Last weekend I had to skip my usual practice hike since we were hosting guests. So instead of my weekend routine, I decided to head out for an evening weekday hike — and I'm so glad I did.

I had the entire Wadi Degla completely to myself. Even though I've explored these trails more than a dozen times now, the limestone landscape never fails to take my breath away. There's something magical about having this vast, ancient valley all to yourself.

This time I left my weighted backpack at home, which meant I could move much quicker along the familiar paths. Without that extra load, I managed to push myself up and down the hill seven times without completely exhausting myself — a personal best that left me feeling pretty accomplished.

And then came the reward for all that effort: one of the most stunning sunsets I've seen in weeks.

This was my second-to-last training hike before the big Kilimanjaro adventure. I'm hoping to squeeze in one final hike this weekend before I head out next week. 

The quiet evening, the solitude, and that incredible sunset — sometimes the best adventures happen when you least expect them.

🥾Hiking at St. Katherine Protectorate 📍

It has been two weeks, since I hike Mt. Katherine and Mt. Sinai at the protectorate. This was a preparatory hike for the Kilimanjaro trek that is coming up in June. My team mates were all doing weekly long distance treks in Malaysia and the US. I felt a bit left out and hiking loops at the Wadi Degla, didn't seem like I was doing enough.

Day 1 — Hike to Mt. Katherine

Since I was doing this alone and I had to be back at home for Easter, this was a quick in and out of trip to the Sinai region. We started very early in the morning and saw the beautiful sunrise on the way.

Once we crossed the Ahmed Hamdi tunnel, the landscape was so very different from the other side

After reaching Fox Camp, where a guide was arranged for me to take me up the mountains and bring me back. The hike was supposed to start at 10am, but guide had some transportation issues and we eventually started out at 11.45am. Not the ideal time to start a hike, but if I had to return the next day, this was the only option. Coincidentally my guide was named Musa (Moses) as well.

The terrain was very different and I huffed and puffed for a while until I found my rhythm. I had to remind myself that I need not race or do this fast. The aim was to do it and come back without an injury. And I think this would be the mantra for Kilimanjaro as well — Pole, pole (Swahili for slowly slowly)

Couple of hours later, we reached the valley where would be resting later in the night. The Wadi (valley) was a little green pasture were a few families were doing farming. The fertile piece of land was a welcome sight for the dry features around it.

We unloaded a lot of our stuff, took only water and snacks and started up Mt. Katherine after a very short break. The  way up was daunting to say the least, but I had to do this to see how I would be able to hold up in Kilimanjaro.

The way up was a rocky path, which made the hike a pretty slow and precarious one. The aim was to reach the summit by sunset and get back to the valley to rest of the night. After a couple of hours we were at the same height as Mt. Sinai.

By this time my shoulders were aching, which I later realized was because of me not swinging my arms. And walking 4h straight was causing cramps all over — quads, adductors, hamstrings. Musa, my guide, was very supportive and kept the spirits up. He even helped me stretch my hamstrings, when it was cramping real bad.

We finally reached the summit just after sunset. But the twilight was such a wonderful sight.

After a short 20 minute rest, we started walking back down again. Not sure whether it was the adrenaline from summiting or just gravity, the walk down felt refreshing and easy on effort. The knees and the ankles begged to differ though!

We reached our stay for the night at about 9.30p. Our hosts were waiting for us to eat dinner. So after a quick change of clothes and wash up, I had a simple of meal of rice cooked with lentils and a basic salad. It was a simple and nutritious meal. We decided that instead of starting again at 3.30am to summit Mt. Sinai and view the sunrise, I will take rest and start hiking a little later.

They had provided me a room with just a mattress on the floor and some blankets. I was more than happy to have it in this wilderness. I just crashed after a few quick stretches.

Day 2 — Hike to Mt. Sinai

The next morning, I was well rested and felt that I have a new pair of legs. 

We started the hike at 5.20am and reached the summit in about 2h without a stop. I think the body was getting used to the rhythm by now and I realized that walking slow in Zone 2 heart rate, helped me walked longer without gassing myself at the end of the hike.

By the time I summited, the tourists who had done the night trek to view the sunrise had left and I had the summit all to myself. We had some nice breakfast at the top. I was able to do a video call with the folks back home. 

After resting for about an hour, we started walking back down to Fox Camp.

My guide said he had a different path planned for me, instead of the usual ones that tourists took. We stopped by Elijah’s garden and crossed a mountain from there to join the path we took the previous night.

Finally after 3.5h, we reached Fox garden at about the same time we started from there the previous day. Mission accomplished!

After a quick shower and a quick lunch, I started back to Cairo.

Got myself a new pair of Hiking boots for the upcoming Kilimanjaro trek! This one is Altra Lone Peak 9 Waterproof Mid. And along with it is a new pair of Darn Tough 1466 socks.

Last weekend, a bunch of women officers from the Embassy of India in Cairo joined us in our weekly hike of Wadi Degla. Lots of fun conversations and chats along the way. Here is all of them after the hike.

🥾Hiking at Wadi Degla Protected Reserve 📍

Well since the movement from Kuala Lumpur to Cairo, we have been looking for hiking spots here. And except for the Wadi Degla the city has no other place to offer. Wadi Degla is a limestone valley which seems to have formed from water flowing — whether river or sea is unclear, as people have different stories.

As you can see from the photos below the landscape is the exact opposite of what we had in Malaysia. But it has its own charm. You are exposed to the elements — wind and sun. On a winter morning, the cold air is bone chilling. But it also makes the sun bearable. The walk in the valley makes you humble in the vastness of the landscape visible in front of you. It is a form of meditation.

We intend to make the most of this space (also it is the only one 😋) and make it a weekly routine to explore new trails here.

🥾Hiking at Bukit Dinding 📍

After a while, I explored a new trail this morning — Bukit Dinding. I was also in a new part of KL city.

The trail was mostly cemented path. It started with a good incline and then smoothened out. It is a moderate trail, that beginners can do. There is good tree cover all through, so  you can do this later in the day as well. There were a lot of locals, some of them doing it for fitness and some of them were training for trail running.

After a while I got bored of walking in the cemented path and got into one of the trails that was marked for mountain bikes. That lead me to one of the many inner trails for hikes. I took the “green” trail to the peak. It was a nice walk through the trees. I was alone on this trail and had the forest for myself 😍!!

I walked back down on the cemented path. There was a “pink” trail as well which was supposed to have a good view of KL skyline. Maybe next time.

🥾Last practice hike before Mt. Rinjani 🌋

On Sunday, we did our last practice hike before the next week's trek at Mt. Rinjani. We decided to start 6am at Bukit Gasing, since we wanted to practice the use of head lamps and hiking in the dark.

The hiking in the dark went well and 4 trips of the stamina hill was the limit for me. Otherwise, I felt happy at the way I finished the trek. We completed the 7km loop in 4h. I feel confident about next week's trek now.🤞🏼

The hike was immediately followed up by a breakfast at Kanna Curry House, Petaling Jaya 📍

🥾Hiking the Gasing Loop 📍

As a practice for the upcoming Mt. Rinjani trek, we attempted a longer hike at Bukit Gasing last Sunday. This was my 3rd time hiking at Bukit Gasing and it is one of my favourite spots in the city. It is challenging, but it is also straining. It has plenty of trails, so you are never bored doing the same route.

We started at 7.30am and did a longer loop, with multiple trips of the stamina hill.

While the hike was fairly manageable, the weather was extremely humid that day. The dresses were all soaking wet by the end of the hike at 11.30am.

We will be doing one more practice session next weekend here, before we set off to summit Mt. Rinjani!

🥾Hiking Taman Tugu

After a break on last Thursday, resumed our Thursday Hikes with the fellow diplomatic spouses here in Kuala Lumpur. With most of them beginners, this was a perfect spot to get them started, after warming up at TTDI in the earlier weeks.

It was just us in the entire trail, till be hit the last check point. The day was humid, but otherwise the trek was good.

It was a good start. I hope in May they all get to a level of doing the Gasing Loop!

🥾Hiking Gunung Bunga Buah 📍

As a practice for our upcoming Mt. Rinjani hike, we did a long duration practice hike. We started at 6.30am from KL and then started the hike from the trail head at 7.30am.

This was my first time on such a long trail and I was also testing out a lot of my new gear — Hydration Vest and Flask, Compression Pants, long sleeve shirt and new socks. All of them worked well without any complaints. 🙌

The initial part of the trail till the entrance of Bunga Buah was really good. We were walking through the clouds.

The trail after that was full of ups and downs, but what made it really hard were the roots. One had to be very watching where to place the feet and vary of tripping over the broken roots. I was the slow one in the group, inspite of being the youngest. You realise soon that age is just a number and fitness is more of what you practice in your day to day life.

I did not push myself to be fast, but I was not lagging too behind either.

The views were great and the hike got cooler as we reached the top.

Overall it was enjoyable, but I don’t think I would put myself through those roots, until I am practicing for a long hike like for Mt. Rinjani.

At the end of the hike, I finished tired but not sore. I was smiling and strong. I am now hopeful of managing the long hike at Rinjani.

We wiped ourselves and then had a nice lunch and beers at the Chinese restaurant nearby

Some stars aligned on my hiking luck and I found myself having a spot with a hiking group that had planned everything for summiting Mt. Rinjani ⛰️ this April.

So every weekend is a practice to build up strength for the 3 day trek of Mt. Rinjani. This picture was taken this weekend’s hike 🥾 at Bukit Gasing.

🥾 Hiking Bukit Gasing, Kuala Lumpur

This Sunday’s hike was at Bukit Gasing, with the same set of hiking friends as last week and a few more.

It was lovely hike. We finished the entire hike of 5.25km in about 2.5h. The trail is well maintained and the suspension bridges, add a bit of fun to the hike.

One thing, I really love about Kuala Lumpur is the access to hiking spots within the city!

🥾Hiking Gunung Datuk, Negeri Sembilan

Yesterday I went hiking up Gunung Datuk with a friend and his hiking group. This was my first long hike in KL and in a while too.

We started climbing about 7.15am and summited around 1h 45m later. The initial part, with the rocky trail and the jutting out roots was the hardest part.

The strong winds at the summit gave us a welcome break from all the exhaustion. After a quick round of snacks, we went up to the viewing point and clicked a few pictures.

We came back down in 1h 15m. While climbing down was less exhausting, it was strenuous on the knees. The hiking poles were put to good use to transfer some of the weight on to them!

Overall it was great hike. Looking forward to do many more in the coming months!

#MalaysianDiary

With a week off at school for Deepavali, #OhBoy and I are using each morning to a different activity. Yesterday we went off for a short hike at Kiara Hill Walk.

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