Mount Kinabalu Trip 2011: Itinerary

Friday 29 Apr

07:15      AM           Arrival LCCT

09:30      AM           Departure AK5104 (0930 hour)

12:00      PM          Est Arrival Time @ Kota Kinabalu Airport

12:25      PM          Pick up by chartered Van

12:45      pm          Pick Up at Promenade Hotel for those arriving earlier

01:15      PM          Lunch at Kota Kinabalu *

02:00      PM          Final Shopping at Kota Kinabalu – Bottled Water *

05:00      PM          Arrival Park HQ & Check in Peak Lodge

Free and Easy

07:00      PM          Dinner at Liwagu Restaurant (Own expense)

08:00      PM          Visit Kinabalu Park Museum

09:00      PM          Pre Climb Briefing

10:00      PM          Packing for hike to Laban Rata (we will be around to help organise) 

11:00      PM          Lights out – Overnight at Peak Lodge – Kinabalu Park HQ

Saturday 30 Apr

06:00      AM           Rise and Shine, Watch Sunrise

07:00      AM           Buffet Breakfast (included)

08:00      AM           Registration for Climb, Hire Guides and Porter (Porter fee own expense)            

08:00      PM          Storage of Additional Luggage at Park HQ

(Storage is charged at RM 10 per bag, it is therefore more economical to use jumbo size luggage)

08:30      PM          Transfer to Mesilau Resort

10:00      PM          Start Ascent to Laban Rata

04:30      PM          Target Arrival time (7.5 hours)

06:00      PM          Buffet dinner at Laban Rata Resthouse

08:00      PM          Packing for hike up to Summit  

10:00      PM          Lights out

Sunday 1 May

02:00      AM           Wake up and Light snack breakfast

02:30      AM           Start Ascent to Summit 

06:00      AM           Reach summit

07:00      AM           Depart Summit

08:30      AM           Arrival at Laban Rata Resthouse & Breakfast

09:00      AM           Depart Laban Rata for Timpohon Gate

03:30      PM          Arrival at Timpohon Gate

03:40      PM          Bus Transfer to Park HQ for Lunch

04:30      PM          Transfer to Kota Kinabalu

Free and Easy

Monday 2 May

Free and Easy day.. Breakfast not included *

01:45      PM          Arrival at KK Airport (Taxi own expense)        

03:45      PM          Flight back to LCCT, AK5109

06:15      PM          Estimated Arrival Time LCCT

* own expense

Air Hitam Forest Reserve - 16 April 2011

We reached the trail head at Wawasan 5/1 entrance of the Forest Reserve, there were easily 50 cars parked at the entrance – it has become very popular hiking spot for Puchong folks. And when we were getting ready to enter the forest reserve, at least 10-15 other trekkers were going in as well, and we met numerous other trekkers along the trail as well. It is amazing how popular trekking/hiking has become in the past few years. About 10 years ago, you could hardly find anyone who has hiked G. Nuang, Apek, etc etc.. AHFR was virtually unknown 2.5 years ago, and now, most local outdoor folks have been there at least once.

We were joined by Yap & Wife, who will be going to Mt K one week earlier than us on the 21 weekend, and our regular supporter:- Rothman Fong, who went on to race a full 42KM Marathon the very same evening in < 4 hours !!

After about 15 min of hiking, we reached the border of the forest reserve and were greeted by the most colourful sign board… a warning signboard actually, warning everyone what potential fine for trespassing into UPM property. RM 10,000 or 3 year jails. That was what we were potential liable for.. for trespassing.

Soon after, it started to rain. Well, I actually think the trail looks much nicer when it rained, with the mist. After so many times at this trail, I think the trail looked the most surreal this time.

After about 1 hour of hiking we reach the an open area, simple known as Stage 1, by local hiking group. This is the destination of most regular hikers.

Three types of rain gear...(1) Goh's Budget Raincoat < $10 (2) Lim's expensive Jacket (3) Sam's FOC

Surreal Trek.. Thanks the Rain

This is the waterfall (small one, right the edge of the pond )

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We continued on from this point to reach two other neighboring peaks n then it was a downhill trek all the way. In fact we were just about 20 min away from the Waterfall/pond area but it will not be a nice encoutner if we happen to chance upon the park ranges. For the roecrd, the highest point in the Forest Reserve is only 230+ meters. However, we still managed to get a good worked out because we actually climbed the highest point twice. So the Total ascend for this trip is about 330meter. The distance covered is around 7-8 km. We completed the hike after 3 hours.

Hiking in Lantau Island

Went to Hong Kong for a business trip, and took the opportunity to explore some trails there over the weekend.. in preparation for the coming Sabah Adventure Challenge 60km trail race..

I choose a trail that looks challenging enough... 21km in total. with about 1400 elevation gain.. crossing the peak of two mountains in Lantau island - Sunset Peak( around 800 meters) and Lantau Peak (934 meter). Read some blog that someone did it around 3hr 4 min.. so I thought 4 hours was within reach for me..

Wow.. but boy I was wrong.. took a wrong turn and ended upwith a 4 km detour !!

When I finally got back on the correct trail.. it was already 11am , and I was soon hiking on exposed trail, with no tree covers, in scorching mid day sun. !!  And I had forgotten to take my cap/head cover !! Somemore run out of water half way !!

When I reach Ngong Ping, it was still some 5KM of the planned trekking left... but felt defeated already... took a public bus back down to Tung Chung MTR station ... total trekking time was around 4hr 20min...

Approaching Sunset Peak

This is the look- hopefully you will not see .. exhausted, sunburnt, thristy, tired & defeated Edwin...

2nd Highest Point in Hong Kong - Lantau Peak 934 meters

I came from there... Sunset Peak !  

Lantau Peak, from Ngong Ping a major spot in HKG, that was where i took a bus back to hotel

Scary elevation profile.. like roller coaster !

Air Hitam Forest Reserve

Introduction

Until recently, Air Hitam Forest Reserve is unknown to the outdoor community, and only a handful of people know of its existence, let alone hike or trek the area.

It occupies around 1,200 hectares .. smacked in the middle of PJ,KL,Selangor Area... The original area used to be as large as 5,000 hectares but unfortunately much of it has been developed int owhat is now Puchong, Kinrara.. Equine Park.. Serdang.. etc. It is still a huge patch of green area !!

I first ventured into the area when I moved to Puchong in 1996. I had only managed to trek around the fringe of the forest reserve... and there wasn't much to see around the fringe area.

It wasn't until Dec 2008 that together with Kelvin ( a regular and pioneer trekker in AHFR) we managed to explore deeper into the Forest Reserve.

There are multiple treks in this Forest Reserve, and much of it remains out of bounds and unexplored by regular trekkers. It is under the stewardship of University Putra Malaysia (UPM) & it is actually out of bounds to public. So trekker usually keep to a loop trail in the area, and seldom venture into other area, where at times, they may bump into UPM staffs/rangers/students.

There are a few beautiful waterfalls/ponds in the area, but we will not be going there this trip...
There are still some WW2 relics, but I have not come across any.. so far...

Pristine stream.. virtually minutes away from civilisation !!

This was taken in early 2009.... very few people has explored the place at that time

My friend KC also wrote a blog and posted some pictures of AHFR during a more recent hike at http://penguin-r2.blogspot.com/2011/01/trail-running-at-puchong-hill.html

Not too long ago, this area made headlines becuase of some Puchong residents spotted a leopard & two cubs.  According to Temuan Orang Asli staying in Puchong Saujana, there are still a few tigers roaming the jungle, and a few sun bears as well.. !!

I have seen wild boars mudbath, monkeys,.. scorpions... that's about all the wild animals...

The trek we are doing is around 4 KM loop trail, and it is an easy hike, somewhat easier than Apek. The highest point in AHFR is around 233 meters only. There are two peaks there.. known since long long ago as Bukit Permatang Kumbang & Bukit Sarang Kuang... (Kumbang = Leopard & Kuang = Quail)

It will be an excellent exploratory hike.. to see our rich heritage... and light training just before our major trip !

Things to Bring

Things to Bring

Essential Packing List

·         Warm clothing

ü      Jacket, sweater, and track bottom, temperature at summit range from 0 to 10 degree

ü      Need not bring winter wear, warm clothing will do, as winter cloth are too heavy and bulky

ü      Head cover- Preferable Ski Mask or baseball cap

ü      Gloves to keep hands warm, normal cotton gloves from hardware shop is fine, I normally use a Gym glove, with fingers exposed

·         Footwear

ü      Hiking boots or Trail Running Shoes / Outdoor Running Shoes / Adventure Running Shoes

ü      Hiking Boots are good, gives extra ankle protection, but a bit heavy

ü      Trail Shoes are light, and provide good grip, but provide less ankle protection

ü      Please ensure that whatever footwear you choose, it is well broken into, to avoid blisters during the actual climb.

·         Raincoat, (if your windbreaker is water resistant, then no need raincoat)

·         Head Torch or Hand Torch with extra batteries

·         2 pairs of Socks, one for wearing on day 1 of climb and one to keep warm at night

·         1.5 litre Water bottle & 750 ml water bottle(for Summit day)

·         Personal Toiletries

·         Backpack

ü      Large Backpack for trip from Park HQ to Laban Rata

ü      Small pack for trip from Laban Rata to summit – one small one for every two person, ladies need not carry any backpack for the journey to summit

·         Lip Gloss – air at the summit plateau is very dry

·         Snack, energy bar such as double decker or Uncle Toby

·         Walking stick / Hiking pole (can buy sticks there ~ RM 5.00)

·         Sleeping bags (if you do not want to use the blankets provided at Laban Rata)

·         Towel, tooth Brush

·          Malaysian Identity Card - for imigration clearance to Kota Kinabalu

Things we bring for everyone

·         Tooth paste, Washing Detergent, Body Shampoo

·         Quick Breakfast for everyone at 2:30 am at Laban Rata

·         Counter pain lotion

·         Simple First Aid

Things to remember

Remember to pack light for the hike- you should be able to pack all your essentials and still carry less than 12kg for the hike from Mesilau Park to Laban Rata and around 5 kg for the trip to summit hike. Ladies can ask the guys to carry your water bottle for the hike up to the summit.

For warm clothing, the temperature fluctuates quite drastically around the summit area, depending on wind condition,   preferable will need something  that you can put on and take off easily (if too warm). For the summit climb, I normally wear a sweater over a T-shirt, Shorts, Track bottom and bring along a wind breaker. On my way down, when it is bright and sunny, I will remove the sweater and track bottom.

You can store your luggage at Park HQ for the things you intend to use in Kota Kinabalu.

You don’t need to bring anything to prevent leech or mosquito., no leech and mosquito for this climb

 For your Airasia Flight, I have paid for extra baggage around 15kg for check in luggage per couple, KL to KK and around 20-25kg per couple for return. Anyway, I will be emailing you your Airasia confirmation.

·         Slippers, if you want to wear something more comfortable in Laban Rata

Trip Report - Gunung Nuang



Huge Turnout..



It was a huge turnout for the Nuang Hiking Trip. A total of 18 hikers ! 

River crossing - this is the widest river crossing- the bamboo bridge was not there during the my last trip - it may not be there when you come and visit again... so you are not supposed to id this river crossing using the bamboo bridge





contradictions ! Expensive Columbia socks & Kampung addidas ??

So dirty !

Group photo at Camp Pacat

Everyone started out very in high spirits and in great anticipation. G. Nuang is a notorious mountain amongst season hikers in Klang Valley, it has almost everything that you would expect in a real hardcore hiking trip... watercrossings, endless kilometers of monotonous walking along 4WD, steep inclines, muddy & slippery trail, exposed roots, huge elevation gain and confusing trails.

We were joined by two superfit athlete - Rothman Fong & Lim Fang Woei (marathoner)
Our regular guest stars Derek Lim and Sheau Huey (who took an overnight coach all the way from Kulim, arrived on Saturday morning 4:30am) and Juliet Lim & Family and Albert

Post trip analysis

Actual Time taken for the entire trip was around 10 hours. This is a really good training and conditioning. For Mt Kinabalu trek, it would be more or less the same duration on both days. Congratulations, all of you did well and I can see that even at the end of the journey, everyone still has some energy left.. and it is good sign. For Ming, Mien and Grace, your fitness levels have improved tremendously since the first training. Keep it up !!

The toughest part of the trek was from Lolo Camp to Pacat Camp. Largely due to the wet season and the trail turned muddy and slippery. The elevation gain of this section around 460 meters.. From 560 meters (Lolo Camp) to 1020 meter (Pacat Camp). We missed the target of completing the section in 1hr30min when we finally completed it in 2 hours.

It was really fortunate that regular hikers Rothman and Derek were around to assist, otherwise it would be a heavy responsibilities and a high risk for me to guide such a large group of people to Nuang. It would have been much more manageable if the size of the group is around 6-10 pax, if everyone is first time to Nuang.

Food - the type and variety of snack we took with us during this trip was good. We had dried cranberries, assortment of high energy nuts, breads, chocs, energy bars etc.. Probably one thing food missing was Dates. which has one of the highest energy content for fruits/nuts.

The strategy of waiting and regrouping at the end of 4WD road, as well as staying close together during the trek through waterfall area turned out to be a crucial one. Otherwise, we might have a few person walking up the wrong trail at Lolo Camp.. ! This would have been a real headache for me !

It was also a blessing that there were no serious falls/incidents.

The target timing for each sections were : (a) 1hr30min to complete 4WD road (b) 40min to complete River crossings/waterfall area and (c) 1hr30 min to Lolo Camp to Pacat Camp.

Our assistance guides - Derek and Rothman. 

Leech bite - guess who leg ? Rothman has the best way to prevent this !

Looking Pretty ... doesn't look like someone was has just climbed 800 meters, thru muddy terrain !

Gunung Nuang - Training.

Gunung Nuang is visible from most places in KL, on a clear day. It is a located to the right from Genting Highlands. It has unique twin peak..

The forest is a bit surreal, a bit mossy type - Cloud Forest- from pacat to summit

Gunung Nuang is located near Ulu Langat, Selangor. There are two common entrance to G. Nuang. From (1) Pangsoon Trail, Ulu Langat and (2) Janda Baik Trail.

I have lost count how many times I have hiked Gunung Nuang, probably about 18 to 20 times.. However, I have never tried the Janda Baik Trail. Always it is via Pangsoon

For most of my past Mt Kinabalu team training, we will always have one training in G. Nuang. In part becuase the level of physical challenge of hiking Gunung Nuang is about the same as climbing Mt K.

From my own estimates (based on my hiking time), the effort of climbing G. Nuang in a single day from Pangsoon entrance carpark all the way to the summit of Nuang 1492 meter is take about the same effort as climbing Mt Kinabalu from Timpohon all the way to just before Sayat Sayat. (7 KM)

Elevation gain of 1200 meters in a day. The profile is only to pengasih (too tired to continue to summit)
The horinzontal distance is not too accurate - total distance is about 10 km (to summit)

The trail can be divided in four main sections

(1) 4WD road - about 5 km - this one goes from altitude of 190 meter to 520 meter (approximate)
(2) Waterfall area - about 1km - campsite, plenty of river crossings, and many places you can get lost !!
(3) Kem Lolo to Pacat - 600 meter elevation to 1000 meters
(4) Lolo to Pengasih (false peak ) 1000 meter to 1430 meter
(5) Pengasih to Nuang Summit 1430 meter to 1492 meter