MCWK on Blogspot.com: Ascending Gunung Datuk

Some time ago last year, I joined a couple of my colleagues to climb up Gunung Datuk, a Recreation Park located somewhere between Rembau and Tampin in the state of Negri Sembilan (GPS Co-ordinates N2 32.598 E102 10.148).

We gathered in the company parking lot early in the morning, and set off in two cars. In our team were myself, Lew WK, Chong FC, Lim KS and Kua BG (plus his brother-in-law). Another climbing member, Goh NK, could not make it, unfortunately. Our first stop was a nearby coffeeshop, where we ate breakfast. Famous here was the assortment of buns (or "pau"). A word of caution - don't take a lot of the spicy anything hot and spicy, if you are planning to climb up the mountain later. Kua's brother-in-law found out the hard way....

Climbers were required to register and pay a small fee (RM3.00) to the park administration.

Gunung Datuk was not really high (only 870m/2900ft above sea level). While this was rather low compared to, say, Gunung Kinabalu, the climb itself was much more difficult, since at places, the angle of ascent/descent was almost vertical. Unlike the climb to Laban Rata (Gunung Kinabalu), the path here was practically without anything to hold, so on the way down, I had to literally turn around and sit down as I slowly made my way downwards, one step at a time.

Note that again, unlike Gunung Kinabalu, there are no real resting points along the way (this means no points to refill water, and certainly, no lavatories). So, be prepared....

Now, getting to the actual *summit* of Gunung Datuk required some climbing up ladders. I can say that I made it 99% up Gunung Datuk, as my internal risk assessment did not allow me to move forward. So, I maintained position at my 99% point and watched my friends ascend to the top of Gunung Datuk, more effective position for me to function as cameraman. Not for me, and it's my decision, so it won't come back to haunt me in future (unlike that *other* mountain which I have yet to give up on).

Well, for all the hard work and effort, we made it all the way to the top and back down again by afternoon. Thankfully it did not rain that day. For me, this was the first time I successfully made it up to the top of anything with the word "Gunung" (Mountain) in its name - here thanks to my friends, who were kind and patient enough to wait for me all the way, who shared supplies and also brought along extra walking staffs (which helped immensely on the way down). Of course, a pocketable compact camera, like my Panasonic Lumix FX-520 was preferable to my usual DSLR.

I strongly recommend this place as a "training ground" in case you're planning to climb another mountain, if you're from Melaka / Negeri Sembilan, as it's close by, will only take half a day, and is physically demanding enough to prepare you for the next challenge!