Saturday's PCC Irau Hike 27th JUNE 2015

Gunung Irau Hike Saturday 27th JUNE 2015:-

View from Golden Mountain Villa.

   The evolution of things..... From just plain cycling on tarmac and mountain biking. PCC now has a hiking division apart from bicycle touring. Lately, the old goats has literally taken their ancestry lineage to a different level. They have picked up hiking. The group has moved from hiking up Gunung Kinabalu to Mount Rinjani within a period of 12 short months. No casualties so far. Like they say in Sungai Buloh prison, if you don't find a dead body, there is no proof of any mischief. It is critical having physical evidence. Manslaughter or murder is up to the judge to interpret.

The height of cycling fashion...

    Anyhoo, date was set on the 27th Saturday to attempt Gunung Irau. The plan was to get to Cameron Highlands on 26th Friday for a night's drinking session before the pack splits up on Saturday morning. The stronger half will do Irau while the weaker ones will be sent off to do a simple Sunday morning ride along Jim Thompson.

Goats.

   The first batch of the herd met up at Rawang for brunch before proceeding to Bidor second brunch. Most arrived in Bidor safely. Polished off half the portion of Wan Tan Mee available in Bidor. Then had some durians for dessert before the herd headed off, up towards Cameron Highlands. Pretty much uneventful for the drive up. One third of the herd checked in to Habu for their stay. The other third headed off towards Tanah Rata. While the rest was yet to be seen. They must be grazing somewhere. Goats do tend to forage far and wide. Especially in cold weather. Dotty was all leashed up tightly in the Ranger. That one is very sneaky, whenever anything edible is within sight. Best to keep this one locked up.

Carbo loading PCC style.

   Dinner time came and most of the herd finally showed up for food proper in Ringlet. Buka puasa was fast, painless and pretty much a carnage. Lotsa food, a mountain of vegetables of course. This is a herd of ancient goats remember? DotM as usual provided the tuak, PeteW tried hanging on to his one and only bottle of Black Label. He tried. But having Kompressor and Manta sitting beside him on the left and right was a fatal mistake. The whisky died a very quick death. The focus very quickly shifted to the tuak. Poor PeteW have never felt more used in his life.
   After dinner, it was off to Golden Mountain Villa for a pre ride pre hike discussion. Basically translated into "more drinking before the night ends". Just sounds much more upscale and righteous if you call it a discussion instead of calling it drinking under the tree. So drinking it was till the goats came home. Then it was actually time to head off to their respective pens in preparation for the next day's programme.
 
27th June Irau Hike Report:-

32 heads at the trail head.

 Morning came in a dash. Woke up at 0530 hours to prep and meet the hiking goats. Somehow managed to get dressed and troll my way to the meeting point which was 3km away. Walking alone at 6am in the dark along Tanah Rata is a really weird sensation. Dogs somewhat looked much bigger in size. Almost zero presence of people and traffic. Chilly, dark and cold... Nice. Tried searching for those fellas from Twilight. Nope. None spotted. Disappointed i was. Saw a very tall Bangla though.

Tailook and Botak warming up their nuts.

   Showed up at De'Native to meet the herd. Can't help grinning watching all the confusion unfold. Someone was looking for something. Tailook was busy wiping himself. Fei Chai was busy looking around for nothing. Chris kept shaking her head looking at Fei Chai. Annie was enjoying herself watching Ivan looking confused and lost. Botak Yong kept walking in circles. Warming up it seems. Less hair. More heat loss. Something along that line of arguement. Heat conservation worr....
   DotM was still undecided on which attire to put on. Poor thing had such a hard time. It was either the long sleeve pink shirt or the short sleeve pink shirt. On top of that, which pink jacket to put on if the pink jacket was gonna cover up all the rest of the pink shirt she was gonna wear? And the knee length pink shorts seemed to clash with her orange shoes with pink stripes. At the same time, don't overlook the cap. Somehow that was a different shade of pink. Which would really destroy the whole package. And to decide on all this at 7am?! How utterly unfair... A person should not go through such cruel torment. Sigh... She did end up looking like a bombed out strawberry lollipop. My eyes were begging for mercy... Tailook was begging to taste the lollipop.

DotM impersonating a strawberry.

   Counted 32 heads of goats for the hike. Herded all into 3 vans with much persuasion. Got off at Brinchang for the required breakfast and packing of lunch for food in the hike later. Yaa daa, yaa daa yaa daa.... And off we went towards Irau. The drive was calm and cooling. Not much was said except for DotM whom was still unsure about her pink combo. She wanted a matching hiking stick. Tailook gave her a black one. Which was totally out of line and unacceptable really. Poor Chris had to hold DotM's hand to keep her from hitting Tailook on the head for being so selfish and inconsiderate. So much drama even before the hike starts...
   The usual group selfie before the hike. Tailook gave a briefing in English. Everyone else said ok in Cantonese. Someone laughed and pointed fingers at the bird. And we release Botak Yong first into the trail to do his thing. Like what any proper Englishman would do in the old country during the annual bloodhound run for the pheasant. Always send the hounds ahead to ruffle up the birds. Makes it so much more convenient for the rest to track and shoot any stragglers. Right and proper way to do it.
   And so the hike proper begins.

Aunty on steroids.

Ivan Basso still confused.

Xemeo posing for the camera before his daddy fainted from exhaustion.

   Keep your eyes on the pink slips. Those will guide you to the peak. Botak Yong had those pink slips all over the place. He must have enjoyed doing it a lot. He laid the slips at all the strategic location. Under the stone. 6 feet high up on the bamboo. Below the roots. Heck! I even spotted one inside the monkey pod tree. No way you can miss those.
   Besides, did anyone mention that this trail has zero junctions?
   The pack started to spread out evenly among themself. Those on steroids and drugs basically flew up the mountain. Nowhere to be seen after 2 minutes. The middle pack was trundling along like a mail train. Enjoying the cool weather and scenery. The back markers tried not to get stuck on trees and vines. Lotsa encouragement and whipping.

   The last 2 hikers disappeared after 25 minutes. Waited and waited for DotM and Chris to show up. No sight of them. Didn't hear any screaming or monkeys laughing at people falling down. Mighty odd i thought. Then a different group of hikers caught up and asked us if we had left anyone behind. They saw two ladies heading off backwards towards Sungai Palas tea plantation. One dressed like a crushed banana and another like Paris Hilton smeared with a ton of strawberry juice.

   " Oh... who are those two? We have never seen anyone dressed up like that. Why are they dressed up like clowns? They are most probably friends of the other fellas in front. Our friends would never walk out of their rooms looking like that. Pink with black pants?!  That's crazy talk....Hmmphh. "

Banana'na....

   And as fast as we could. We cut the conversation short and quickly headed up searching for more pink slips. I have never hiked faster in my life. Almost like having a starving tiger stalking you from behind. As fast as i could. Deep breathe in. Pace pace pace....

   At the first peak we arrived. Finally.
   The entire herd came in and took a short break before attempting the second peak. A few of us decided to keep Tailook company. Tailook and 3 friends were staying over there for the night. We thought i was probably best to spend as much time as possible with Tailook. We said whatever we had to say. Apologies for past mistakes and hugs were generously given. It's best to say farewell when you have the chance. We can't predict what happens tomorrow. 3 fat guys spending the night together in 2 degrees temperature can be a life changer. They may or may not make it. We could only hope for the best. I was assured i have the first right of refusal for Tailook's bike if he loses the fight to the other two with a combined weight and strength of a water buffalo. I have never prayed harder in my life. I even gave my last chocolate bar to one half of the water buffalo. Best to try to swing it in my favor. I really like the Niner.

  At 1420 hours, we decided to head back towards the trail head. Seeing that everyone is now familiar with the trail and having pink slips to guide us out, no time was wasted. Tailook tried to give a good bye speech and briefing. Most everyone nodded and wished him good luck. The pair of water buffalos firmed up for the upcoming feast later in the night. We couldn't bear to watch... I hope the bike is my size.

Steroids and roadies.

   Trek out was quiet as can be. Everyone was lost in their thoughts. Cold wind blowing in your ears. Chills up your back. Words fail me. It is a lovely lovely trail. We are lucky people. I stopped numerous times. Hard not to enjoy the sights and serenity of everything. Bliss... I couldn't help but smile in the beauty of it all. Especially knowing Tailook will be in the company of 2 very cold and sweaty drunk man. All alone and defenceless... Life indeed is good.

   Arrived at the trail head and waited for the pick up. First van arrived at 1600 hours. Last van came at 1730 hours. All made it out with smiles and grins all over their face. No one got hurt. 32 hikers started the hike. 30 made it to the peak. 2 made it to Sungai Palas Boh Plantation.
   Most enjoyable hike it was. Worth the effort and enjoyed the camaraderie tremendously. Headed back to the respective hotel to clean up and meet up for dinner later. More beer awaits us... Now its time to remove the boots and prepare a draft of police report on behalf of Tailook. Never wait till the last minute to search for a toilet. Always prepare in advance. If Tailook doesn't make it. It's best to sort this out first...

   Botak Yong drove up tot he trail head the next morning to await and collect the 4 campers to emerge from Irau. We could only hope....

He made it.

   I didn't get the bike.
   Life is at times unfair and disappointing. I really really like the Niner.

Unbelievable'