Gunung Kledang 17 Oct 2010

This is our maiden hike to Gunung Kledang, located at Taman Rasi Jaya, Menglembu.

Leaving PJ at 6 a.m., we hit Kampar at 8.15 a.m. for breakfast and marketing for packed lunch before heading towards Menglembu. By the time, we reached the head trail of Gunung Kledang at 10 a.m. and the place was almost deserted except for a few people returning from their morning walk/jog.

We started our trek about 10.15 a.m. The first 15 minutes of the trek was unbearably hot as the trail was exposed and there was little shade. It appeared that the right side of the trail had been stripped bared of trees for developmental purposes. There were also concrete steps at certain section of the trail.

At about 11 a.m. we came upon a stream with a small pool on the right side of the trail. We were advised to cross to stream to take the trail to the peak. The trail was tagged as RTM trail. From here, it was a steep climb all the way up to the peak. It was impossible to get lost for there were so many RTM markers along the trail. Enroute to the peak we made two rest stops at 380m asl and 600m asl. The trail got steeper as we approached the peak. It was about 1 p.m. when we hit the peak – almost 3 hours climb in the sweltering heat.

The views from the peak were certainly rewarding.

After our customary group pictures and lunch, we left the peak at 1.40 p.m. via the tar road. Along the way, we encountered a few species of nepenthes plants and wild orchids. Many gazebos also dotted the road for people to rest and admire the city views of Ipoh and its surrounding areas. Surprisingly, we took 3 hours to walk down to the base in that hot afternoon.

Overall, it was a good trek despite the horrible heat due to the pleasant company of Ben, Yeoh, Christina, Choo, Wai Ching, Engu, Kathy, Ong, Lim, Ah Kuai and Tai Hup as trekking buddies.


For the photographs, please refer to http://happytrekker.shutterfly.com/pictures/9177.

Gunung Angsi 10 Oct 2010

This is my 9th trip to Gunung Angsi. My last trip was on 25 April 2010 (see http://happyotrekker.blogspot.com/2010/04/g-angsi-25-april-2010.html).

Leaving PJ at 7.45 a.m. we reached Bukit Putus trail head at about 9.15 a.m. including a pit stop at Seremban Jaya for breakfast. The road landscape from Senawang Toll towards Bukit Putus has changed dramatically. One needs to be alert! After exiting from Senawang Toll, we came upon a huge cross junction after travelling about 10 minutes. This cross junction has replaced the old T junction with the left road leading to Seremban and the opposite new Lekas road to K Pilah. We took the right turn to Bukit Putus (old Kuala Pilah road).

We took about 2.5 hrs to hit the peak and 2 hrs to return to trail head. The trek was uneventful but the weather was beautifully conducive – breezy and cool. There were hardly any mushrooms as the trail was dry. But ginger plants and flowers were plentiful. Going up, we met a man carrying a huge plastic load of rubbish downhill. Kudos to him for cleaning up rubbish left by the campers!

On our way home, we stopped by the first campsite and helped ourselves with the free tongsui, courtesy of Koh Loh. The tongsui was tasty and fragrant with ginger for sweet potato tongsui and dried mandarin orange peal for green bean tongsui. In appreciation of Koh Loh’s contribution, earlier we have donated 1 kg of red beans and 1 kg of sugar.

Overall, it was a good energetic and pleasant trek.

Trekking buddies were Christina and Engu. At the peak we had a chance to touch base with trekker friends, namely Wun and Helen.

For the photographs, please refer to http://happytrekker.shutterfly.com/pictures/9099.