And up the mountain we went!!
The plan to hike up Mount Irau in Cameron Highlands was mooted by a brother, Anep last March. I've never heard of Irau but we told Anep to make plans. Police permits are needed to climb the highest peak in Cameron Highland. Due to clashing schedules, our climb was delayed from March ti April and finally this month.
We didn't give it much thought until our assigned guide, a chap called H created a group whatsapp a few days before the climb. Not only it dawned on me that we're physically unprepared, we are also not ready with the right gears for hiking.
I started scouring blogs and websites of hikers to find out what we should prepare. Figured that even if we're not physically prepared at least we're dressed for it!
This was the list given by H, as per his whatsapp message,
1- hiking shoe (rubber better) extra socks, waterproof hand glove, poncho and slipper
2- windbreaker or fleece (it's cold outthere) like freezing. Haha
3- trekking pole, wet n dry tissue, a knife.
4- waterproof bag for your valuable belongings (hyper gear etc)
5- sufficient water supply (minerals n isotonic) and chocolate. ;)
6- food ( breads, sandwiches, maggi, sweets, sushi, nasi kerabu pun boleh & HotCan - klu Nk beli bgtau. Only rm6.50 per can)
7- AMS pill (altitude mountain sickness) from your nearest pharmacy.
8- others anything u may need to comfort
He did mentioned that not all are compulsory.
We took heed and went shopping before the trip. Explorer in Publika has a wide selection of hiking and outdoor activities needs, from RM8.90 rubber shoes to hiking bags worth more than a few hundred RMs.
We pushed off from home at 6.30pm, made one stop at Tapah RnR and reached Parkland Apartments, CH at around 10pm. The rest of the parties arrived later at 10.30pm and 2.30am.
At 6.30am, 8 half asleep hikers woke up to get ready for 2110m Irau. The earlier plan to leave the apartment at 6.30am had to be delayed to 7.30am. After a quick breakfast, we board our MPV and drove up to the entrance of what is known as The Mossy Forest, 9km away.
Parked at the entrance, get our gears out and after a few pictures started walking into the forest. Except for H and Z, our guides for the day, the 6 of us are no hikers. We run races for the fun of them and this hiking trip was just a spur of the moment decision fueled by Anep, who in the end could not even make the climb because of work.
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The weather looked good that morning. We are dressed for the highland's weather, me complete with thermal under my long sleeved nike top. Hubs had new gloves and almost all of us had double layers of socks on.
From the entrance, we started ascending about 100 man made wooden steps before we entered The Mossy Forest. True to its name, the cool climate combined with the sun, created a mossy forest. The route started flat with a lot of roots of trees which we have to manoeuvre around.
As we went deeper, the terrains became tougher. We were naive, climbers with almost no idea of what to expect of the mountain. There were mud puddles everywhere. Not watching your steps meant getting your whole feet into them and it was not a pretty sight. Imagine hiking up with soggy socks. Having two layers of socks helped a lot.
And then there were rocks, big ones small ones. The hiking pole was God sent. I was worried about injuring my not-so-young knees and the hiking pole helped to transfer some of the weight both, ascending and descending the mountain.
There were tree roots almost everywhere. Tricky as we had to go over them, under them and sometimes between them.
And then came along the intermittent rain, sometimes heavy sometimes not. When we reached the top, silly me who forgot her wind breaker was almost soaking wet. Luckily I brought along an extra pair of a long sleeved nike top.
I don't know what's worst, avoiding the muddy "booby traps" or climbing / descending almost 90 degree terrain. This was the 2nd climb up Irau for our guides H & Z. They have the advantage of age, experience, agility and knowledge of the place than any of us combined. But they are the most patient, helpful and cheerful guides that have become our friends over the weekend.
.JPG)
With all the hardship of the climb, along the way up, we were rewarded with the most beautiful sight of the forest. The sights were almost like a scene from the Lord of the Ring. Like an enchanted forest, at times we pretended we're The Hobbits and then later sang out Frozen's Let It Go with Pharell's Happy when we felt 'high' from the lack of oxygen at high altitude.
.JPG)
At a spot the forest looked like The Mad Hatter will pop out any minute offering tea and we are Alices in Wonderland. I said a silent Ayat Kursi at times while marveling at Allah swt beautiful creations.
About 30 mins before we reached the top, we met a few hikers who were already on their way down. They encouraged us to move along and told us it's not much longer. We must've looked like a bunch of wrecks. One of the lady hikers shared quickly when I asked that this mountain route is tougher than Mount Kinabalu. They also warned us to not take too much time at the peak as it was better for us to get of the forest before it gets dark.
It took us about 6 hours to reach the top of Mount Irau. This included the numerous breaks we took for taking photos, thanks to Nizam who brought his monopod along.
.JPG)
Our hike down the mountain took us about 4 hours. It felt like forever! All of us secretly did not want to be in the forest when it turns dark but we were all physically tired. H and Z remained cheerful all along. I love these 2 already!
The ground was even muddier as a lot of hikers already went through them. I looked at the terrain and wonder in amazement as to how I managed to climb up these hills to the top. At times I was not even sure whether we were going up or down.
I was physically and mentally challenged as I struggled my way down. Almost tripped when I lose focus at an easier patch. I was singing "She'll be coming down the mountain" but the hike down seemed endless. Finally, at almost 7.30pm, we reached the foot of the mountain where we first started.
.JPG)
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Alhamdulillah, the climb was successful without major hitches. Some bruises, scratches & aches were testament of our climb up to Mount Irau.
I'm no expert but if you're planning to hike, some things to look into would be
1. Be physically and mentally fit - our running sessions helped to a certain extent, physically and mentally. Having cheerful, positive people in your group will also help.
2. Check the weather - I was told that Irau is kinder in drier weather
3. Check your gear - Nizam's hiking boots soles gave away halfway through our climb. That surely was challenging. Luckily he found some remnants that hikers left behind as track guide, to keep the shoes together.
The cheap RM8.90 runner shoes , people call Adidas Kampung was perfect for Irau.
4. Bring a water proof bag for your food and clothes - We each bought a 10kg Hyper Gear bag from
Explorer which proved to be a good buy.
5. Have a first aid kit ready - you never know when you will need them. Ours have a bottle of minyak gamat included!
6. Get someone who knows the place better to guide you. Our guides H & Z are fantastic. Definitely new found friends!
7. Have a camera with you. Not necessary to lug a big DSLR, we found out. Almost all our pics are from the mobile phones. You don't climb mountains everyday so it's good to have a memory of your pain haha..
8. Bring a garbage bag. Don't leave your rubbish behind. Nizam carried our garbage bag half full with rubbish all the way down. It's good to have younger people in your group too!
9. Above all, relax, enjoy the process and have fun! Stop to swallow the sights and always be thankful to the Almighty for giving you the opportunity to witness His beautiful creations.
And I quote Edmund Hillary "It's not the mountain that we conquer, but ourselves" - thanks for sharing H!
Till the next hike, thanks my hiking comrades!
We didn't give it much thought until our assigned guide, a chap called H created a group whatsapp a few days before the climb. Not only it dawned on me that we're physically unprepared, we are also not ready with the right gears for hiking.
I started scouring blogs and websites of hikers to find out what we should prepare. Figured that even if we're not physically prepared at least we're dressed for it!
This was the list given by H, as per his whatsapp message,
1- hiking shoe (rubber better) extra socks, waterproof hand glove, poncho and slipper
2- windbreaker or fleece (it's cold outthere) like freezing. Haha
3- trekking pole, wet n dry tissue, a knife.
4- waterproof bag for your valuable belongings (hyper gear etc)
5- sufficient water supply (minerals n isotonic) and chocolate. ;)
6- food ( breads, sandwiches, maggi, sweets, sushi, nasi kerabu pun boleh & HotCan - klu Nk beli bgtau. Only rm6.50 per can)
7- AMS pill (altitude mountain sickness) from your nearest pharmacy.
8- others anything u may need to comfort
He did mentioned that not all are compulsory.
We took heed and went shopping before the trip. Explorer in Publika has a wide selection of hiking and outdoor activities needs, from RM8.90 rubber shoes to hiking bags worth more than a few hundred RMs.
We pushed off from home at 6.30pm, made one stop at Tapah RnR and reached Parkland Apartments, CH at around 10pm. The rest of the parties arrived later at 10.30pm and 2.30am.
At 6.30am, 8 half asleep hikers woke up to get ready for 2110m Irau. The earlier plan to leave the apartment at 6.30am had to be delayed to 7.30am. After a quick breakfast, we board our MPV and drove up to the entrance of what is known as The Mossy Forest, 9km away.
Parked at the entrance, get our gears out and after a few pictures started walking into the forest. Except for H and Z, our guides for the day, the 6 of us are no hikers. We run races for the fun of them and this hiking trip was just a spur of the moment decision fueled by Anep, who in the end could not even make the climb because of work.
The weather looked good that morning. We are dressed for the highland's weather, me complete with thermal under my long sleeved nike top. Hubs had new gloves and almost all of us had double layers of socks on.
From the entrance, we started ascending about 100 man made wooden steps before we entered The Mossy Forest. True to its name, the cool climate combined with the sun, created a mossy forest. The route started flat with a lot of roots of trees which we have to manoeuvre around.
As we went deeper, the terrains became tougher. We were naive, climbers with almost no idea of what to expect of the mountain. There were mud puddles everywhere. Not watching your steps meant getting your whole feet into them and it was not a pretty sight. Imagine hiking up with soggy socks. Having two layers of socks helped a lot.
And then there were rocks, big ones small ones. The hiking pole was God sent. I was worried about injuring my not-so-young knees and the hiking pole helped to transfer some of the weight both, ascending and descending the mountain.
There were tree roots almost everywhere. Tricky as we had to go over them, under them and sometimes between them.
And then came along the intermittent rain, sometimes heavy sometimes not. When we reached the top, silly me who forgot her wind breaker was almost soaking wet. Luckily I brought along an extra pair of a long sleeved nike top.
I don't know what's worst, avoiding the muddy "booby traps" or climbing / descending almost 90 degree terrain. This was the 2nd climb up Irau for our guides H & Z. They have the advantage of age, experience, agility and knowledge of the place than any of us combined. But they are the most patient, helpful and cheerful guides that have become our friends over the weekend.
With all the hardship of the climb, along the way up, we were rewarded with the most beautiful sight of the forest. The sights were almost like a scene from the Lord of the Ring. Like an enchanted forest, at times we pretended we're The Hobbits and then later sang out Frozen's Let It Go with Pharell's Happy when we felt 'high' from the lack of oxygen at high altitude.
At a spot the forest looked like The Mad Hatter will pop out any minute offering tea and we are Alices in Wonderland. I said a silent Ayat Kursi at times while marveling at Allah swt beautiful creations.
About 30 mins before we reached the top, we met a few hikers who were already on their way down. They encouraged us to move along and told us it's not much longer. We must've looked like a bunch of wrecks. One of the lady hikers shared quickly when I asked that this mountain route is tougher than Mount Kinabalu. They also warned us to not take too much time at the peak as it was better for us to get of the forest before it gets dark.
It took us about 6 hours to reach the top of Mount Irau. This included the numerous breaks we took for taking photos, thanks to Nizam who brought his monopod along.
Our hike down the mountain took us about 4 hours. It felt like forever! All of us secretly did not want to be in the forest when it turns dark but we were all physically tired. H and Z remained cheerful all along. I love these 2 already!
The ground was even muddier as a lot of hikers already went through them. I looked at the terrain and wonder in amazement as to how I managed to climb up these hills to the top. At times I was not even sure whether we were going up or down.
I was physically and mentally challenged as I struggled my way down. Almost tripped when I lose focus at an easier patch. I was singing "She'll be coming down the mountain" but the hike down seemed endless. Finally, at almost 7.30pm, we reached the foot of the mountain where we first started.
Alhamdulillah, the climb was successful without major hitches. Some bruises, scratches & aches were testament of our climb up to Mount Irau.
I'm no expert but if you're planning to hike, some things to look into would be
1. Be physically and mentally fit - our running sessions helped to a certain extent, physically and mentally. Having cheerful, positive people in your group will also help.
2. Check the weather - I was told that Irau is kinder in drier weather
3. Check your gear - Nizam's hiking boots soles gave away halfway through our climb. That surely was challenging. Luckily he found some remnants that hikers left behind as track guide, to keep the shoes together.
The cheap RM8.90 runner shoes , people call Adidas Kampung was perfect for Irau.
4. Bring a water proof bag for your food and clothes - We each bought a 10kg Hyper Gear bag from
Explorer which proved to be a good buy.
5. Have a first aid kit ready - you never know when you will need them. Ours have a bottle of minyak gamat included!
6. Get someone who knows the place better to guide you. Our guides H & Z are fantastic. Definitely new found friends!
7. Have a camera with you. Not necessary to lug a big DSLR, we found out. Almost all our pics are from the mobile phones. You don't climb mountains everyday so it's good to have a memory of your pain haha..
8. Bring a garbage bag. Don't leave your rubbish behind. Nizam carried our garbage bag half full with rubbish all the way down. It's good to have younger people in your group too!
9. Above all, relax, enjoy the process and have fun! Stop to swallow the sights and always be thankful to the Almighty for giving you the opportunity to witness His beautiful creations.
And I quote Edmund Hillary "It's not the mountain that we conquer, but ourselves" - thanks for sharing H!
Till the next hike, thanks my hiking comrades!
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