Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Mt. Kutu (15-16th Dec 07)


Gunung Kutu is located at Kuala Kubu Bahru. After passing the dam, following the signboard of Kg. Pertak, turn right after crossing the bridge, we reached the modern aboriginal settlement at 3.30pm. This is the starting point of the trekking. The first 1/2 hours was walking on the wide jungle path which can be easily accessible by the 4 wheel drive. After crossing the bridge for 2 times, I remembered we still have to cross river (which doesn't have bridge) for 2 times. Then, the real journey began. We met one large group of high school students after an hour. They told us that the fallen bamboo blocked the way and they couldn't proceed. So, they decided to descend. Man Tack and Kok Yuen are experience hiker. So, they proceed and found out we can still proceed by taking the small path beside the blocked way.
The fallen bamboo kept on blocking the way. We lower down the body or sometimes have to remove the bagpack and crawl like the snake in order to pass through. By 5pm, we came to a rest point. It's a place which sheltered by the large piece of rock. We rested there for almost half and hour.
The longer we rest, the more lazy we are. So, we have to move on in order to reach summit before night fall. I remembered I kept on asking Ah Tack " how far we are from summit" ? Then, he will answer "Very near". Finally, we reached there an hour later. It took us 3.5 hours trekking from the mountain foot until the peak. I was fascinated by the unique of Mt. Kutu summit. There is a chimney, ruined staircase and base pillars there. It seems like there was a castle or bungalow there long long time ago. The most incredible is there are two wells at the peak - one is dry and one is with water. It's a nicely built well. I do not know any history of this mountain, so not able to tell why there is a water well and ruined bungalow structure up there.
Sunday morning, while waiting for Kok Yuen to cook the porridge, Ah Tack brought us to the highest point of Mt. Kutu - a big rock that stands at the summit. It's just 3 minutes walk from the campsite. With the help of Ah Tack, I managed to climb up to that big rock. The 360 degree view from the top is very beautiful. Actually, it's quite dangerous to stand up at the big rock, especially when the wind is strong. The scenery at the top of Gunung Kutu is definitely worth the hike. It's the raining season. But we were lucky as the weather is quite good throughout our trip.
Kok Yuen can't wait to join us at the top of the mountain. So, he left the porridge that still being cooked and climbed up to find us. We enjoyed the scene, the air, the view and the moment until we forgot about the porridge. As a result, we have to eat the burnt porridge as the breakfast. :p