My Running Addiction

Another great way to train for a marathon and to keep one’s fitness level high is to go for hiking/trekking trips, Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. Trekking is an activity that that is not only physically demanding, fun but it is also adventurous.

As part of preparing for the upcoming Marathon we have decided to go for a short gateaway hiking trip with Climbers Enthusiast Singapore (CESG) to Traverse north from the once famous summit trail of Gunung Ledang (Mount Ophir) lays the untouched gem of the legendary mountain’s twin waterfall 1900ft.

Climbers Enthusiast Singapore (CESG) is a group of more than 300 dedicated and enthusiastic climbers/ trekkers that has been actively organizing mountain climbing trips and working hand in hand with non-profit social organization that promote “Shared Responsibility” towards Community Outreach & Environmental Awareness. CESG also help to raise donation in terms of funds and supplies that will be distributed to the local nearby village as part of the Social Communities outreach programme.

This was a great opportunity for us not only to train for our marathon and to explore the scenic view of the hidden twin waterfall but it is also a chance for us to give back something to nature by engaging in cleaning up the area so that it will help sustain the of mountain National Parks for years to come so that more people could come and visit the place.

We meet up at midnight,   joined by 12 other participant from Climbers Enthusiast Singapore (CESG) gathered at Pioneer MRT station (meet up point), everyone introdced themselve to the team and from there we boared the chartered mini bus that will take us across the border toward Malaysia to our final destination at Taman Hutan Lagenda, which is located on the foot hill of Gunung Ledang. It was going to be a 4.5hours journey from the meet up point.

We arrive at Taman Hutan Lagenda, Gate 2 of Gunung Ledang at 5am in the morning. Each participant were given 2 shirt, 1 being the Climber Enthusiast Singapore Dry-Fit Tee and the other was a sponsored Shirt Courtesy from Columbia Sportswear, Columbia Sportswear is the official sponsor brand for the Climb Enthuiast.

We were given keys to our chalet and were told to gather back again for briefing at 8am at the main office area. This gave us ample time to have a quick wash up, catch a nap and also to make our own last minutes preparation on the things we wanted to bring with us to the hike.

8am, briefing was conducted by one of the park manager. Information such as the estimated duration, safety and purpose of the hike were brief to all participant. It is required by the Malaysian law for a guide to accompany a group up any mountains or trekking expedition. Ratio of 1:10, As there were only 14 of us, 2 guide followed and guide the group into the jungle and towards the hidden twin waterfall.

Before the start of the hike, participant engage in some simple warm up exercise and water parade to keep them hydrated before going for the hike.

The first part of the trail  leading to the first checkpoint consist of a 764 steps up and then followed by some distance up an uphill slope towards CP1 to Bukit Semput (Asthma Hill) which was a suitable name for a checkpoint as it simply take your breathe as you climb up the hills to get to it.

From Checkpoint 2 to Checkpoint 3 was a series of uphill and downhill undulating trek, it was great to get back to nature, experiencing the fauna and flora of the forest.

Checkpoint 3 to Checkpoint 4 was challenging due to the steeps hill, in some portion ropes were in place to aid the hiker up the steep hills.

At Checkpoint 4, the guide brought us to a small natural pool, the pool was home to many small friendly fishes. The guide explain that visitor would dip their feet in the pool and the fishes would nibble their dead skins away. This was something not to be miss. The group stop for lunch as we dipped our feets in the water.

As soon as we are done with the Lunch is onward to our main destination which is the twin hidden waterfall which is located on the foot of the Checkpoint 4. The guide explain as not matter venture to this area regularly, the trek leading to the waterfall would be slippery.

The trek downwards took about 40mins but as soon as we arrive at the waterfall, all our hard work and persistence pays off immediately. the view of the waterfall was simply stunning. We spend about 2hours at the waterfall before heading off the oposite direction to track back to the resort.

The trek back from the Waterfall back to the resort was no simple task as fatigue has started to set in. The first few participant reach back to the resort at around 5.30pm and bringing along a bag of “waste” gather from the park. The last participant reach at about 6.30pm. We went back to our cabin and had a nice rewarding shower and for some a quick nap before the night BBQ.

The night BBQ was an excellent time for us to share our personal experience with one another on what we feel about the trek that we had undergo throughout the day.

It was then time for the movie screening of Surviving Rinjani the movie. Surviving Rinjani is an annual Shared responsibility project by Climbers Enthusiast whereby they raise funds and contributed in building a library for a local farming community in the village of Sembalun Lawang, the foot of Mt Rinjani.

After the movie we have a short sharing session what what we felt about the movie. We then dispearse from there and head back to our cabin for a well deserve rest.

The next morning it’s back to Singapore for us, sore but it was all worth it. We left the resort at 10am and arrived back in Singapore around 3pm. It was a weekend well spend being back to nature. Meet new friends, explore new places and of course it was a great last minutes training for the upcoming Singapore marathon.

Looking foward for the next Adventure climb with Climber enthusiast.

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Cheers! (: