Sunday, December 13, 2009

HIKING MT. BRINCHANG, CAMERON HIGHLAND

MT. BRINCHANG

This is my second time to summit Mt. Brinchang. The first time was via the road but this time through Trek 1. It is 2032m above sea level. The hiking started early at 8.30 am. We all gathered at Brinchang town infront of the Police Station to wait for the guide from the Forestry Department. The cost of a guide for a single hike to Mt. Brinchang is RM250. At first, I thought it was worth it. Later on, I found out that it was a bit overpriced for the effort that the guide has to put for that hiking.

Before trekking...gather infront of Police Station, at Brinchang town

Unfortunately, it was raining on that day and we thought it's going to stop later. However, the rain continued for the whole day. Anyway, all of us were reminded to bring along poncho for standby which most of us did. Some did not.

Our planning was to trek the mountain through Trek 1 which begins at the army quarter & Jabatan Bekalan Air at Brinchang Town and trek down via the road to Sg. Palas tea plantation.

The trek condition was muddy and very slippery but it was not too tough as I imagined. Just need a little bit of stamina. The view at an earlier stage was just normal but to the last stage before reaching the summit it become a little bit mossy( but not as mossy as Mt. Irau). The last group reached the summit after 3 hours hiking.


The last group to reach the summit.

The rain and wind made the temperature freezing at the summit and we could not stay long up there. We continued to trek down via the road. It was 12 km and from the summit to Sg Palas.

On the way down

On the way down to Sg. Palas tea plantation

Overall, the trip was very successful. Most of us enjoyed the hiking. For me, it is not too hard even for beginners. The only thing that made the hiking a little bit hard was the fact that it was raining that day and it was freezing cold. Moreover, some of us who did not have poncho suffered severe cold during the trekking. Otherwise, the trekking must be wonderful. So for Mt. Brinchang hike it is highly advisable that:

1. Wear a simple rubber shoe for trekking.

2. Don't go during raining season

3. Bring an emergency poncho.

4. If got time, spend a night up there before going down. I haven't done this.