Kampung Rengil is one of a settlement in Pos Brooke cluster situated at Lojing District about 200km north of Kuala Lumpur. It houses about 25 families from Temiar tribe which was scattered in the jungles of Hulu Kelantan. Nestled at the foot of Mt. Yong Yap (2,168m), it is one of the entry point of hiking trails to the summit and we plan to camp right at a drop point of the trail. The road leading to the village was nicely surfaced with tarmac and has attracted quite a number of participants and by the end of Friday the riding week, total of 29 person has confirmed their participation.
It was a drizzly Saturday morning with ambient temperature around 23°C when I departed towards our first RV point in BHP Karak. Man stopped by my house before taking off about 5 minutes earlier. I took the highway before exiting at Sungai Buloh taking Route 28 towards E8 Lebuhraya Karak. Usop, Zaidi with Zadiq were already there while Jezz and Jimm arrived shortly after. Jezz whom normally departed before sunrise said he had some issue with his bike so he had to delay his departure and joined us instead of leading another group of bikers.
We departed towards Jalan Utama Mempaga around 8.30am through LPT and the traffic was moderate with a few spots of drizzle along the highway. As we passed the tunnel, mists were still around surrounding treetop and view was breathtakingly majestic.
The plan is to skip Bentong and Raub congested township so we headed to a shortcut through Felda Klau near Klau’s dam.
Shortcut trailhead GPS 3.643512, 101.987245
The inner road passes through palm oil plantation and as we passed a mill, the tarmac surface ends.
Road surfaces are made of compacted red laterite and as we go deeper it become narrower. The drizzly weather is on our advantage as it was less dusty and ambient temperature hovered sub 30°C. We then turned right towards Sempalit through C153 until Simpang Kalang to skip Raub township.
We continued on Route FT8 towards Gua Musang and passed through a landslide area where the road is closed to heavy vehicles just after Padang Tengku.
The traffic was very light compared to my previous passes through the same route and it made me wonder is it due to the incoming long weekend? We have arrived at Petronas Gua Musang around 12.00 noon and shortly after petrol refill we had lunch at a nearby stall.
During lunch we talked about Zaidi’s KLX250 speed (or lack of it) and we had a few theories and comparison with the rest of the KLX owners. At around 1.00pm we started riding to Kuala Betis on Route 185 before taking a left turn towards Lojing. The weather was hot and ambient temperature was around 32°C but gradually dropped as we climbed from 400m elevation before Ber River until 1000m from sea level when we were around Masjid Lojing. The sight of cleared rainforest along the road was really an eyesore and made me wonder when we will stop cutting down our trees.
Asoi and Cikgu Joe were already there when arrived at RV4, the last gathering point before we embark into the settlement. The rest take refuge at Masjid Lojing, which is just across the street. Mahzir and two others were the last to arrive and he was riding his NS200. This ride was also joined by Terrell whom were driving a Perodua Kembara. Around 2.15pm, we started riding towards the trailhead.
Trailhead Pos Rengil GPS 4.661132, 101.484317
The small road leading to the village is nicely surfaced tarmac road with a few spots that need repairs and at the end of the road is a steel bridge across Sungai Berok.
We were searching for the village leader but was told that he was unavailable so we proceed to distribute souvenirs. At the end of this process, I talked to one of village folk Mr. Atan about the possibility of camping at the river upstream. After some quick chuckles, he has agreed to show us the area and we followed him and one other guy into a nearby trail.
The trail started with loose gravel and relatively flat terrain and gradually increase in elevation and difficulty.
The trail became more tactical, I was in the heading pack and when we arrived at the drop point, we were told Amir had fallen and sustained injury to his right hand halfway through the trail. Terrell, Jezz and Usop brought him for medical attention while Mohdi helped by others brought his 1200 GSA back to the settlement.
The drop point is a river junction between two crystal-clear streams of water. Most of us had chosen to sleep in tents while a handful chosen to sleep in hammocks. Steady flow of cold winds that blew through the plain that night made us felt blessed. The water is also very cold and clean refreshing us after a long ride. I am really hoping that the place will maintain this condition for future generations.
Around 10.30am we called it a night and began warming our blankets as the temperature plummets and humidity increases.
Ambient temperature dropped to 18°C and I slept on a thick air mattress helped inflated by Ishar’s miniature pump. The ‘hammockers’ were wrapped tight in their thick fabric insulating themselves from the elements. The sight reminded me of skipper butterfly or ulat penggulung pisang (Lepidoptera Hesperiidae) that usually wrap themselves using banana leaves in 5-6 weeks before they became fully grown butterflies. Around 4am I was awakened to pee and found that the area was lit by the moonlight and bright stars.
The next morning, we woke up having coffee by the river continuing last night’s chat. Asoi mentioned that he has a rugby game later today so he had to be at Putrajaya by 5pm.
Around 9am, Usop and Jezz arrived, updating us about Amir’s condition. His hand was casted at Hospital Tanah Rata last night and he is in good condition. Terrell, Jezz, Usop & Amir camped at Golden Hills Sungai Ruil last night before entering the site this morning. Mohdi and Man had agreed to ride Amir’s GSA to R&R Lojing for rescue truck pickup.
We were gathered for a group photo and later head out of the site after cleaning the area. Joe rode back to Kemaman through Gua Musang so he said goodbye to the group here.
We rode towards Simpang Pulai and the weather started to get misty and cloudy.
We had lunch at Restoran Tasik Raban in Simpang Pulai and it was raining heavily around noon. We said goodbye to each other here and I rode with Man back to Rawang.
