BUT, FINALLY, this last weekend I made it! They sent out an email on Fri Jan 20th for two hikes - one on the 21st (the very next day, Saturday) and one on the 23rd (Monday). And, as always, I had already planned something for the Saturday so I could not go for that BUT... BUT... YAY!! FINALLY, I was FREE on the Monday and could go... so I did :-D
That involved getting up at the really horrible hour of 5.45am to get dressed and drive over to S & K's house by 7am, as that was the meeting point for everyone. And, of course, by the time everyone actually turned up, it was closer to 8am. 16 people altogether, with the oldest hiker in his 70's, and the youngest hiker just 6 yrs old. Most of us were in our late 40's and early 50's with a few younger (30's) folks. A nice bunch of people. Cheerful (despite the early hour) and all raring to go.
It was not a difficult trek. We climbed a small hill in Taman Melawati itself, and though it did have a few steep sections we were greatly aided by the fact that there IS an actual path (which we have to walk single file) and there are 'railings' strung along most of the path. Mostly the railings consisted of heavy duty twisted plastic cord, some stretches had rubber hose as the railing, and in some cases there was even re-bars!! Since it had been raining the night before the ground was damp (without being MUDDY and icky) and, interestingly enough, I think the ground is actually safer to walk on when wet! My theory is that when the ground is dry, then the dry leaves SLIP on the dry soil... but when it is wet, the soil is compacted and the leaves dont slip on the damp compacted ground. But then, I could definitely be wrong too :-D.
The trip up took about 45 minutes, taking into account that most of us were first timers, and of course, going at the speed of the slowest members. No, it was not at all difficult and it was a really pleasant hike. Gets your heart beat going without wiping you out completely! Took a break at the half way point just for a sip of water and a breather, then took a longer break at the top of the hill to have re-energising oranges (Hey, it is Chinese New Year after all, and we have to have oranges!!), cooling watermelons, and fresh baked oatmeal and date cookies (made by me :-D). The trip down was much faster - maybe 30 minutes - and surprisingly it was easier to come down despite the fear that a lot of us first-timers had about SLIPPING when going downhill. Mind you, this was an easy hike. Next time around, for any more difficult hike, I must remember to take along a sturdy walking stick :-) to balance on when going downhill on stretches where there are no such things as 'railings' made of cord or otherwise!
And, during the hike, we met a number of people who do this hike regularly - and, to put us to shame, most of them are well into their 60's and 70's and they moved a lot faster than we did! One guy we met (maybe in his 50's), we had seen going DOWN as we were on our way up, and then the next thing we knew he was coming up behind us again just before we got to the top! He said he does this hike 3 - 4 times a week, TWICE each time! What can I say other than WOW!! It is a pity really that that little hill in Melawati is not closer to where I am, otherwise I might even be inspired to go more regularly. Hmmm, I must check out Bkt Gasing, which is a bit closer to where I am!
Oh yeah, check out these pics which I took while on this hike.
1) At the top of the hill. Blue skies, fluffy clouds, beautiful day.
2) And such lovely green and cooling surroundings
3) The little lake at the half way point (picture taken on our way back down)
4) KLCC in the distance!
5) And the same picture, taken at the limit of my little cameras optical and digital zoom capabilities!
I must get myself a nice long lanyard so I can hang my camera around my neck rather than have it in my backpack, as it is a bit of a problem trying to dig it out of my backpack to take a picture while climbing!!
OK folks, that's it for now! Have a good day, every day!
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