Started at 0830 from Gilwell Camp. The weather turned out to be great today despite the threat of some intense sunshine in the morning. Loved a less strenuous hike for a change. Pace was quite easy and comfortable. Finished in good shape unlike last week.

Stage 10 was interesting. I was the self appointed expert on Stage 10 as Vic and Geoff were not with us. I reassured Dom that I knew the way and told him with utmost confidence that I could put my money where my mouth is. I pointed at a trail and said I would put 500 bucks on that being the right trail.

Dom was quite tired from the 35Kms that we had already run and wasn’t paying much attention. However, 5Km into the run, he did notice that there were no Machelose sign markers anywhere. I moved hastily to dismiss his observation.

“There you go!” I said pointing at a sign a little further away. “I can put a 1000 bucks on this trail being right!” I exclaimed, doubling my stake in being correct.

However, on closer examination, that sign turned out to be something intended for cyclists!! So, I knew I had put my money in the wrong place! I panicked at the thought of losing a 1000 bucks! So, I looked at Dom who still looked quite knackered and asked:

“How much money did I say I would put on me being right about this trail?”

Dom was probably half awake so he sluggishly replied “I don’t remember!”

“Well, I reserve the right to change it!” I quickly shot back as I was trying to recoup my money

“Yeah, whatever” came Dom’s reply. He couldn’t care less.

And so, I saved 1000 bucks.

Eventually, we somehow ended up at some place called So Kwun Tong (or something like that) where a waiting mini bus took us to Tsuen Mun!

Stats: 48Km in 6 hours 45 mins

Garmin.

Total: 50.450 km in 8h 33m 21s at an average of 5.90 km/h

GPX

• Hiking, 2009-09-19, Stages 5 to 10 Maclehose (0)

Tags: Maclehose 5 to 10

We hard that some Canadian person went missing some 3 days back when hiking on Pat Sin Leng. So, there was a massive search for him today. A helicopter was hovering above us and there were many policemen on the trail.

We met in Tai Wo KCR (now MTR) and walked up to the starting point (trail leading to Cloudy Hill). It was cloudy on Cloudy Hill (rightly named as you can see) and that made the hike very enjoyable! From Cloudy Hill, we took the Wilson Trail and ran along Pat Sin Leng. A Government Flying Services helicopter was literally only about 100m away from me on occasion and I could see the cops and pilots inside looking for someone! The chopper kept making circular searches while I continued running on Pat Sin Leng. Felt like I was in some cinema shoot with a camera above me! There were policemen on the trail too and one of them suffered a heatstroke and was being comforted by his teammates. As Dom pointed out, not sure why these policemen were anti-hiking clothes when hiking! Heavy boots, heavy clothes, guns and batons, do they really need all of them when hiking? But, of course, HK Police Force and rescue teams are among the world’s best. It was fascinating to see the coordination and dedication of the force when looking for this Canadian guy. Hope they found him.

From Pat Sin Leng, we ran down to Bride’s pool along a very, very beautiful trail. Loved it. We then had to walk to Wu Kau Tang. That’s when the sun returned with a vengeance. It was around 35 degrees centigrade and VERY, VERY, VERY hot! We managed to find some shop near Wu Kau Tang (thanks to Vic and Dom) and refueled there. We then started at Wu Kau Tang at 1300 on the Plover Cove trail.

I was trying to maintain a target time of 2 hours 30 minutes to finish and was on target until the half way point. Reached Luk Wu Teng (halfway point) in 1 hour 20 minutes (1420) but after that the sun started to hit me big time. Each step felt like a chore and as it happens during cases of heatstroke, running was cut off. I had to walk some parts and the problem with that is – walking produces more heat than gentle jogging making the body even hotter! Catch 22. Also, another problem with Plover Cove under 35 degrees is that the air you breathe in certain parts is very dry. It’s air that is reflected and somehow retained by a parched land (hard to describe) but the point is, you breathe it, you end up sending a waft of dehydrating air through the lungs, thereby increasing the body temperature even more. There is, of course, the ups and downs that Plover Cove is famous/infamous for. Under 35 degrees, you feel every up and down! Up because your body will refuse to be even dragged upwards and down because you start feeling the heat when you are running down hill!

Anyway, so, I ran out of water/food/energy when I completed the trail running part of Plover Cove (finished that in about 2 hours 20 minutes). Running was cut off and body only permitted walking at top speed from there on. Started doing just that along the dam and the roads that eventually lead to the long bridge to Tai Mei Tuk. Took about 40 minutes of walking just to do that! As I reached the end of the long bridge cops stopped us as a heli that was looking for the Canadian missing person was landing. After it took off, I finished the Plover Cove section in 3 hours 1 minute against a target of 2 hours 30 and I finished it tired, exhausted and out of water/energy. And when someone gives you cold water at that point, you feel a great sense of gratitude and relief. So, THANK YOU Dominic! My teammate waited at the end with raisins and water and what a relief that was! It brought up energy levels from 0%. Also, met ex teammate Polly Wai, who gave me a ride to Tai Po. Polly, THANK YOU and apologies for stinking as much as I did in the car! 6 hours 20 minutes of hiking/running does that!

Stats:
3 hours 19 minutes from Tai Wo to Wu Kau Tang via Cloudy Hill, Pat Sin Leng
3 hours 1 minute from Wu Kau Tang to Tai Mei Tuk (Plover Cove circuit)
Total: 6 hours 20 minutes

Garmin link is here.

Total: 36.205 km in 7h 28m 35s at an average of 4.84 km/h

GPX

• Tennis and/or Plover Cove (0)
• Of bags, holes, wallets and a Plover Cove fitness test (0)
• NEMM Mountain Marathon Recci (0)
• Needle Hill * 2 + Plover Cove (0)
• Hiking, 2009-07-25, Plover Cove (1)

Tags: Cloudy Hill, Pat Sin Leng, Plover Cove, Wu Kau Tang

So, the idea was to give KOTH Lantau a go.

Timing:
Lap 1: Mui Wo to Sunset Peak (the right to Lin Fa Shan): 53 minutes 48 seconds
Lap 2: Sunset Peak to start of the trail to Ngong Ping: 1 hour 38 minutes

[solo run from here onwards]

- was unable to find the trail to Ngong Ping. Ended up at a Stream Trek and tried going upwards but of no avail. Returned, tried something else but still couldn’t find the trail

- so, traced the trail back and ended up doing Donkey Trail under the HOT sun

- saw passengers in the overhead cable car and made funny faces at the passengers (I can be childish)

- got hit by the sun big time. This called for heat management which kept me going

Timing:
Lap 3: Start of the trail to Ngong Ping to some stream teak and eventually back to Donkey Trail: 48 minutes 16 seconds
Lap 4: Donkey Trail to Ngong Ping: 1 hour 11 minutes
Lap 5: Ngong Ping to Lantau Peak: 36 minutes 31 seconds
Lap 6: Lantau Peak to Pak Kung Au: 22 minutes 34 seconds

[Ngong Ping to Pak Kung Au: 58 minutes]

Lap 7: Pak Kung Au to Nam Shan (around Sunset): 56 minutes 21 seconds

Total distance: 35.33Km
Total time: 6 hours 26 mins
Elevation gain: 2210M

Garmin Link.

Total: 36.423 km in 8h 36m 06s at an average of 4.23 km/h

GPX.

• Mui Wo to Sunset to Lantau to Ngong Ping AND BACK! (0)
• Hiking, 2009-08-08, Mui Wo to Ngong Ping AND BACK (0)
• The Calling from the Big Buddha (Lantau, Sunset, Tung Chung) (9)
• Back to Lantau! Mui Wo -> Sunset -> Lantau -> Tung Chung (0)
• Sunset Peak to somehow-get-to-the-airport hike (0)

Tags: KOTH, Lantau Peak, Mui Wo, Nam Shan, Ngong Ping, Pak Kung Au, Sunset Peak, Tung Chung

So, here’s a Hong Kong Nature 101 lesson and a Hong Kong Capitalism 101 lesson.

I’ll start of with HK Nature 101.

Saw the HKTrampers website this morning and remembered that they were going to my favorite part of Hong Kong (well, favorite after Sharp Peak and Plover Cove). So, make that 3rd favorite part of Hong Kong – Wong Lung Hang waterfalls. So, carried my camera for a change and decided to take it easy (at least for the first half).

Getting to Wong Lung Hang is easy. It’s walkable from Tung Chung station and takes about 15 minutes from there to get to the starting point (you can see the Garmin page for the map – link below). From there, there’s a lot of hopping over boulders and you eventually get to a beautiful waterfall.

Ready for action

The group

Waterfalls

There was too much demand for real estate by the main waterfalls so decided to go up a bit and found a private pool to occupy. After chilling for a while in the pools, it was time to undo all the “take it easy” stuff and so decided to go full throttle to Mui Wo. Enthusiasm was great but as usual sense of direction was not. Could not find the trail up to Lin Fa Shaan but after going in some random direction and heading back, the trail suddenly appeared in front of my eyes! Wasn’t too easy going up to 715m from 250m but wasn’t that incredibly tough either.

View from Lin Fa Shaan – Lamma, Cheung Chau and anything else you want to imagine is visible!

From there a straight run down to Mui Wo in about 30 minutes or so concluded the hike. (Dejavu from yesterday). Took a total of 1 hour 30 minutes from the waterfalls to get to Mui Wo ferry pier.

Now, for HK Capitalism 101.

ICC, The Arch, The Cullinan and co.

They say success leaves clues and the clues these beautiful buildings have left is that one owner has built all the 3 of them. Sun Hung Kai Properties. ICC is already attracted all the big financial giants (Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and co.) This area will probably become like Central in the next couple of years.

Masterpiece and First Ferry

New World Development has built the Masterpiece (nice name) and they also own the First Ferry brand. They keep advertising First Ferry services on the ferry’s TVs YET have a monopoly on that route!

And finally, here’s Ocean Terminal in TST.

Ocean Terminal

This place is special because if you bring the word’s top 100 dirtiest, fattest pigs and have them all fart in Ocean Terminal, the interior of the building WILL STILL smell nice! That’s because this place hosts all the high end perfume/make up brands that HK has to offer.

So, after a nice long hike, I don’t have to worry about how much I stink as I am walking home through Ocean Terminal…

Pictures are here.

Garmin link is here.

• Wisdom path (0)
• Tai Tung Saan and Lantau peak (fast) (0)
• Sunset peak, Lantau peak and Shek Pik (0)
• Sunset Peak to somehow-get-to-the-airport hike (0)
• Plant spotting (The peak)… (0)

Tags: Lantau, Wong Lung Hang

Idea was to start in Mui Wo, do Sunset Peak, Lantau Peak and reach Ngong Ping (after a slight detour across Stage 4). And after a brief snack at Ngong Ping, we had to go back to Mui Wo the same way!

Status: Mission Accomplished.

Details:
(1) Start time at Mui Wo: 0752 HKT
(2) Reached Pak Kung Au after going over Sunset Peak in 1 hour 24 minutes
(3) Reached Ngong Ping [Wisdom Sticks] after going over Lantau Peak in 56 minutes 22 seconds
(4) Reached “Disney Buddha” (as Dominic calls it) in 17 minutes 15 seconds [basically from Wisdom Sticks and some Stage 4]

On the way back!
(a) Start time in Ngong Ping (Wisdom sticks) at 1202 HKT
(b) Reached the summit of Lantau Peak in 30 minutes 46 seconds
(c) Reached Pak Kung Au in 21 minutes 31 seconds
(d) Reached Nam Shan after going over Sunset Peak from Pak Kung Au in 1 hour 3 minutes
(e) Reached Mui Wo in 11 minutes 18 seconds

Comparison to and fro:
(a) To hike: Mui Wo to Pak Kung Au: 1 hour 24 minutes
fro hike: Pak Kung Au to Mui Wo: 1 hour 14 minutes
[quicker on the fro hike]

(b) To hike: Pak Kung Au to Ngong Ping [Wisdom Sticks]: 56 minutes 22 seconds
fro hike: Wisdom Sticks to Pak Kung Au: ~= 52 minutes
[quicker on the fro hike]

Total excluding breaks in Ngong Ping + wait time for teammates = 4 hours 45 minutes

Notes:
(a) Big Buddha has to be renamed to Buddha Theme Park or “Disney Buddha” as teammate Dom puts it. The place is more touristy each day. 7-11 sales girls are extra courteous and helpful [money and Buddha make the world go around]

(b) Steve finished despite problems on the return leg [Pak Kung Au to Mui Wo]

(c) Dom took a 7Km shortcut as he also had some problems on the same return leg

Problems during the hike:
(a) All cool on this one. Could have used some grub on the way back but that didn’t kill speed

Fantastic workout.

Garmin:

Total: 28.871 km in 6h 51m 06s at an average of 4.21 km/h

Map:

• King of the Hills – Lantau recci (0)
• Hiking, 2009-08-08, Mui Wo to Ngong Ping AND BACK (0)
• Back to Lantau! Mui Wo -> Sunset -> Lantau -> Tung Chung (0)
• The Calling from the Big Buddha (Lantau, Sunset, Tung Chung) (9)
• Sunset Peak to somehow-get-to-the-airport hike (0)

Tags: Lantau Peak, Mui Wo, Ngong Ping, Sunset Peak

Awesome 46Km hike. Mui Wo to Pui O was a breeze. It rained for about a minute only (some toothless typhoon went by Hong Kong the previous day).

Spiderweb demolition started from Pui O to Shui Hao. Made a lot of enemies among spiders but it ain’t my fault. They should take into consideration the needs of hikers before building webs. How about getting a spider architect to design the web at a decent elevation?! Some webs I ran straight into, had to spit out the gooey stuff on one occasion!

The Shui Hao stop called for some Noodles and Tau Cheung. Even rat poison would have tasted nice at that point! I was starving. After Shui Hao, the next stop was Shek Pik which was a breeze again.

Shek Pik to Ngong Ping was a tough climb but it’s a beautiful trail (the spiders didn’t allow me to enjoy the view too much though). Had another pit stop in Ngong Ping and then did the mammoth Man Cheung Po and some other super tough hill (450m). From there running to Tai O was simply awesome! Loved trail running!

Garmin.

Total: 34.909 km in 5h 56m 47s at an average of 5.87 km/h

GPX.

• Hiking, 2009-12-12, Mule Trail to Ngong Ping and Tai O (2)
• Hiking, 2009-08-15, Lantau Stages 7-12 (2)
• Wisdom path (0)
• Tai Tung Saan and Lantau peak (fast) (0)
• Sunset peak, Lantau peak and Shek Pik (0)

Tags: Lantau, Man Cheung Po, Mui Wo, Shek Pik, Tai O

Original plan was to do Plover Cove in 2.5 hours. Was all set for that. Reached Tai Po KCR at 0750 but the bus to Wu Kau Tang had left at 0740. Next one was at 0940. No way I was going to wait so decided to take a bus to Tai Mei Tuk and then a cab from there to Wu Kau Tang.

Reached Tai Mei Tuk at 0810 but there was no taxi to be seen anywhere! Waiting till 0825 and then timed out that exercise. Instead, decided to do Pat Sin Leng, Hok Tau and Cloudy Hill.

Left near the Tai Mei Tuk bus stand at 0830. Was on the first summit of Pat Sin Leng by 0908 (38 minutes). From there, I somehow (AGAIN!) missed Hok Tau! Someone ended up at some junction where I had to choose between Nam Chung and Bride’s Pool. Chose Bride’s pool and the hike ended by 1008 (1 hour 38 minutes). Only 10Km in distance but quite a lot of ups and downs. Pat Sin Leng is a beautiful ridge. Saw Plover Cove from the top and was thinking that I should have been there!

Garmin.

Total: 9.760 km in 1h 41m 25s at an average of 5.77 km/h

Map.

• The unpredictable hike from Pat Sin Leng to Nam Chung and then to Luk Keng (0)
• Hiking, Pat Sin Leng to Hok Tau and Feng something (0)
• Hiking, 2010-08-07, Cloudy Hill, Pat Sin Leng, Wu Kau Tang, Plover Cove (0)

Tags: Pat Sin Leng

Felt like a Samurai hiker during stage 7. Big stick in one hand (I mean a wooden stick, not a hiking pole) to destroy the numerous spiderwebs (intention was to inflict minimal damage). Spiders probably thought I was a mean bulldozer. Each time I tried to gain pace, my face went right through a huge spiderweb and the gooey, sticky feeling that followed took a further 2 minutes of washing, plucking, spitting and swearing.

After the bushwhack on Stage 7, we passed Fan Lau (spider land) and then we were on our way to Shek Pik (6Km long concrete path). Plan was to then head to Shui Hau but we had to abort as teammate Steven was suffering from diarrhea. Can’t imagine doing 16Km in this heat with diarrhea!

Maps below.

Garmin.

Total: 16.968 km in 2h 40m 05s at an average of 6.36 km/h

Map.

• Wisdom path (0)
• Tai Tung Saan and Lantau peak (fast) (0)
• Sunset peak, Lantau peak and Shek Pik (0)
• Plant spotting (The peak)… (0)
• Peng Chau to DB to Mui Wo (0)

Tags: Lantau, Lantau Stages 7-12

So, our original plan was to run the whole of Hong Kong Trail with a target time of 5 hours.

Started at 0742 from the Peak and looked like everything was going great. We seemed to be on track.

Weather was HOT but the clear visibility made Hong Kong look even more beautiful that it already is. Unfortunately, I didn’t carry my camera with me to save on weight. Next time, I am going to take it nonetheless.

After stage 4 (Wanchai Gap I think), teammate Steven’s knee injury resurfaced. So, had to stop at Park Avenue. I think we got there at about 1015 or so and did around 22Km until that point.

I didn’t know the way from there to complete HK trail so decided to change venue and continue trail running at my all time favorite Sharp Peak.

Tried a Garmin reset to make the HK trail and Sharp Peak show up as two separate events but as you will see from the map, that didn’t work! It looks as if I flew from HK trail to Sai Kung!

Reached Pak Tam Au at 1210 and started the engines
Reached that little turn to Sharp Peak at 1239 (target was 1240)
Reached Sharp Peak summit at 1310 (target was 1310 – bull’s eye)

Took a break for 9 minutes and left at 1319 (was allowed to stay there until 1320)
Reached Sai Wan at 1419 (against target of 1420)
Took a break (To Fu Fa, 3 * Tau Cheung) for 10 minutes and left at 1430 (allowed to stay until 1430)
Reached Sai Wan Pavilion at 1450 (against target of 1450 – bull’s eye)
Reached Pak Tam Chung at 1520 (against target of 1520 – bull’s eye)

Precision was impressive despite the heat plus the 22Km already done in the morning.

Problems:
- none really, heat was managed the usual ways (middle eastern hat, water, gels, salt)
- towards the end, the run from Sai Wan Pavilion to Pak Tam Chung was grueling because it was completely exposed – had to do a lot of heat management! Wasn’t easy.

Data:
- consumed almost 6L of water (2L during HK Trail, 2L to Sharp Peak, 2L from Sai Wan to Pak Tam Chung (stream water)

- 43.11Km in 5 hours 15 minutes

Garmin Link.

• Back to Sharp Peak (0)
• HK Trail Stages 1-4 and then Sharp Peak + Ham Tin + Sai Wan (1)
• Shuihao Trip (5)
• Sharp peak, Stage 3 Mclehose (fast) (0)
• Sharp peak hike (0)

Tags: HK Trail, Pak Tam Au, Sai Kung Circuit, Sharp peak

Decided to do Plover Cove again (for the umpteenth time). Original plan was to run nonstop but the excellent visibility today forced me to carry my camera.

Reached Tai Po KCR by 0800 but had to take the bus to Tai Mei Tuk and a cab from there to Wu Kau Tang (40 bucks). The direct bus to Wu Kau Tang wasn’t scheduled to leave until 0940.

Start got delayed but managed to be at the beginning of the trail by 0844.

Start time: 0844
Run time: 2 hrs 41 minutes (against target of 2 hrs 30)
Elapsed time: 3 hrs 04 minutes (23 minutes were lost taking photos and fighting spider webs!)

Here’s what I learnt:

a) Now I know what it feels like to be baking inside an oven! Got roasted in the heat. I have no idea how soldiers carry their gear and manage to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was 34 degrees outside

b) I had to NOT take deep breaths as the hot air getting into the lungs actually weakened endurance. Instead did short breaths more frequently

c) I am probably the first one to do Plover Cove after the rains on Monday. I must have destroyed a good 15-20 spiderwebs (tried not to but I could barely see them!) Also learnt that spiders can do webs in no time! These webs must have been built after Monday

d) Should have carried some salt. Excessive perspiration and rationed water is not a good combination. Run mode switched to walk mode towards the end of the trail (before hitting the concrete and the bridge). But, after 10 minutes of walking, regained energy to jog/run to finish

Finish wasn’t in the best of spirits. Was tired after 18Km in the heat but I wasn’t completely beat or anything. Still had juice for another 20Km.

Now for some beautiful nature pics. This is why Plover Cove is a must visit for nature lovers.

Garmin

Total: 17.723 km in 3h 04m 30s at an average of 5.76 km/h

GPX

• Hiking, 2009-07-25, Plover Cove (1)
• Ultra fast: Plover cove hike (0)
• The unpredictable hike from Pat Sin Leng to Nam Chung and then to Luk Keng (0)
• Tennis and/or Plover Cove (0)
• Plover Cove (the Need-for-Speed run) (2)

Tags: Plover Cove, Tai Mei Tuk, Wu Ka Tang

When it’s pouring down outside I recommend getting your hiking boots on and going for a trail run. Hiking/Trail running during pouring rain is a different experience altogether.

Started at 0730 at Wong Tai Sin MTR and walked up to Sha Tin pass from there. Did Maclehose 5,6,7,8 from there. Stages 7,8 were particularly very, very enjoyable. The mist on top of Tai Mo Shan combined with fine particles of rain and the gentle breeze blowing at you is such a soothing feeling. Also, jumping on puddles of water without any care for the shoes and hearing the water splash everywhere is also an incredible feeling!

The run today was spectacular. I hope Hong Kong has many more thunderstorms to come. Can’t wait to do Plover Cove, Sharp Peak and Chi Ma Wan when it’s raining cats and dogs!

Total: 49.082 km in 4h 34m 23s at an average of 10.73 km/h

GPX

• The great Mac 3,4 and 5 (0)
• Hiking, Stages 3,4,5 Maclehose (0)
• Hiking, Maclehose 6,7,8,9 (0)
• Hiking, Maclehose 3,4,5 (0)
• Hiking, 2009-10-15, Veg Biryani hike + Grassy hill (0)

Tags: Maclehose 3, Maclehose 6, Maclehose 8

If you find 1, 2 or 3 ugly blue dots on any of the trails in Hong Kong island, congratulations, you are on the RTI route! RTI stands for Round the Island.

So, started at 0730 from PP3 in Admiralty. Climbed to Bowen road and started following the 3 blue dots from there. 3 dots mean “cross to the other side”, 1 dot means “on track” and 2 dots mean that the 3rd one has been rubbed out by the forces of nature.

I was on track largely because I was following my teammate for the first 10Km. Then, I veered off. Must have missed the 3 dots to the left on a crossing. Quite surprisingly, I managed to self navigate most of the way from there up until I reached a point where the trail was blocked off by a huge barbed fence. I tried climbing over the fence but nope, not even Batman could have done that. I then had to use my lifeline. Called teammate who suggested taking 2 steps backwards and looking for more dotted clues. Did that and had a “doh” moment. Found the dots to glory and reached Old Peak road soon.

Then I veered off again and missed the connection to Bowen road from Old Peak road. So, I had to run down to near Duddell Street, then to Cheung Kong Center, reorient myself and then to Lippo Center. From there I ran to PP3. Kind of a round about route but what’s a route without some improvisation? Dot, Dot, Dot…

Garmin.

Total: 25.834 km in 2h 53m 48s at an average of 8.92 km/h

GPX.

• Round the Island (RTI) – West Coast Recci (1)

Tags: RTI