Apek Hill - Trip Report

Everyone looking good and Smart !!

Amazing, everyone turned up early at our meeting point - Petronas Station. On the dot at 8:30am, we left petronas station heading towards the Trail head at Cheras Awana.




Group Photo at the Summit !
Henry, Ming, Peter, Lim, Grace, Sow Keng, Goh (Standing)
Wei Hang, Edwin and Justin 

 



Yiyo !! this is not like gasing !!





As for the trip, it turned out that it was much tougher than Gasing Hill... And I rated both at 1 star... Apek aka Bukit Putih aka Bukit Segar aka Bukit Saga.. is actually slightly tougher than Gasing.. If it is not too confusing, i would have rated it at 1.35 star, if gasing is one star difficulty.

By looking at the elevation profile alone, it is an almost one way up,

We set a target of summitting in 50 min, .. and everyone managed to summit within 54 min.. Still a very good achievement, considering it is the first serious climb for most of us..It is a total of about 330meter evelvation gain and a total distance of 5.2KM (up and down).



On the way down.. everything is easier



The climb to Apek hill give us an idea what it would be like to hit the slope continuously. In Mt K, the slopes are about the same or slighly gentler gradient, only longer in distance. This is compensated by beautiful view and proper rest stops.

There is even a small section in Apek Hill where we have to use ropes to haul ourselves up. This is quite similar to the challanges you will encounter on the 2nd day our our climb, where there will be some rope sections.

If you go to Apek Hill for training every weekend, and you join one or two of the longer climb such as Gunung Angsi or Gunung Nuang, you will be very well prepared for the Mt K challenge.

As for buying gear, especially outdoor clothing, rain jacket, etc.. I would suggest the following places to shop

Park your car in Bangsar Village 2 shopping centre. Within walking distance there are three outdoor equipment shops:-

(1) World of Sports in Bangsar Village Shopping Complex
Salomon and Columbia brand of ourdoor cloths

(2) Lafuma Shop, in one of those shoplots
Lafuma brand and some other really serious outdoor hardware - excellent sales staff and can bargain somemore

(3) One more outdoor shop, along the same row as MacDonald.. can't remember the name..
This one carries slightly more common outdoor products (cheaper as well)

As for me, I have been using a trusted windbreaker for all my previous trips to Mt K. It is quite thin, light, and made of synthetic material, does not get wet and can double up as a raincoat. Another good thing about my jacket is it can be folded up into  small package and therefore does not take plenty of luggage space.
Purchased in US for about USD 80.


My trusted jacket.. been to many places with it, even below freezing !
Notice The most scenic Kinabalu South Peak in background .. same same as RM 1



2009 Team All nicely geared up..

 Notice I use a headcover, and normal trek pants.. what ever clothing you buy, ensure that it does not get heavy and difficult to dry if it gets wet. Material made from cotton such as jeans, etc should be avoided.


Finally.... Wishing everyone Happy Chinese New Year..

Bukit Gasing - Trip Report

This is really a fantastic start for our training season. Everyone arrived early and all geared up.

Ming, Mien, Henry, Lim, Peter, Sow Keng & Goh

After a brief round of introduction, we started at 8:30am on the dot.
Initially of course there were a lot of conversation about Kampung Adidas, Mt K, etc etc. But soon after we hit the first hill, everyone instinctly focused on the steps and all conversation ceased.

Obviously a walk in the park for some

Mien.. still going strong....

Henry.. proudly showing off his Kampung Adidas

We set a target of reaching the hanging bridge in 45 min.. and we did it ! With about 4 mins to spare.  On the way back, we were a bit more adventurous and took the opportunity to explore a slightly longer trail. Seasoned hikers Goh and Sow Keng even went for a Second Round !!  For the rest of us.. 2nd round was a Raju Restaurant.

On the technical side of the Journey, we have roughly trekked a total distance of about 3.4 km. and had ascended a few hills of about 50meter to 60 meters elevation gain.

For hiking, it is important to have an idea of how it feels like to hike a vertical gain of 100 meters. With this knowledge, during future hiking trips, we will then be able to gauge how long it will take us to reach the next rest area/check point, and hence pace ourselve correctly.

Below is the elevation profile of Gasing Trail(the trail we used going in) , which I recorded a last year using a handheld GPS.

I have indicated on the profile the location of the Hanging Bridge.

 

Ah Pak Hill - Cheras

This is a short but intense hike. The total ascend for this hike is around 330 meters. So if you do the maths, our hike from Poring Hotspring to Laban Rata ( asc 1400 meters ) is about  4 times as challenging.

It is an excellent place for regular training, as it is near to KL/PJ and the terrain is steep enough.  Also it is safe as there are a lot of hikers there throughout the day, especially weekends

According to regular hikers to Ah Pak Hill, it is a maze of trails there, and there are at least 3 known waterfalls.. and surprise surprise a giant tree..

We will meet at at the Petronas Gas Station across the road (Jalan Cheras) from Phoenix Plaza.

If you are coming from PJ, take the federal highway, and go towards Cheras using the East West Link.. which will lead you pass Leisure mall ( on your left). Then you will reach a rather confusing maze of intersection/flyovers etc. This area is highlighted in red in the map below. Just follow the directions to Kajang.

Eventually you will pass Phoenix Plaza ( on your right). A short distance after Phoenix plaza you will soon see some furniture showroom ( left) and eventually Petronas Gas Station(our meeting point) on your left. This is the same road that will eventually lead to Kajang.

Let's be punctual and meet at 8:30 am. It is Thaipusam holiday !!

Google map of the location of the petronas Station:-

Edwin