Gunung Datuk Climb

Last Sunday, I went for a climb at Gunung Datuk at Rembau in Negeri Sembilan. With a height of around 880 metres (2900 feet), it is graded as a beginner mountain to scale in terms of difficulty. I took this as a pre-training climb in preparation for Mt. Santubong when I get back in Kuching.

This is also the first time I'm climbing with a different group of people; a friendly bunch of random people from the Malaysian Outdoor Trekking & Hiking society (MOTHs). The climb was one of the many events hosted by the group members on Facebook. I managed to get Kien Yee along as well, and together we make up the youngest ones among the bunch of climbers that day.

In a 5 car convoy, we drove for about an hour or so before reaching the base camp of the mountain located within a nature park.

Group photo before the climb.

A short walk up to the park headquarters and you will be greeted by a huge tree, and...

A super huge Keris landmark!

After a short briefing, we went on with the climb, headed a pack leader in front and a sweeper behind. We were also informed that an earlier group had started already and were on their way to the peak.

Although graded as a level 1 mountain, it was no normal hike in the park. With inclines of mostly 45 degrees, the trail was pretty stamina demanding.

A section of the trail

Fatigue hit us shortly and we had to take multiple breaks along the way. One of the group shots taken during a 'pitstop'.

We were the last few trailing behind. Hah!

Of what seem like a long 2 hours of hiking, we finally reached a clearing among the canopy.

The rest of the group members were there as well, waiting and taking turns to ascend the ladders which will lead us to the peak. The ladders were rope secured onto huge rocks which rise some 50 feet above us.

We had to climb 3 flights of ladders, the first being the easiest:

The second flight which had 2 ladders:

And finally, the last of 3 ladders:

Might seem easy but it sure was frightening due to the ladders' orientation and the strong wind blowing, which made some people cancel the last climb up to the peak.

Up I went on the wobbly ladders, not wanting to come all the way to miss the chance at the peak especially with the panoramic views at the top. Upon reaching the peak, the view was absolutely stunning:

It was very windy up at the peak, with a slight mist beyond. In fact, one could see as far as the Malacca Straits on a clear day!

I could get used to this

Kien Yee and I at the edge of the cliff

Legend has it that this footprint belongs to Hang Tuah!

As more and more people summit the peak, it began to get slightly crowded up there. At one point there were more than 20 people up the highest rock!

Managed to take a huge group picture though:

A video of us at the peak:

Ascending the ladders took some skill, but all of us managed to get down safely.

After which, came the painful hike down the mountain. Cramps started to set in and my gripless soles under loose gravel didn't help making it easier.

Reached the foot of the mountain around noon, followed by a quick cleanup at a stream.

And after the cleanup and a short break, we headed down to Seremban for lunch at the town market. Before splitting up, some of us took another group photo:

All in all, it was a fun hiking trip especially with a mixed bunch of people!