And the official training begins: Broga

Any training effort towards Mount K mission can be considered non-existent. Our previous hikes to Bukit Gasing were mainly meant as cross training activity, socialise with buddies and hiking introduction to the kiddos. Verdict, they like it of course, can't wait to have more with them.

So, since one of the Mount K core member just finished her exam, and extensive training is now possible, I would like to officially announce that the Official Training is now ON. 

Nothing much is planned of course, nothing very aggressive and too fancy. The first that was planned was jut Broga. I went there before, so it was not that big a deal. Didn't plan on catching the sunrise even, as it would require waking up early, and hiking in the dark. Matters would be worse if it's raining the night before. So, the plan was to leave home around 5.45, subuh on the way and reach there before 7. Invited few girls along, but in the end, no one showed up due to last minute reasons. Invited another row mate neighbour, and they happily excited to join us and even brought along her 8 year old. The girls had suggested that they've seen little kids hiked on Broga before. So, off I went, did a bit of research, and found 1 benchmark of a 3 year old managed to climb up to one of its peaks here: 3 year old Broga climb. So with that, I was already planning on bringing the kids along. But hubs insisted not to, as it would be the start of school on Monday, and we will have to rush back to Ipoh right after, so it would be too tiring for them. Worried that it might be raining the night before as well, I happily obliged. 

Everything went surprisingly well. We expected it to rain at night. It didn't. This gives a major advantage, at least it makes the path less slippery. We reached before 7 as planned. Most importantly, our neighbour also managed to get there in time. Adrin went all the way to do a dry run with the bags and torchlight along. Me and hubs were just equipped with our waist pouch. Nureen brought a big picnic bag along even. Just like me last time, but I just brought sandwich. Puteri (their 8 year old daughter) was all set and ready to go. Didn't expect Koyan to join as well, but he did, which is quite good too. 

Due to the waiting and no one initiated anything, we spent quite some amount of time at the car park. Until I just striked out, "Ok, let's go", and quickly make a move in order to get the rest to move faster as well. Me and Pet was up front at the start. The rest (6 adults and 1 kid) were slowly strolling at the back. Until at one point, Pet decided to wait, and I just had to move along. Couldn't stand the slow pace and time wasting. So I was mostly on my own then. Knowing that there's no other path, I knew for sure everyone else would head the same way as mine.

The human traffic was not too bad yet, and the best thing was it was not as slippery as my last visit. Bumped into few kids, and how I wished I had brought my kids along. They must be able to head the pack as much as I. Upon reaching the first peak, that's when the traffic start to build up. The main path with the rope was heavily congested with people heading down. So I took the side path. I think altogether there were 3 main paths, the main one being in the middle. The one that I took was quite slippery but it was not too bad still, at least I didn't have to wait. So here's the time for the 1st peak

The 1st peak

The view around the 1st peak. Better viewing spots were completely filled up.

The 2nd peak

Overlooking what lies ahead. Seemed like a long way to go still, but it was just a short walk.

Here's the 3rd peak

The queue and the climb towards the 4th peak

Good shoes prove its importance here. So does the core strength, to help in pulling the body up, rather than relying on the legs totally. I had to give instructions to girl in front of me. She was a young girl probably school going if not college going. So that's very much a good excuse for her.

The view right after the rope climb. This is how it looked from the top. The guys on the right were actually trying to go down from the boulder side, but people keep coming in. They somehow helped people with the climb as well, including me, who was totally on my own.

And here's the 4th peak 

The guy behind simply took forever for the pic. I couldn't be bothered to wait for him to finish

Only then I know that I didn't manage to reach the peak in my last visit. And I think the crowd was more last time as well. And no one really pushed to reach the peak as well. If I had known that there was more to cover, I would have proceeded. It was not that difficult as well, from the 1st peak onwards.

Starting the descent. Lucky there was another path going downwards other than the boulder path. Else, it will take us ages before we can reach our turn.

The 8 year old soon to be 9....good thing for her. I don't know how did she manage the slippery path, but she sure did good.

The Villa Suria Fitfam team (instead of the Mount K team). And see Adrin at the back, busy refueling himself up.

Us...without the kids...so bad

I bumped into Pet and Adrin while heading down towards the first peak. The rest were there. Nureen's family didn't reach yet that time. Which is understandable, as I couldn't figure out how would she manage the slippery climb for Puteri. Another team member (non-neighbour), Anuar had slight mishaps. Not really sure what happened but I think he vomitted few times. Didn't want to make matters worse and make him feel bad, so I didn't ask as much. Most probably due to the lack of breakfast, and too abrupt an ascent for him. After sometime, Nureen and the gang showed up. I was so surprised that they managed it. The adult, I'm not too surprised, but for Puteri? She clearly has a lot of courage and strength in her. I mean, it would be easily understood for outdoorsy parents. Nonetheless, it was all for a good thing. They clearly enjoyed it. That's the spirit.

We spent quite some amount of time on the first peak, under the hot sun, before Adrin and Pet got back. We almost even went down first. Anuar has made his way down way earlier. Going down was much faster, less congestion. At some point, when it was almost safe, I started to run down instead of walk. I think it felt much easier to run and jump rather than just step due to the slippery path.

So all in all, it was a good climb. Of course, Broga is considered mild and it's only for beginners and recreational hikers. The climb is easy enough for the kids but good enough exposure for a climb. Start early for Broga, as it can get pack and hot up there.