Gunung Benum 2,107m

Date: 25 Dec 08 - 28 Dec 08 [3D/2N]
Location: Gunung Benum - Pahang
Altitude: 2,107m ASL
Difficulty: 8.3/10 (http://danlow.multiply.com/journal/item/50)
Trail length: 12.3km
Camera: Canon EOS 350D
Lens 1: Tokina AT-X 124 AF Pro DX 12-24mm f/4
Lens 2: Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II
Filter: none
Post editing: PS CS3
Organizer: Lucy
Members: Lucy, Uncle Yong, Dan, Ah Du(杜), Khor, Uncle Law, Doreen and Ang
Guide: Tengku Azlan from XplorerAdventure
Crews: MarkCheng and Zulfar (Chowfun) - also from XplorerAdventure

My reason to go there: 
- Because of the gigantic pitcher plants, I guess they are among the largest in the world. 
- Because Gunung Benum is at a different mountain range, not on the Titiwangsa
- Wanna see the waterfall Lata Berembun

Journey 
Day 1
7:30 a.m. Breakfast at Kuan Nam, Butterworth
8:30 a.m. Leaved Butterworth for Raub
1:00 p.m. Stopped for lunch at a small village near to Kuala Kubu Bharu
2:00 p.m. Reached Raub town, did last minute food shopping
3:30 p.m. 4WD from Sg. Klau town to Sg. Chalit (45 minutes ride)
4:30 p.m. Set up tent, prepare to overnight at Lata Berembun Waterfall (610m)
7:30 p.m. Dinner
11:00 p.m. ZZZZZ

Day 2
8:30 a.m. Breakfast
9:40 a.m. Started to hike from a trail before the Lata Berembun Waterfall (620m)
3:15 p.m. Reached Kem Dingin, 1670m
5:00 p.m. Celebrated Uncle Yong's birthday, 70th birthday! (Chinese 71)
9:30 p.m. Dinner
11:00 p.m. ZZZZZZ

Day 3
8:30 a.m. Breakfast
9:40 a.m. Started hike from Kem Dingin (1670m) to the summit
4:40 p.m. Reached the summit (2107m), after so many false peaks!

Day 4
6:30 a.m. Breakfast
8:30 a.m. Started to descend from the summit (2107m)
5:30 p.m. Reached Lata Berembun Waterfall (610m)
6:00 p.m. Clean up, bathed and changed
7:00 p.m. 4WD leaved Lata Berembun to Sg. Klau
8:30 p.m. Dinner at Sg. Ruan 
10:00 p.m. Leaved Sg Ruan for Penang
4:00 a.m. Home Sweet Home
5:00 a.m. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Rewards of this trip 
- Saw the largest pitcher plant I have ever seen, great !!
- Rhino hornbills encounters
- Good weather
- Beautiful view along the trail and from the summit
- Cold! Very cold … but it was damn nice man !!
- Celebrated Uncle Yong 70th B’day at the summit
- Lucy, Uncle Yong, Ah Du, Doreen and Uncle Lau completed their peninsular G10
- All good hikers and good teammates, everything went smooth and on time
- Good food, although slow Azlan cooked us some great meals
- Good guides, 3 of them were great..
- For the first time I can bring 2 lens and a lot of other stuffs to a big hike like this coz the guides carried all the food and flys
- The 4WD ride in and out of Lata Berembun was thrilling

Challenges of this trip 
- Day 2 hike to the summit was energy draining, there were so many false peaks it made the final hour felt like forever
- to make things worst it rained at the final 20 mins before I got to the summit, fortunately it stopped once we got up there
- Water points were scarce – only at Lata Berembun and Camp Dinging, none in between
- Day 1 we have to collect water from Lata Berembun and hike for 6 hours
- Day 2 we have to collect water from Camp Dinging for 2 days and cooking at the summit
- I carried 5.5 liters of water all the way from Lata Berembun to the summit, coz I tried not to drink the water at Camp Dingin, but I ran out of water on day 3 and have to drink the teh-o-ice water from Camp Dingin on my way down to Lata Berembun
- There are quite a lot of leeches between Lata Berembun to Camp Dingin
- There are some sandflies at Camp Dingin, especially at the water point
- Kena a painful sting from a Euclea stinging caterpillar, pain comparable to a bee or jellyfish sting, but I'm glad I got it so I now know how it felt like ...

Cost 
- Guides: 1 guide + 2 helpers 
- 4WD Fee: Included in package
- Entrance fee: Included in package
- Camp site fee: NIL
- Guide fee: RM175/person
- Food: Included in package
- Porters: Included in package

Summary 
- Day 1 - 6 hours hike was long, but ok
- Day 2 - 7 hours hike was energy draining
- Day 3 - 9.5 hours down was pretty ok
- Gigantic pitcher plants can be found rite after Camp Dingin and along the way
- Camp Dingin is pretty nice, large and flat, good for 20 hikers or more
- Summit is cold and nice, campsite fits 20 or more easily
- Water point at Camp Dingin is 2 mins down on the left. Water is yellow and not much even during raining season
- Water must be collected at the one and only river crossing 15 mins from Lata Berembun, next water point is Camp Dingin and no more water points after that.
- View from the summit is spectacular, Gunung Tahan, Genting and Rajah can be seen from there
- A certificate of completion was provided by XplorerAdventure, cool

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