Gunung Lambak

Mar 13 2010 - I've decided to have another go at Gunung Lambak with 10+ of my friends and colleagues from the office. Although only 510m, Lambak is still fairly challenging for beginners (thats me !).

This was my second time at Lambak. Although I succeeded  in my first attempt, this time it was much easier. Perhaps the mental advantage of knowing the route and the end point helped. Perhaps i got fitter :-)

At the beginning, the route was paved and gentle, making it easy to walk on. Many of the first timers thought this would be a walk in the park, till they see this ...

The flight of steps led to a rest area, something like 1/3 or 1/4 to the summit. Some of my friends were already complaining ! Haha, but this is only the beginning. Anyway, it was also a good photo opportunity for the cam whores :-)

This was where the real ascend to the top begins. The terrain got more rugged and steeper. The well defined steps were replaced by footholds, tree roots and guide ropes.

[ Thats jack doing his worst impersonation of some WWE wrestler ]

The steeper areas had guide ropes for the trekkers to hold on to. But as you can tell from the photo, it wasnt really that steep :-)

Seasoned trekkers shouldn't have any problems making it to the top in one go. For us, it was a fairly tough trek, we stopped and refuelled a few times before we made it to the top ! Finally, we have bragging rights that we conquered Gunung Lambak.
  

At the summit, there was a small clearing with small hut and a non too impressive view of the Lambak area. It was kindda hazy that day. But hey, dont be mistaken, I was ecstatic to reach the top. (bragging rights, remember ? haha)

[ hazy view of the Lambak Area from the Summit ]

 [ the badly vandalised sign in the hut at the Summit ]

  

 [ Eveyone made it to the top ! ]

 

We went down the hill via a different route and we also went to the false summit. With gravity helping me, the desend was much easier. I found myself speeding down the hill :-)

However, some of the trekkers found it really tough to descend. The fear of falling and the need to slow down the descend makes it really tiring on the hands and the legs. Some even complained it was tougher than the climb up.
 

Everyone made it to the summit and everyone made it down safely. We took about 4 to 4.5 hrs to summit and descend from Gunung Lambak - rest and makan time included.
 

Good gunung to start with ! I'll be back for more gunungs !