Gunung Datuk 13 Jun 2010

My last trip to Gunung Datuk was exactly 1 year ago on 13 June 2009. Like June a year ago, the weather was extremely hot and as usual we were literally bathing in our own sweat. Nothing much has changed. This gunung remained as popular as ever. The view from the famous gigantic rock outcrop was clear and good. The trail was patched dry and easy to trek. We took about 2 hours to hit the summit and 1 1/2 hours to return to base. On the downside, the forest was less vibrant. Nevertheless, it was a good fun hike, especially with great trekking buddies Ben, Barbara, Murugiah, Kanchanna, Wai Ching, Engu, Yeoh, Ong, Christina, Randy, Ting, Nicole, Koon Kong, May and Yip.

We ended our trek with a late afternoon lunch at Restoran Happy Seng Kee. The food was good and price reasonable at RM12 pax for 5 dishes of fish, vegetables, taufoo and chicken.

For the photographs, please refer to http://happytrekker.shutterfly.com/pictures/7982.

Photos of previous trips can be viewed at:
1) http://happyotrekker.blogspot.com/2009/06/gunung-datuk-13-june-09_14.html
2) http://happyotrekker.blogspot.com/2009/02/g-datuk-140209.html
3) http://happyotrekker.blogspot.com/2008/03/gunung-datuk-2032008_20.html
4) http://happyotrekker.blogspot.com/2007/03/gunung-datuk-1832007_19.html

Gunung Bujang Melaka 6 Jun 2010

Eight of us, packed in one van, left Petaling Jaya at 5.15 a.m. We hit Bidor at about 6.50 a.m. where we had an early breakfast at the famous Pun Chun restaurant. We managed to reach the trail head at 7.40 a.m. There we found the trek leaders, Ming and Lim from Kampar waiting patiently for us. Quickly, we geared ourselves and started walking uphill along Jalan Batu Berangkai of Taman Ros at 7.45 a.m. The starting elevation was noted as 50m asl.

Along the way, we passed by scenic kampung houses and the infamous Batu Berangkai Waterfall which had claimed many lives (the recent case were 3 varsity students in November 2009). The water flow was indeed strong and impressive. It is a nice and pleasant area to relax and picnic. As we were running behind, we could not spare much time to enjoy the waterfall.

From the waterfall, we followed a narrow tar road for about 15 minutes before it ended in a jungle trail. Following the jungle trail, we by passed an orang asli house at 8.45 a.m. The trail snaked gently uphill for the next 1 hour to Campsite 1 situated at elevation 452m asl. The next 2 hour involved a very challenging climb of 520m to the Campsite 2 (970m asl). We even had to pull ourselves up a collapsed slope by grabbing onto roots and tree branches.

After a good 30 minutes rest, we started from the second campsite at 12:20 p.m. We took 1:20 hours to transverse 3 small hills to reach the peak (1234m asl) at 1.40 p.m. Notwithstanding a few fallen tree trunks whereby we were required us to do some crawling, this section of the trail was relatively easier. There was a small view of the Chendariang town. Unfortunately, it was obscured by a thick mist at that time.

We left the peak 10 minutes to 2 p.m. and reached the base at 6 p.m.

Overall, it was a very challenging day hike. The muggy weather that day really sapped a lot of energy from us. Luckily, it did not rain. Otherwise, it would be extra challenging to have to manage slippery trail.

Trekking buddies from KL: Ben, Muru, Khanchana, Randy, Ting, Cheh and Lee Lian.

For the photographs, please refer to http://happytrekker.shutterfly.com/pictures/7980.