Ride & Camp to Lata Cangkah, Setiu

 

It was a month full of uncertainty and events that led to a postponement of the original planned ride date. At the end, on the riding weekend, less than half had persevered and stayed – leaving only Zadiq and me leaving on Saturday while Mizi, Jeff and Muskat will start riding on Friday afternoon from central region. Cikgu Joe will ride alone from Seri Iskandar while Jo, Syaril & Mat will meet us at the last RV point. The plan is to ride to Lata Cangkah, a public recreational spot well-known for its crystal clear cascading water from Gunung Tebu Forest Reserve, situated around 35km northwest of Kuala Terengganu.

 It was a clear morning with ambient temperature around 25°C when I made a move from Rawang towards Bukit Beruntung exit. I arrived at the exit around 8.00am and Zadiq arrived slightly later, riding on a green Triumph Tiger 800. This was a training for incoming Rimba Raid, he said. Amused but I didn't refute that statement. I went to refuel my bike at Petronas before taking Route 55 towards Raub, making a quick stop at Selangor Dam viewpoint.

Zadiq was fast and furious at this section, started close behind me and eventually disappeared in the horizon of hairpins. At Raub, traffic was moderate and the weather started to get warm, lowering my windshield helped with improved air flow around the helmet. Engine power and gearbox reaction on my newly acquired Tiger 800 was superb but handling a 21” front wheel through sharp corners might take a while to get used, as I was accustom to 17” wheels on all of my previous rides. It take some effort to lean the bike and to change the leaning angle.

Entering Central Spine Road at Padang Tengku, I lost sight of Zadiq after a few kilometers, perhaps he’d stopped for fuel I reckon. I arrived at Petronas Bandar Baru Gua Musang around 11.30am to find Cikgu Jo was already on-site, after departing from Seri Iskandar around 8am. Zadiq arrived after 10 minutes and we had lunch here.

After lunch we ride towards Tasik Kenyir through Felda Aring route 1744. At the state border between Terengganu & Kelantan we stopped for picture to reflect its latest condition since my last passes here.

Road condition was better than my expectation through Felda Aring and after the state border it gets much better.

Approaching Tasik Kenyir around 2.30pm, the weather started to get cloudy but still no rain. We stopped at a viewpoint of Tasik Kenyir but were disappointed as the trail towards a small cape with breathtaking view was submerged. Nonetheless we went to a nearby clearing to rest and I had packed kuew tiaw soup from Gua Musang.

Trailhead to Tasik Kenyir viewpoint GPS 5.199404, 102.673486

After taking a 30 minutes rest we rode towards Permaisuri through Sungai Tong through T151 and T136. In this section it was drizzling but the potholes and road surface were full of water from the previous downpour. Yet again, at this section we lost sight of Zadiq, even after around 10 minutes of wait. I mentioned to Cikgu to proceed as he had his GPS points for guidance.

As we were joining the main route of route 3 towards Permaisuri, it started to rain heavily but it stopped as we turned left on T138, the last intersection towards Lata Cangkah. Cikgu Jo stopped for drinks at a roadside shop after the intersection and we rode slowly as there were a lot of villagers and cows on the road that day.

Lata Cangkah GPS 5.476180, 102.654486

Photo Credit to Jeff

While waiting for the rest of the group, we went around - looking a campsite and finally it was decided to camp near the gazebo area.. but we have to wait for the area to clear from the previous visitors.

It has stopped raining around 6.00pm, about the same time we finished setting up camps. We went into the river to bath and clean ourselves afterwards. The river is clear with visibility is up to 2 meters deep but the surrounding areas you can spot litters of food packaging. 

In a few spots beside the gazebo, visitors burn their food leftover - among others, leaving a foul smell of decomposing food and small army or larvae hidden behind any un-burn residue. It is a very sad sight to find at a place as majestic as this, with clear cold cascading streams from a nearby forest reserve. Nearby garbage bins were overflowing and scores of flies were having a feast on the unmanaged garbage. We had to burn some wood to ease the flies.

I would like to take this opportunity to urge all -that has plans to visit any public recreational spot to bring back whatever they brought in – including food waste, food containers and plastics.

That night it started raining again around 9.00pm, making us scrambled to set up flysheet. It continued to rain throughout the night, intermittently between heavy downpour and drizzles. Camping on the river banks, we were cautious - checking the river level every hour for any headwater or dangerous current. Amazingly it stays clear and only rose up about one foot throughout the night – signs of a healthy river catchment area upstream. We chatted under the sheet until i felt my eyes were heavy - time to get to bed.

It gets colder as I retreated to my tent and eventually into my sleeping bag. Since my bad experience with hammock & flysheet setup at Pantai Kemasik, tent setup is my no.1 choice of sleeping arrangement at a campsite, especially in rainy nights. It provides the best shelter against the elements and a thick air mattress adds to the comfort.

The next morning, the weather was nice with the sun rising in between the tree line downstream. Syaril prepared onion and potatoes fritter while we had instant noodles for breakfast. 

Enjoying coffee by the stream is really enjoyable as occasional appearances of river animals such as tortoise, snakes and fish was an added bonus.

Around 8.30am, visitors started coming to the park so we began packing. By 10.30am, we were gathered at the entrance for a group photo and then we rode to Sungai Tong for lunch. 

After lunch we said goodbye to Cikgu Joe whom will ride back through Tasik Kenyir, while the rest of us rode through LPT2.

Traffic at LPT heading to KL was moderate but it gets busier after Pahang’s state border.  We were separated at this section and I went back alone. The weather turned from gloomy from Terengganu to hot and humid in Pahang before a heavy downpour towards Karak. I arrived safely home around 5.30pm.

1. Rashidin Triumph Tiger 800 XCx

2. Cikgu Joe Kawasaki Versys 650

3. Jo Honda CRF250L

4. Syaril Honda CRF250L

5. Mizi Modenas Pulsar NS200

6. Jeff Modenas Pulsar NS200

7. Kemat Vespa Primavera 150

8. Zadiq Triumph Tiger 800 XCx

9. Muskat Kawasaki Ninja 250

Date:  30-31 July 2022

Lowest temperature: 17°C (Campsite Lata Cangkah)

Highest temperature: 38°C (Karak Toll)

Expenditures: 

Petrol: RM80

Food: RM50