Pondok Repin via Kampung Kemensah

Introduction

Pondok Repin situated at Kg Kemensah (behind national Zoo) with the height of (700 meters - will update later)
The distance is 12.5km one way with lots of killer hills! The total journey is a staggering 25km! (distance wise, it is similar to Gunung Nuang, altitude wise, it is a little bit higher than broga hill).
I would advise hikers to prepare themselves with adequate fitness to conquer Pondok Repin as the trails are mean, requires long hours of trekking and might end up after sun set.

Initially, our intention is to get to Bukit Repin, however, our journey only ended at Pondok Repin, We unable to continue to Bukit Repin as there was no proper trail (or we just can't find it), insufficient trail marker and insufficient of time.

Pondok Repin (or Repin's Hut) is a man made wooden hut. It was built by orang asli here (early settlement's folks) for  a resting station. Looking at the structure, we acknowledged that the hut is properly taken care of.

Pondok Repin, Kemensah trail are being projected as a trail running event called "King of Kampung Kemensah". Being held annually for the past 2, 3 years organized by Team Pacat.

This is where it all begins....

Starting Point to Bukit Roket

We started at Kampung Kemensah, a placed called "Jinbara" - a river chalet (GPS coordinate 3.225344, 101.780303). It was raining that morning. A little bit worried of the leech and muddy trails.

You will be coming from Jinbara (from the black car)

 or you can park at the road side here

Distance from Trail Head to Bukit Roket : 5km
Time taken : 1 hour 16 minutes
Trail condition : muddy, slippery
Trail difficulty : moderate. up and down but manageable
Time taken from Trail head to Bukit Roket : 1 hour 16 minutes

It's called Bukit Roket (Rocket Hill) because of a tree that has shape like a rocket.


Bukit Roket To Lubuk Tedung

Distance from Trail Head  to Lubuk Tedung : approximately 6km
Distance from Bukit Roket to Lubuk Tedung : 1km
Trail condition : muddy, slippery
Trail difficulty : moderate, up and down - manageable
Time taken from Bukit Roket to Lubuk Tedung : approximately 15 minutes

Lubuk Tedung is a name of a location where a crystal clear river flowing through. You may have a dip in the cool water if you wish to.

 This is bukit roket

The Famous 'Rocket' tree

oookkkaaayy...that's a deer ...phew..

Lubuk Tedung to Bukit Dogol

Need to cross the river to get to the other side, please look for the trail marker and please be careful while crossing. Prepare to get wet, you have no choice.

Distance from Trail Head to Bukit Dogol : approximately 6.24km
Distance from Lubuk Tedung to Bukit Dogol : approximately 200 meters
Trail condition : River crossing. Muddy and slippery.
Trail difficulty  :easy
Time taken from Lubuk Tedung to Bukit Dogol : less than 10 minutes

 River Crossing at Lubuk Tedung

 Lubuk Tedung surrounding

Lubuk Tedung Surrounding - its being used for one of the checkpoint during Kemensah Trail run

Oh yeah...cry me a river...

Bukit Dogol to Bukit Merah

The mini hills at earlier stage are nothing. Bukit Merah is the beginning of the climb. Stay slow, take your time as there are more hills to come up ahead.

Distance from Trail Head to Bukit Merah : 6.82km
Distance from Bukit Dogol to Bukit Merah :  600 meters
Trail condition : muddy and slippery.
Trail difficulty : slow ascending. Moderate
Time taken from Bukit Dogol to Bukit Merah : 13 minutes

There you go...Bring it on 

6.24km from Start 

Its 'slippery when wet' meaning

Bukit Merah to Bukit Korea

Bukit Merah is one hell of a climb! prepare for more!
I don't really know why its called korea.

Distance from Trail Head to Bukit Korea  : 8.17km
Distance from Bukit Merah to Bukit Korea : 1.3km
Trail condition : muddy, slippery
Trail difficulty : Hard climb,
Time taken from Bukit Merah to Bukit Korea : 34 minutes

Wak Nosly is fighting his inner demon to overcome the hill...haha 

Yay..Bukit Merah! 6.82km from start. Going up and up

Bukit Korea to Bukit 'S"

Killer hill no 2! Bukit Korea also known to be the toughest incline in this trail. Just be patience.

Distance from Trail head to Bukit Korea : 10.97km
Distance from Bukit Korea to Bukit S : 2.8km
Trail condition : muddy, slippery
Trail difficulty : very hard climb
Time taken from Bukit Korea to Bukit S : 47 minutes

Another killer hill - Bukit Korea, 8.17km from start in 2.14 hours

Finally, Bukit S to Pondok Repin

Killer hill no. 3 (Bukit S). Hard climb. Torture your hamstring to the limit.

Distance from trail head to Pondok Repin  : 12.5km
Distance from Bukit S to Pondok Repin : 1.5km
Trail condition : muddy at certain part. Dry at most part
Trail difficulty : hard climb
Time taken from Bukit S to Pondok : 33 minutes

 Killer hill ahead...oh my hamstring!

Okay...thats one hell of a climb...! 

Big tree spotted 

Pondok Repin from afar...getting there..

We started at 7.40am and ended at 11.21am (pondok repin).

This is the u-turn for 50km during Kemensah trail run. I can imagine their suffering 

Its dry ground. But still leeches are playing around 

Ample space

after a gruelling 12.5km, we finally reached here 

 View from the pondok

We continued our journey to Bukit Repin. The entrance is from the top part of the pondok. Trail marker can be seen on the tree. Following the trail markers will lead you higher ground until you reach a point that there was no trail marker left and there was no clear/proper trail. We headed back to Pondok Repin and decided not to proceed to Bukit Repin.

This is the trail path to Bukit Repin, just behind the pondok with trail marker tight on the tree 

This is the view from the trail leading to Bukit Repin.

The construction is ongoing

The leeches are attacking us!

I have more than 10 bites. A 'mossy guard' spray should come in handy at this point. Wak Nosly offered his insect bite repellent, the leeches let go of its bite when sprayed.

11 bites and counting

The journey back to trail head was mostly downhill and we managed to get to the car park at around 4.05pm (3 hours 20 minutes).

Completed! 25.87km in total, 8 hours and 20 minutes.

Thank you.

Gunung Besar Hantu

Gunung Besar Hantu located in Jelebu, Negeri Sembilan standing 1,462 meters.

The distance is 5.3km (one way) and 10.6km (return) – from the trail head.

Few notes on the distance as it’s all depending on your location as follows :

·         From Kampung Chennah Police Station to Kem Bukit Perjuangan is 4.8km

·         As per current practiced and for my journey, we parked our car at Kem Bukit Perjuangan for our 4 wheel drive vehicle. From Kem Bukit Perjuangan to Guard Entrance is 12km

·         From guard entrance to trail head is 1.32km

·         From trail head to peak of Gunung Besar Hantu is 5.3km

·         There were other group of hikers who normally use the roundabout to hop on 4x4 or lorry. It is just less than 400 meters from Kg Chennah mosque (if I’m not mistaken).

GPS Coordinate :

Kg Chennah police station : 3.089851, 102.078155

Kem Bukit Perjuangan : 3.089928, 102.078173

Guard Entrance : 3.175166, 101.988590

Trail Head : 3.175166, 101.988590

Please be reminded that the above GPS coordinates are based on google maps and may vary when importing the data to gps device. My car’s GPS navigator unable to trace any of the gps coordinates above, except kampong chennah.

Travelling and Transportation

The best transportation solution to get here (Kg Chennah) is by car. . It took almost 2 hours from Kuala Lumpur to Kg Chennah.

4 wheel drive vehicle is even better – as it can go straight to guard entrance/or trail head

It is recommended to hop on 4 x 4 vehicle towards the trail head as the road leading there is under construction (as at mid may 2017). They are building new set of road to improve mobility and connectivity. I heard it will be completed in July 2017.

Accommodation

Searching via google may guide you to homestay kenaboi or homestay Kuala Kelawang. It’s perfect if you wish to stay overnight.

Meals and eatery

Kampung Chennah has its own eating outlet but may be limited. There is no 24 hours grocery shop and I would advised to stock up your food & drink ration beforehand.

Toilets and Getting Ready

We parked our car at Kg Chennah mosque for our toilet break and freshen up. The mosque is kind enough to allow us to use their facility.

Joining a Group of Hikers

I decided to join an open trip of hikers named "Kaki Daki" suggested by a friend. With a fee of RM40 which inclusive of permit, 4x4 to & fro pick up, guide and lunch at the top. There were 35 of us and 3 pick up trucks to ferry us. 
You may find more info in their FB Page : kaki daki adventure and their instagram : kaki daki instagram

The Hike

The journey on 4x4 vehicle from Kem bukit Perjuangan took around 40 to 45 minutes to trail head.

There will be 3 pit stops for a breather along the way – Kem Sungai Kering, Kem Orchid and Simpang Y.

From Trail Head to Sg Kering

Distance : 3km

Time taken : around 2 hours plus

Trail Difficulty : easy, Moderate incline at certain section

Trail Condition : dry clear trail

From Sg Kering to Kem Orchid

Distance : 1km

Time Taken : around 1 hour

Trail Difficulty : moderate incline, hard incline at certain section

Trail condition : dry trail. River crossing. Narrow trail

From Kem Orchid to Simpang Y

Distance : 800 meter

Time Taken : 1 hour 40 minutes

Trail Difficulty : Hard and long incline!

Trail Condition : Dry trail

Notes : Simpang Y is a junction leading to 2 location, Gunung kecil Hantu and Gunung Besar Hantu.

Gunung Kecil Hantu was closed due to landslide. We can’t make it on that day.

We continued to Gunung Besar Hantu (on the right)

From Simpang Y to Summit

Distance : 500 meter

Time Taken : 30 – 40 minutes

Trail Difficulty : Hard and long incline!

Trail condition : Dry trail

This is Cik Assila a.k.a "Luruh", one of the leader 

En Faris (stirring the fried chicken) another leader for this team

Nice view of valleys and mountains here (if you were lucky).

The team, lead by Faris, luruh and their team member are performing a tremendous effort ensuring the safety, motivation, esteem and not to forget, preparing a nice meal set consisting of fried chicken, nuggets and sausages. We thank you for their relentless responsibilities.

Ascending down become easier as the trails are 95% downhill and less effort of using energy (or what left). We reached the trail head within 2 hours. Another 18 minutes (1.32km) to guard entrance. Another 2 km reaching Kampung Orang Asli through rubber tree plantation before hitch a ride to Kem Bukit Perjuangan, 12km away. We offered our rider a sum of cash for their valuable service.

We ended the journey and back at Kem Bukit Perjuangan nearly 6.00pm, before heading home.