Malaysian Mountains

View from Pine Tree Hill

I believe that hiking — mountain climbing in particular — is one of the best ways to experience the wonders of nature, which God has made, to get away from the business of life when we need a break. In addition, I have found that it’s one of my most effective forms of exercise (personally speaking), in that one has to persevere hours and hours of climbing. It’s a test of both physical and mental endurance, and something which you can’t ‘stop’ halfway when you get tired (unlike swimming/jogging/gym). Once you’re on the way to a mountain top, you know you have to make your way down. In addition, the summit of a mountain presents a goal to push for — something tangible, even if there’s no view at the top. Climbing with other people can also be a great way to bond, and to motivate one another towards a common goal. At times, you have to help & support one another. This is in contrast to competitive games, like badminton, tennis, etc., where you immediately become opponents when you’re on different sides. (Not that I have anything against games – I think they’re essential, and I too play badminton at least 5 hours a week)

Climbing mountains in Malaysia can be a very different experience to climbing mountains in temperate regions. Most of the time, you’ll be in thick jungle, unable to see further than a few meters ahead, which can make navigation difficult, or feel very claustrophobic. Many mountains may not even have good viewing points at the summit, unless the area has been cleared or there are boulders to clamber up on. Personally, I find that after slogging hours through jungle trails, battling leeches, rain and muddy ground, emerging out on top of a summit can be a very liberating experience.

Here’s a list of hills and mountains I have climbed, or plan to climb, in the year 2012. There are 2 hills I am omitting, namely Gasing Hill and Kiara Hill. Both of those are regular training spots for me, and I climb both countless times.

Another reason why I decided to blog about Malaysian mountains is that I found a lack of good details about the mountains. While many blogs provide good photos and stories, many lacked GPS trail maps, which was what I was searching for. I hope that the GPS trails I provide will be useful to future climbers. (For reference, I record my GPS trails using My Tracks and EveryTrail Pro on my Android, coupled with an external bluetooth GPS receiver for more accuracy)

Upcoming climbs:

None! 🙁 Unfortunately, it’s now 2013 and I’m no longer in Malaysia…

You can also see the list of items I bring along with me every time I go hiking in Malaysia.

Keep climbing!