp near lonely chimney with water from 2 wells | trek started from kampung pertak a modern orang asli kampung with brick bungalows mostly painted white | met many trekkers and picnickers on the way up and down bukit kutu | all friendly and helpful | without their directions and advices might not have reached the peak | kampung pertak is located 10 km from kuala kubu baru on the way to the gap and frasers hill | trek log and notes follows | 9.40 am | arrived at large field cum parking area immediately after kampung pertak | 9.48 am | start of trek | tar road for about 50 metres before start of dirt track | 9.53 am | crossed smallish stream via concrete bridge | miniature waterfall on the left | 10.00 am | crossed first concrete and steel bridge for motorcycles across a small stream | can also jump across stream | 10.05 am | arrival at first major fork | on the right at the fork, another concrete and steel bridge for motorcycles | bridge can be seen while approaching fork | mid section of the bridge already collapsed but bridged can be crossed without getting feet wet | right after bridge, there was a small campsite on the left | there was a 4wd vehicle parked at the campsite and some men cooking | 10.07 am | arrived at t-junction | you might miss it | another trail branches of perpendicularly to the right towards river | went straight to continue, did not turn right | 10.11 am | arrived at y-junction | at this fork, went straight to continue, did not turn left | 10.14 am | arrived at wide stream | can be crossed without getting feet wet using rocks to the right of the trail | no bridge, but stream can be crossed using 4wd | 10.16 am | immediately after the stream crossing, a fork | took the left side trail | the right will lead to a big campsite where a big group from universiti putra malaysia was camping | a 4wd vehicle was seen parked at the campsite | 10.17 am | crossed minor stream | there was what appeared to be a canvas toilet just across the stream probably set up by those camping at the aforesaid campsite | 10.19 am | reached another fork | took the right side trail | 10.24 am | crossed minor stream | hopped across | 10.27 am | leapt across another stream | 10.37 am | arrived at yellow wildlife reserve sign nailed to a tree on the left of the trail | but saw no wildlife at all | 10.40 am | arrived at big tree with exposed roots on the left side of the trail | caught up with another group of trekkers who was to camp on the peak | chit chatted | after the tree, trail goes steeply up | this would be the most difficult stretch of the trail | up and up with short stretches of gradual inclines | 10.57 am | caught up with 3 trekkers who have discontinued their treks as 1 was having cramps | chit chatted | trail went straight and steeply upwards | 11.15 am | arrived at first and smaller group of big rocks on the left side of the trail | stopped for snacks | 11.23 am | met a group of trekkers who spent the night on the peak | chit chatted | resumed trek | 11.27 am | sighted second and bigger collection of big rocks on the left side of the trail | turn sharply left towards the rocks | walk on a short stretch of rocky ground with the bigger rocks on the left until dirt trail resumes | these rocks will be a good resting place and were probably the big rocks noted by most trekkers | 11.37 am | arrived at the ridge | trail got easier after this with only 1 relatively short stretch of steep climb before the peak | upon reaching the ridge, on the left of the trail was an expansive view of faraway hills and mountains | cheer up as there would be no difficulty in reaching the peak if this point is achieved | 12.03 pm | start of relatively steep climb | 12.08 pm end of steep climb | at the end of the climb, a plastic bottle was hung on a tree | the trail turns sharply right and goes downwards after the plastic bottle | the downward stretch was followed by an upward stretch towards the peak | 12.15 pm | arrived at campsite next to the peak with a solitary chimney in the middle | there was a group of trekkers at the campsite and on the peak | passed several trekkers from the group on the way up | 12.21 pm | arrived at the peak and climbed to the second tallest rock outcrop for panoramic view | did not climb to the tallest rock outcrop as any slip would be result in injury | 12.28 pm | spread flysheet at campsite and relaxed | snacked and slept | explored campsite | chimney was most prominent feature | there were 2 wells with clear water although some rubbish were spotted at the bottom of the wells | one of the wells came with a plastic bucket with a string attaching it to the steel pipe beside the well | washed t-shirt and face | 1.25 pm | started downhill trek, passed several trekkers on the way up to spend the night at the campsite near peak | 2.01 pm | passed at the bigger collection of big rocks | did not pause | 2.28 pm | passed big tree with exposed roots | 2.45 pm | crossed bigger clearing and campsite and wide bridgeless stream | 3.03 pm | passed small clearing where 2 cars, a proton wira and a proton iswara was parked | this car park was ascessible via dirt track | 3.10 pm | back to parking area and parked car | change of clothing | drove to kuala kubu baru for late lunch |

Sunday, February 15, 2009

gunung irau + gunung brinchang trek

| 14 february 2009 | saturday | 8.00 pm | arrived at kampung raja, cameron highlands | did some shopping for supplies for the trek | 8.30 pm | arrived at kwan tee temple at kampung raja | had dinner at lai fatt restaurant beside the temple | good dinner, and prices are reasonable | 10.00 pm | set up tent on the stage in the hall beside the temple | this is the place where taiping goh camp on the nights before his treks to the mountains in the vicinity | apparently no permission was needed from anyone | did not ask any one for permission as did not know who to ask | in retrospect ought to informed the temple caretaker | but was not disturbed | 10.30 pm | lights off | had trouble sleeping as the air pillow purchased at tesco leaked | same thing happened at gunung yong yap with another pillow purchased at tesco | do not recommend any air pillow from tesco | 15 february 2009 | sunday | 6.00 am | alarm went off | freshened up and broke camp | 6.30 am | had breakfast at kampung raja | wantan mee and eggs | 7.00 am | started driving to gunung brinchang | 7.30 am | arrived at gunung brinchang summit where some members of malaysian outdoors hiking trekking society were camped | surprised that the tents were still up | long wait | 8.20 am | johnny low, team leader gave a briefing on the trail from the summit of gunung brinchang to the summit of gunung irau | most useful advice was to follow the rectangular stone blocks marking the border shared by perak and pahang | the words per presumably for perak appeared on one face of the stone markers and the words pah presumably for pahang appeared on the opposing face | from gunung brinchang peak to gunung irau peak, the words per ought to be on the left and the words pah on the right | from gunung irau peak to gunung brinchang peak, the words per will be on the right and pah will be on the right | trail was well marked | trail had many forks but forked trails reconverged | 8.30 am | start of trek on the man made walkway from gunung brinchang peak | after the end of the walkway, the trail started with a steep downhill descent | the descent continued until the ascent to the gunung irau false peak | although it did not rain the day before, the trail was still covered with rotting moss | once the trek commenced, a single layer of dry fit t shirt sufficed to ward off the cold | 10.20 am | arrived at gunung irau false peak | short break | not cold, in fact fairly warm | weather was good | sun was out | started descent from gunung irau false peak | the descent continued until the ascent to the gunung irau peak | 11.30 am | arrival at the summit of gunung irau | rest and relaxation | sun was still out | quite warm | 11.45 am | left the summit of gunung irau | 2.15 pm | arrival at the summit of gunung brinchang | 3.15 pm | left gunung brinchang peak | 3.45 pm | dinner at lai fatt restaurant next to kwan tee temple | 4.30 pm | left kampung raja for home | overall an enjoyable trek | good for reasonably fit beginners | the trail from gunung brinchang to gunung irau was 2.35 km in length | the length of the trek was 4.7 km | gunung irau at 2110 metres or 6923 feet is the 9th tallest mountain in peninsular malaysia | gunung brinchang at 2032 metres or 6666 feet is quite tall as well | irau peak is only 78 metres or 257 feet higher than brinchang peak | brinchang peak is the highest peak in peninsular that is accessible by way of tar road | even if not trekking, a visit to gunung brinchang is recommended | drive slowly and horn to warn oncoming traffic as the road to brinchang summit is only passable by 1 vehicle | for the photos, please click here | for the photos taken by jimmy chew, please click here | for the photos taken by toh say li, please click here |