maxwell hill trek

| 20 november 2008 | trek was organized by the taiping hash house harriers | ah pian, kuey teow huat, poh meng, black horse, see first chia and lau chi were the taiping hashers who attended the trek | was invited along together with ah chui and ah hwa | trek was on a new route to reach the jeep station on maxwell hill | trek is an eye opener | no surprises | terrain was familiar | trekking team was experienced and fit | ah pian and chia ably led the trek and found the way to the jeep station relying only on their instincts | no compass or gps were used | kuey teow huat and ah chui helped with the hacking to clear some undergrowth | kuey teow huat had 2 gps receivers with him to track the trek but no idea what he intended to do with them and no idea if they worked | no wildlife was sighted | trekked past some wild boar nests but did not see any wild boars | leeches were present but not numerous except around wild boar nests | the most irritating parts of the trek were through areas with thorny plants | quite a few areas were filled with thorny plants and it was slow going through these areas | was surprised that there was no stream crossing after the route started upwards after the last stream crossing at about 10.57 am | ran out of water | shortage of water made the trek more uncomfortable than it ought to be | brought only 1 litre of water and this is insufficient for a 5 hours trek | assumed that there would be water but was proven wrong | when going up maxwell hill using new route it will be advisable to bring more water at least 2 litres | will probably bring 3 litres to be prudent | used a reebok frameless backpack | got uncomfortable after a while | there was a tear in the fabric of the backpack during the trek | advisable to use proper internal frame backpack for similar treks | normal backpacks are probably not sturdy enough | will need to look for a deuter internal frame backpack with capacity of about 50 litres for day trips | all in all a good eye opening trip | ah chui and ah hwa showed that women make excellent trekkers as both even took their turns in hacking at the plants blocking the way forward |

maxwell hill photos

| 20 november 2008 | for the photos taken on 20 november 2008 during the trek from taman sentosa to the jeep station at maxwell hill, please click here |

maxwell hill trek log

| 20 november 2008 | 9.54 am | reached start of the off road portion of the trek just beside gate to a bungalow reached by a small steep road branching of main road just before the driving school at taman sentosa | followed existing trail | 10.18 am | end of existing trail, went off the beaten path | 10.57 am | crossed small stream | no more stream crossing after this | up to this point, trek was on up and down kind of terrain | 11.01 am | just after crossing, stopped for a break | rest stop | after this stop, trek goes upwards almost all the way | 11.15 am | resumption of trek | 12.20 pm | rest stop | 12.30 pm | resumption of trek | 1.46 pm | rest stop | 11.54 pm | resumption of trek | 2.20 pm | arrival at abandoned field and hut | can hear construction works at indian temple at this point | difficulty in finding way forward | 2.28 pm | resumed trek after finding way up | 2.33 pm | arrived at abandoned bungalow | view of indian temple and uncovered roof of the unfinished hotel/hostel being constructed near the temple | 2.38 pm | resumed trek | after the bungalow the team divided into 2 | first group took direct route by going upwards cutting through undergrowth | second group followed a horizontal trail leading from the abandoned bungalow | 2.42 pm | first group arrived at jeep station | second group arrived at a small pine forest | soon after pine forest, second group have to cut through dense undergrowth | trail also vanished soon after pine forest | 3.00 pm | second group reached pine forest next to road | 3.07 pm | second group arrived at jeep station |

yong yap trek

| 7 november 2008 | arrived at about 7.00 am at kampung raja at cameron highlands | had leisurely breakfast | mucked around kampong raja morning market | bought 909 soap which selama kong swears will keep leeches away | bought cheap nylon socks for trek | taiping goh called | said pinoy group will be late | met up with taiping goh at coffee shop | headed to temple to be picked up by 4wd vehicles | tried to nap but with some difficulty as a primary school was having a concert nearby | pinoy group arrived | 11 pinoy and 1 pinay | introduced to joon the leader of pinoy group | climbed onto a 4wd vehicle | set off for pos rengil | had to stop at pos rengil as apparently the 4wd vehicles declined to cross sungai brooke for whatever reason | taiping goh had some discussion with the villagers of pos rengil | no idea what they were discussing | started trek at about 10.30 am | see trek log for the details | trek at moderate speed | not as fast as the titiwangsa traverse trek | plenty of breaks for water and food | quite long breaks for food | no leeches | but plenty of "agas-agas" an insect that packs strong bites that itch for weeks | sometimes called "sandflies" | but kept well at bay by nylon cheetah track pants and by insect repellant spray on | sprayed every now and then to keep "agas-agas" and assorted insects away | nothing untoward during the trek up to gunung yong yap summit | first experience with "night-hiking" which is apparently an "in-thing" among pinoy and malay trekkers | apparently pinoy trekkers like to trek at night because it is cooler at night | drawbacks to "night-hiking" include lack of any view, limited vision, the cold and difficult photography | however "night-hiking" did not turn out to be too bad although did step into a hole and scrapped the shins | rained during last part of night hike but stopped before summit was reached | arrived at peak of yong yap mountain by about 9.25 pm | put on poncho to keep cold at bay | set up flysheet and groundsheet | unpacked everything | dumped stuff onto groundsheet | wiped and powdered | changed into sleeping clothes | started cooking | 1 piece of solid fuel to boil 600ml of water | when boiling added 2 packets of 20g campbell mushroom soup and 1 packet of double serving couscous | waited a while for couscous to soften | ate | not bad | edible | took a drink | started to prepare for bed | was probably asleep before 11.00 pm | woken up intermittently because the inflatable pillow newly purchased from tesco was leaking air | mistake not to test pillow earlier | had to use spare clothing as pillow | 8 november 2008 | woke up at about 7.00 am in the morning | had quick breakfast of cup instant noodles and 2 packets of 3-in-1 30g quaker oats cereals | packed | attended to toilet matters | changed to trekking cloths | wandered around campsite | mucked around | first group of pinoy left at about 8.00 am | waited till about 8.40 am for the second group | left summit at about 8.40 am while second group of pinoy still packing | arrived at the first water crossing on the way to pos rengil and stopped at small campsite at about 10.30 am | waited for others to arrive | at a rice dumpling or "bak-chang" | too salty | better to stick to sandwiches | washed up | cleaned up | resume trek at about 12.15 pm | fairly uneventful trek to pos rengil with short stops for water every 30 minutes and a slightly longer stop for food at base camp | arrived at pos rengil at about 5.50 pm | chit chatted with villagers of pos rengil and 4wd drivers | all trekkers arrived safely at pos rengil by 8.00 pm and boarded th 4wd vehicles back to kampung raja | had dinner at kampung raja | left kampung raja at about 10.00 pm |

yong yap pack

| packing list | backpack | deuter act zero 60+10 | essential | highly recommended | liked it a lot | weight of pack rests primary on the lower back giving a lower centre of gravity and a freer upper body mobility | sleeping | no tent | shared fly and ground sheets with taiping goh and nasir | 1 6 feet x 6 feet tarpaulin sheet | essential | 1 sleeping bag | essential | 1 foam mat | good | 1 inflatable pillow | essential | hiking clothes | 1 cheetah nylon track pants | very good | 1 pagoda t-shirt | good | 1 btb nylon windbreaker | hardly used | 1 lightweight plastic poncho | used only at peak while setting up fly sheet | 1 pair of ecco receptor shoes | good | these shoes are better for malaysian mountain treks when compared with the hytec hiking boots used for titiwangsa traverse trek | the 1 pair of nylon socks | good | sleeping clothes | 1 mizuno dual layered track pants | good but can be improved upon | 1 timberland long sleeved t shirt | comfortable | 1 adidas nylon windbreaker | good | 1 pair of plastic slippers | good | 1 cotton underwear | good | 1 small towel to wipe clean | essential | extra clothing | 1 long sleeved t-shirt | 1 knee length pants | 1 underwear | food | for dinner | 1 packet of instant couscous | edible | 2 packets of 20g instant campbell soup | good | all can be cooked just by adding boiling water | for breakfast | 2 packets of 30g "3-in-1" instant nesvita | nice | 1 60g cup of instant noodle | nice | for snacking | 2 rice dumplings | too salty | 6 pieces of bread with peanut butter and 3 cheese slices | good | 1 bunch of bananas | good | 2 apples | good | for comfort | 300g of absolut vodka | cooking | 1 fork | 1 spoon | 1 billy can | 3 pieces of solid fuel | 1 solid fuel stove | health | 1 spray on insect repellent | essential | medicated powder | essential | vitamins and cod liver capsules | essential | hydration salts | okay | skin cream | good | anti histamines tablets | standby | ultra carbon charcoal tablets | standby | handyplasts | standby | miscellaneous | 1 roll of toilet paper | useful | 1 roll of nylon rope | not used | swiss army knife | rarely used | whistle | essential | all in all a good packing list | will be hard to improve upon |

yong yap photos

| 7 november 2008 | for the photos taken on 7 november 2008 during the trek to peak of yong yap mountain, please click here | | 8 november 2008 | for the photos taken on 8 november 2008 during the trek from peak of yong yap mountain, please click here |

about yong yap mountain

| about | yong yap mountain or gunung yong yap is one of the commonly called "g-7" peaks of peninsular malaysia | the "g-7" peaks are the 7 peaks in peninsular malaysia which are higher than 7000 feet | gunung yong yap at 7113 feet (ie 2168 metres) is the sixth tallest mountain in peninsular malaysia | for more information on gunung yong yap, please click here or please click here |

yong yap trek log

| 7 november 2008 | day 1 | 10.30 am | set off from pos renggil | low gradient trail | logging trail | 11.00 am | crossed waist deep stream | most difficult stream crossing | 11.02 am | briefing, eating and resting | 11.35 am | start on clearly marked trail with easy gradient of about 10-20 degrees | 12.03 pm | arrival at open space with fallen logs | rest | 12.20 pm | resume trail | 12.40 pm | crossed stream using single log | 12.42 pm | abandoned hut and trail | large clearing | 12.45 pm | first stream crossing the first batch of stream crossings | start of crossings and recrossings of the same stream and its tributaries | start of bamboo forested area | rest | 1.10 pm | resume trek | 1.23 pm | crossed stream using single log with rattan hand rails | 2.05 pm | last stream crossing of the first batch of stream crossings | no more stream crossing after this | start of medium gradient trail of about 20 to 30 degrees | well marked trail | 2.15 pm | break and rest | 2.30 pm | resume trek | 2.55 pm | break | 3.00 pm | resume trek | 3.25 pm | arrival at base camp where most trekkers apparently spend the night | very large campsite with stream just beside | rest at base camp | 3.55 pm | resume trek | first stream crossing the second batch of stream crossings | start of crossings and recrossings of the same stream |start of second stretch of stream crossings | 5.20 pm | last stream crossing of the first batch of stream crossings | small campsite | rest | 5.50 pm | resume trek | start of high gradient trail of about 30 to 45 degrees | 7.18 pm | arrival at junction for obscure trail downwards to last water point | rest | 7.42 pm | resume trek | soon after resumption start of very high gradient trail of about 40 to 70 degrees | mossy forest | 9.25 pm | arrival at peak of yong yap mountain | 8 november 2008 | day 2 | 8.35 am | set off from peak | reverse trek | same trail as that for day 1 | 10.30 am | arrival at small campsite beside last stream crossing | 5.45 pm | arrival at pos renggil | for the photos taken during the trek, please click here |

one saturday

| 1 november 2008 | for the photos taken a pondok tiga on saturday 1 november 2008, please click here |

maxwell hill waterfalls

| 1 november 2008 | 11.13 am | starting point of trek at indian temple on waterfall road | set out to trek to 2 waterfalls on maxwell hill with james yu and cikgu lee | ah chui and selama kong will start later but expected to catch up before second waterfall | trek on tarred road to taiping headworks gateway | turn right just beside the gateway | follow fence until barbed wire | climb over barb wire | turn right to go to first waterfall | turn left to go to second waterfall | 11.24 am | crossed iron bridge and arrived at first waterfall | at the foot of waterfall there is an intake for drinking water for taiping | so no messing around | 11.30 am | set out to second waterfall | trek to barb wire junction | turn left to go back to taiping headworks gateway | go straight to second waterfall | follow fencing until reach clear path to the right | turn right to go on path | trek along path | water pipeline parallel to the path | 11.50 am | arrived at a junction on the path | turn right to go to another intake for drinking water | continue straight pass a small stone bridge to go to waterfall | trek along path | 11.56 am | reached another water intake for drinking water | this is quite a scenic intake | there is a nice pool upstream of intake | there is another nice pool downstream of the intake | you can swim in the downstream pool | turn back at the intake and go back along the path for about 50 metres to an obscure junction | 12.04 am | reached obscure junction with small path going uphill to the left | follow path which goes uphill to the second waterfall | 12.20 pm | ah chui and selama kong caught up | 12.43 am | reached second waterfall | tall waterfall which can be seen from kamunting or from taman lake view | but disappointingly there was no swimable pool at the foot of the waterfall | had coffee | 2.15 pm | left waterfall | 3.15 pm | arrived at indian temple at the starting point of the trek | summary | an easy and enjoyable trek | plenty of leeches especially along the path beside water pipeline | however no swimable pools at the waterfalls | best place to swim would be downstream of the water intake at the end of the water pipeline | for the photos, please click here |