Pine Tree Trail, Fraser's Hill is NO joke!

Red flower at the Pine Tree Trail Summit by Travel In Red

The Pine Tree Trail at Fraser's Hill is NO joke! That's my conclusion after surviving almost half dead last Sunday. Someone who doesn't exercise regularly, whose physical fitness is below par, who seeks leisure and pleasure trekking, don't even dream of this trail. Trust me!

Fraser's Hill is just 2 hours drive from Kuala Lumpur. The Pine Tree Hill is a 1,500 m mountain with 5.5 km trail remains as the most challenging and toughest trekking path in Fraser's Hill. The tricky hike is as result of the multiple ascents and descents but most of all the hundreds of stair steps, which makes it an ideal training ground for a Mount Kinabalu climb.

The trailhead is located relatively high in Fraser's Hill, which makes this hike special because it is most probably one of the few hikes where one has to start with a descent. The difference in altitude between the trailhead and the summit is less than 200 m but the total ascent/descent will reach almost 2000 m.

For hardcore hikers, this trail is peanuts! They hike like walking in the park. But for beginners like me, never understimate this trail. The multiple ups and downs make the return from the summit no easier and no difference than the climb up. Imagine when you had burn out your energy going up and down to reach the summit and when returning, you will still need to use your depleted strength going down and up again and again back to the trailhead.

Unlike the name, you won’t find any pine tree throughout the trail. The name is inspired by the coniferous plants that used to dot the peak. Of special note were five endemic conifer species of dacrydiums, which have all but disappeared from the peak today. The trail winds up and down across several tops and ridges before hitting the peak. The view from the peak is a panoramic vista of the surrounding landscape of forests and mountains on clear days.

For those who are passionate about hiking, you will be encouraged to stretch your limits and push some boundaries.

Ready-made Itinerary:

07:45am Meet at the Clock Tower at Bukit Fraser

08:00am Set off to the trail head

08:30am Start hiking

11:00am - 12:00pm Reach summit

12:30pm - 01:00pm Start descent

02:30pm - 04:00pm Drive back to KL


Here's my story: 

I was supposed to car pool with one of the hikers but I pulled out last minute because I would need to make a stop for Subuh prayer on the way and afraid that it would cause inconvenience to others. I ended up driving all by myself. From home, I hit the road at 4.30 AM. My journey started with some hiccups when the waze on my phone was not working. It says error in calculation and then GPS not enabled. I was puzzled and went in circle for some time. Almost give up, I reboot my phone and gave a last try on the waze and miraculously it worked. I stepped on the gas and ramped the car heading to Fraser's Hill. Driving alone through the misty dark was very scary indeed. I told myself, I am crazy!

The further I went, the area becomes more remote and quite with no sense of life as everybody is in slumber sleep. I drove through the winding road in the dark, alone. No car ahead of me neither nor at the back. I wondered myself where's the other hikers. It was too late to turn back. I turned on some religious CDs so as to give some comfort and prayed hard. Alhamdulilah, I finally made to the top. I quickly grabbed Nasi Lemak and Teh O for breakfast at the food court and then headed to the Clock Tower for gathering.

Kelvin, the organizer leader, gave some briefing and then we started our hike. There are 34 of us altogether and majority are experienced and hardcore hikers except 2 of us, Sonia (a Filipino lady who worked in Malaysia for few years) and myself. Sonia & I made a good company to each other throughout the hike. We were actually quite slow but not too bad though. The others are just too fast! Thanks to Adli for being our sweeper on the way up. In terms of timing, we did quite good by reaching the summit at 11.30AM after 3 hours hike. While everybody descending leisurely like walking in the park, Sonia and I had very hard time. With our depleted strength and energy, we took 4 hours to reach the trail head when everyone did it in just 2 hours!

Despite difficulties, Sonia & I made it! Alhamdulilah :-)



From top left:
1. A picture snap at the trail head of the Pine Tree Trail.
2. Reached the Pine Hill summit.
3. Pine Hill summit with some hiking friends. Special thanks to Adli, the guy next to me, for being my sweeper on the way up.
4. Oh yeah... we do have to do some roping session!
5. On the summit with the panoramic background
6. Landscape of forest and mountains, hidden by the midst 
7. The hikers
8. Valuable lesson I learned from my previous hike was to bring dried fruits like dates, berries, raisin and apricot. Unlike chocolate which melt on the way up, dried fruits stay dry and they give instant energy :-)
9. Adli, boiling some water for hot coffee.
10. That's my foot once I reached the summit. Nov is raining season, so you know what to expect.