Weekend February 4-5th, Camping!

We’re going camping with some people from the Roz Group! Yay!

Meeting time and place: Saturday 11:30 am at the Central Ferry Piers for the 11:50 ferry to Mui Wo
Walking Time: Overnight stay
Description: We’ll take a bus to Shek Pik Reservoir where we will start our (reasonably) short walk to the camping site. We’ll set up camp at Kau Ling Chung and while some will stay at the camp, others may make some excursions to see the landmark sights nearby like “the Obelisk”, the Fan Lau Fort, or some old village ruins. The camping site features a very nice beach too and those brave enough to enter the cool waters may do so. Expect no electricity or running water. All participants must either have their own tent or be assigned to one with room left. Decent sleeping bag is mandatory as night-time temperatures might get quite cold. All those who wish to join, please contact me at pekka@runningfatguy.com. You MUST sign up for this in advance so I can make the necessary plans and arrangements. I’m limiting the number of participants to about 10 people. Thank you!

Saturday December 3: Robin’s Nest (Hung Fa Leng)

Meet: 10:00am at Fanling MTR (inside station, near the 7Eleven)
Walking Time: 3-4 hours
Description: We’ll take a minibus to our starting point in Ma Tseuk Leng village and will start working our way up to the top of the 492 meters tall hill. Once we reach the top, we’ll continue on the trail westward along the Hong Kong – Shenzhen Close Area Boundary, passing old military installations and such. After the initial big climb, the hike is fairly flat with only some ups and downs. We’ll get nice views to Shenzhen and to the north-eastern side of Hong Kong’s New Territories.

There is a small chance we’ll also do a bit of stream trekking at the beginning, but that remains to be seen at on location.

If you’d like to join, let me know by commenting to this post, by email (pekka@crimsonlotus.org) or by phone 68921870.

Sunday December 4: Rooster Ridge (Kai Kung Leng)

Meet: 10:00am at Kam Sheung Road MTR (Exit C)
Walking Time: 4-5 hours
Description: We’ll take a bus to our starting point in Kiu Tau and will start heading up the hill right away. The first uphill is reasonably steep and continues upward all the way to a level of about 570 meters. We’ll take our time on the uphill and once we get to the top, the trail will take us mostly downwards (with a few smaller ups here and there). The hike will feature very nice scenery over and around the fully exposed mountain range. If the weather is decent, we’ll get good views of Shenzhen, Pat Heung valley, Yuen Long and, in general, the northern New Territories. Before finishing in Kam Tin village, we can also stop to see some of the old Tang Ancestral Halls and other old Chinese style buildings. This hike is suitable for all levels of hikers but be prepared for some gravel and loose soil on some of the downhill parts. The hike is mostly exposed to the elements so be prepared according to weather forecast!

I’m leading this hike also for the Roz group.

If you’d like to join, let me know by commenting to this post, by email (pekka@crimsonlotus.org) or by phone 68921870.

Saturday 26th November: Tsing Yi Island

This Saturday, we’ll be exploring the few hills on Tsing Yi Island. Most likely going to be a short and easy hike but at the end we may be ending up with some brushy parts. There are three hills in Tsing Yi: 218 meters, 214 meters and 334 meter tall. This should be suitable for all levels of hikers.

We are meeting at 10am in Tsing Yi. Meeting point is at Cheung Hang Estate bus terminus in Tsing Yi Island.

If you’d like to join this hike, let me know! (pekka@crimsonlotus.org / 68921870)

Roz hike, Sunday November 27: Sai Kung West Travense

I will be joining the Roz group this Sunday for a hike in Sai Kung. Details regarding the hike are:

Sunday November 27: Sai Kung West Traverse
Led by: Angela Tel:  9528-4251
Meet: 9:20 am at Sai Kung main bus terminus near the shallow pool. We’ll take the 94 bus at 9:30 sharp! Latecomers can taxi to the trailhead.
Walking Time:  5-6 hours
Description: From Tai Mong Tsai Road just past the Jockey Club Outdoor Training Centre, we’ll climb Cheung Shan and then follow the ridgetops to Kui Ta Shek, heading northerly all the way over Wa Mei Shan and Shek Uk Shan finishing on the Hoi Ha Road. Expect plenty of ups and downs and mostly rough trails, although nothing too rubbly or brushy.

If you’re not a regular Roz hiker, please contact Angela either by phone or by email to let her know you’re joining.

Oxfam TrailWalker completed in 24 hours 57 minutes

So, it rained a bit during Oxfam TrailWalker. Not just a bit, actually, but quite a lot. The rain in itself wasn’t really a problem except for few parts (like up in Tai Mo Shan when it got very cold) but it made the trail very muddy and more difficult to walk on. Oxfam TrailWalker in itself is already quite a challenge for anyone, the weather just made it a bit worse. But we finished, and we finished in a very good time!

Team "Jet Fueled Turtles" crossing the finishing line in 24 hours 57 minutes at Oxfam TrailWalker 2011

My team was excellent from start to finish, keeping our good pace for most of the way. In fact, we were on 22 hours pace all the way until Checkpoint 8. Before reaching CP8, we got soaked by rain while coming down on Tai Mo Shan. It was cold and we all got rather chilled. So, we stopped at CP8 for a bit longer break. Upon resuming, we couldn’t keep our earlier pace but did still finish with a good time that I’m absolutely happy with!

It was a tough hike and it took me a few days to recover to a point where I can walk normally. But I’m back in business now and today I’ll start running again. I’ve signed up for another hiking event (NEMM2012: http://nemm.hktraveler.com/eng/index.aspx) taking place 1st January 2012, so I’m going to start training for that now. I’ve signed up for the 15km Open category.

But that training won’t take all my time. So, I’ll also be back for the regular hikes and that means I’ll start updating this site again too.

With only 3km to go on OTW2011, can't help but feel happy - even with all the pain.

Regarding the next following few months

Hello,

I thought it’d be good to mention that I won’t be doing much of these “adventurous” hikes in the next couple of months. Some hikes may come up, but not many. Reason for this is that I’m taking part in a few hiking/running events and I will be using most of my extra time for training to these events.

My schedule includes the Salomon Lantau 2 Peaks event, MoonTrekker and the Oxfam TrailWalker 2011.

After the TrailWalker at the end of November, I’ll resume back to the usual hikes and stuff. Meanwhile, this site will be updated a bit less frequently (altough I recognize that it hasn’t, in fact, been updated that much lately anyway).

- Pekka