Hiking Then
vs
Hiking Now
I first started hiking in 2012, meeting at 2.30pm each Saturday, without fail before hitting the trails at Bukit Kiara. In the beginning, our focus was on familarising ourselves with the various trails, building stamina, endurance and enlarging the group by inviting friends to join. For a year, we religiously followed the same route with slight variations and surprisingly, were not bored.
Sometime in 2013, we finally had the confidence and curiosity to explore other sites such as Bukit Gasing, Apek Hill and Sri Bintang, guided by friends who were familiar with the routes. And with that, our appetite for trail adventures was whetted. We did not look back, forging ahead to a new location each week.
You can read my Blogs on other hike sites here and here.
In 2020, I returned to hiking at my spiritual home in Bukit Kiara, as the majority of hike sites were closed due to the pandemic. In compliance with partial lockdown SOPs, we accessed from Mont’Kiara and stayed within the trails of North Kiara (portion of Bukit Kiara that was open to hikers). Our group size was kept at 2 to 3 persons, for a 3-hour hike with decent elevation gains.
As I mature (advance in age) as a hiker, my interests have also evolved. I now stop to smell the roses instead of racing to reach the peak faster or going a longing distance. The trade-off is immensely rewarding. There’s always something interesting waiting to be discovered if you take the time to look, such as spotting and identifying wildlife, listening to forest sounds or simply connecting with nature.
October 22
(Clockwise)
Duration : 2:24
Distance : 6.56km
Today was a discovery of undulating trails amidst rich forest greens, bamboo groves and encounters with little creatures.
Barely meeting anyone, we had the trails all to ourselves, doing multiple ups and downs to ramp up the intensity and get our hearts pumping.
Rare find
Instead of the usual open green pods littering the ground, finding a bunch of ripe Arabica fruits is a rarity.
The arabica coffee plant is a small tree that is between 2m and 8m tall and has evergreen, usually shiny leaves. The flowers are white and sweetly scented, and the fruits are red, but sometimes yellow or purple. Each fruit produces two green seeds, which are commonly known as coffee beans. After roasting, the seeds turn brown.
Source : Arabica Coffee, Kew Gardens
Our route was teeming with wildlife ranging from insects to slimy creatures and fungus.
Clockwise from top left : Funnel cap fungus (side / top view), orange fairy cups, flat shell snail and orange beetle.
The circuitous route took us through mixed terrain with natural obstacles, leading us out of the shady forest canopy onto a vast, open durian orchard.
Konjac plant
Amorphophallus konjac
Commonly known as Voodoo Lily, Devil’s tongue, dragon plant, elephant yam, konnyku, leopard arum, snake palm and umbrella arum, we had the good fortune to see this unique plant during the leaf stage.
The starchy tubers are edible, processed into a tasteless flour or stiff jelly (which can be used as a vegan substitute for gelatin). The Japanese use konjac flour to make shirataki noodles, and the starch is used to make a popular Asian fruit jelly snack.
November 5
(Anti-clockwise)
Duration : 3:32
Distance : 7.02km
My hike buddy found the trail to the Penchala Link tunnel @Taman Tun Dr Ismail a week earlier. Finding it again was not easy.
After almost an hour exploring side trails and back tracking, we realised we had passed the turn-off, within the first 30 minutes of the hike.
When we finally found the trail, the anxiety of the past hour and a half miraculously disappeared and all was well again.
From here, it took just 20 minutes to get to the forest edge beside the tunnel. We headed along the roof of the tunnel, crossing to the other side of the highway.
Looking back towards North Kiara from roof of Penchala Link Tunnel (left)
Towards Sg Penchala (right)
After that we followed the road, up the ramp to re-cross the highway and back into the jungle.
Mission accomplished, we headed for the punishing uphill via RampUp, puffing our way to the top of the ridge before hitting the home trail.
That is, after we captured pictures of Chinese lantern plant (left) and a lookalike green bottle brush plant (center), from various angles.
NB. Chinese lantern turns bright orange when ripe (right)
Source : Gardenerdy.com
November 27
(Anti-clockwise)
Duration : 3:36
Distance : 7.38km
Our good intentions to have a solid workout turned into a nature walk with frequent stops for photos.
The first hour was totally delightful and effortless, as it was mostly downhill into the lush green valley below.
The year end monsoon season with daily rains had turned the trails muddy and slippery. Be prepared to thoroughly wash your shoes after each trek.
Our progress was slow as we were easily distracted by humongous rocks, rustic structures, water features, mushrooms, passion fruit in the pink of health and a caterpillar.
Thereafter the uphill started and it was hard work. I totally felt the gradient of the climbs which were mercifully interrupted with more picture taking action.
Mushroom season is here
A moist forest is the ideal environment for mushrooms to grow. Following days of rain, a flush of fresh sprouted mushrooms were literally popping out everywhere – soil, tree trunks, decaying branches, composting plants, etc.
Cluster of bonnet fungus in a variety of colours – porcelain white with brown top, orange and brown.
I have a healthy relationship bordering on the weird with mushrooms, which is best described as ambivalent. I love discovering & photographing mushrooms while hiking, yet you will never see it on my dinner plate.
Clockwise from top left : parasol mushroom, death cap, shelf fungus, toadstools and bracket fungus cluster.
December 2
(Clockwise)
Duration : 3:22
Distance : 8.01km
For a change, we headed into the forest via the exposed sand hill, followed by an easy downhill leading to the stream, with a short detour to Penchala Link Tunnel @Mont’Kiara.
The plan was to do the reverse direction of the previous week’s route, however we missed the turn-off to the valley, and ended up on the home trail instead.
Deciding to walk along the forest edge, we followed the brem drain beside the perimeter fencing of a residential enclave for a bit before re-joining the jungle trails.
Fresh fungi had sprouted including a green bracket mushroom (center). Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a covering of greenish mold!
Next, a fig tree laden with fruits caught our attention. I have never seen so many clusters growing on the trunk, all the way to the top.
December 9
(Clockwise)
Duration : 3:36
Distance : 8.00km
A day of heart-stopping surprises one after and another, in a good way.
Within the first 15 minutes, we chanced upon a cluster of caterpillars on a tree trunk.
‘Nuff said.
I’ll let the pictures do the talking.
I had a ‘wildest-dream-come-true’ moment when we spotted this heaving mass of furry yellow green larvae.
On a dewy morning hike after the rain, mushroom hunting is so so rewarding!
Clockwise from top left – snow fungus (close-up / cluster), orange shelf fungus, white cheese polypore, brown bracket fungus.
Feeling adventurous, we did some trail exploration to the forest edge before back-tracking. Both times we covered a fair distance and stumbled into more wonders of nature.
Clockwise from top left – Gigantic buttress tree, oyster mushroom, white & brown milk caps, polypore shelf mushroom.
Finally just before the 3-hour mark, we said “No more pictures, focus on hiking” and promptly broke our resolve.
The heart-stopping sight was a huge cluster of bright orange bracket fungus growing on roots of an uprooted tree.
Resist if you can. We couldn’t.
December 16
(Anti-clockwise)
Duration : 3:49
Distance : 10.16km
We worked a little harder today. Took less photos 🤞🏼
The trails were exceedingly fresh and green, with a distinct crispness in the air.
We ran, walked, did endless ups and downs, covering both ends of the Penchala Link tunnel.
To get a bigger loop, we ventured into other trails with unique characteristics such as walking through a fern-lined path, clambering over a tree obstruction and descending down a steep earth drain.
A tangle of branches provided the opportunity to dabble with some creative shots.
Clockwise from top left – Orange shelf , grey bonnet cluster, lumpy bracket, orange gill, brown bonnet mushrooms.
This time, we made sure not to miss the turn-off to the green valley from the reverse direction. After 3 hours, the uphill back to the home trail did me in. I felt each and every torturous step.
I was totally exhausted and glad I was able to finish. A perfect ending for the last hike of 2020. Total Ascent (706m) / Descent (700m)
PS: Lockdown came into effect again on 13 January 2021, so no more hikes for the time being.
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Bravo! Comprehensive report
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Tq janstu. Hope we can continue to hike and keep enjoying nature’s offerings!
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