#215 - Hiking

Pictures from Saturday's hike.



Waterproof Hi-Tec Otter Trail boots. Breaking in by
using it to go to work.



My son decided he wants my other pair of

hiking boots and so I had to get myself this pair

of cheaper Hi-Tec Otter Trail waterproof boots.

World Of Sports had a 10% + 30% sale and so I

got these boots for around 75$... and yup, I'll add

this pair to my 'to write a review' list.

On the left is a trekking pole tip, on the right
is a nordic walking pole tip.

The nice part of the hike today wasn't just the new
boots though.... We were walking around Velocity Mall
last Friday. We went to the usual places like Running
Lab (@1st floor), 2XU, Outdoors and WOS (all three on
the 2nd floor) and lastly, to these 2 stores on the 3rd floor.
The first store on the 3rd floor is related to WOS. They sell
Columbia, Salomon and Hi-Tec. The other store (Xtrekkers?)
sells Garmont hiking boots (expensive!) and other high end
trekking / mountain climbing stuff. One of the staff there
is really very eager to serve. His enthusiasm verges on
the irritating. However, when I was looking at a pair of
Silva 'trekking poles' (<-- notice the quotes, i'll explain later),
he said that a pair of those poles only cost 69$ !
Wow! All the other poles in that store cost 100$+ and
here, we have a pair of poles costing 69$ ??? We're on !
... and wonders never ceased because while we were
paying, it turned out that there's a 10% off on the poles
that I was buying!

Anyway, while we were walking home, I realised that the
rubber tip of the poles that I bought were 'funny'. See
the picture above. They looked like the ones on the right.
First, I was thinking maybe you use them until they wear
off and become flat? hehehehe. In the end of course, I
realised that the flat end of the tips on the right of the photo
should be in contact with the ground and if that is so... then
how do you use these poles?

To make the long story short, I went on to YouTube and
checked out all the hiking videos there. One video led to
another until I saw one video which is praising the advantages
of Nordic Walking. That sounds familiar? Yup, some upmarket
gyms have nordic walking machines. ... and finally, I saw the
tips on the 'trekking poles' that those people on YouTube
were using. Serendipity has struck again. That guy in
Xtrekkers actually sold me a pair of Nordic walking
poles hence the 'funny' tip.

I watched the nordic walking videos in YouTube and
I decided to apply it for this Saturday's hike...
and it was a revelation :-)

Nordic walking is not just easy on your knees, it even
involves your whole body. So now, I can walk and I get
a complete exercise. Walking / running primarily involves
our lower extremities. But doing Nordic walking, you use
also use you arms and shoulders.

So, if you have bad knees, go on over to YouTube,
type nordic walking on the search field and click the
Search button :-)

#212 - Hiking

Above are a few pics from today's hike.

This is the first time that I used my Salomon XT

Wings 2... and I really appreciate the lightness

of these shoes compared to my hiking boots.

I guess, I'll be doing a mini-review of the XT

Wings 2 soon.

Today's hike is considered short. I went

in to McRitchie Reservoir, Rifle Range Road

and went into part of the Bukit Timah MTB Trail.

I think I was already home by 10:30AM.

I still had time for a nap followed by lunch

with my family :-)

#211 - Merrel Col Mid Hiking Boots

Merrel Mid Col's after the rain (see next pic).
This was also my first trail hike with these shoes.

I've worn my Merrel Col Mid's during this rain

Merrel Col Mid after 15 days.
They should be broken in by now.

According to most dictionaries, Serendipity is when

someone accidentally finds something good. Finding

the Merrel Col Mid Hiking boots should qualify as an

example of Serendipity.

Ever since I discovered that the trail in McRitchie Reservoir

connects to the various trails in Bukit Timah/Mandai area

via Rifle Range Road, I have always wanted to hike that trail.

Forget about running. My right knee has been operated on

already. My left knee has been very painful even if I just

walk from Lavender MRT to my house at Whampoa...

and those walks were done using running shoes with

anti-pronation wedges ... AND those shoes had aftermarket

inserts in them. I resorted to tying a patella band on my

left knee and that helped a lot.

One Friday, my wife and son asked me to accompany

them to Royal Sporting House in Suntec where they sell

cheaper jerseys, shoes, shorts, etc. Once we got there,

the first pile of shoes that greeted us was from Merrel

and well well well, it says all shoes were going

for 50$ per pair only !

I dived into the pile, let Serendipity do its job and

when I surfaced for air, I was holding a pair of Merrel Col

Mids in my hand. I went to one corner and surfed

the web for reviews using my iPhone. The reviews that

I read were a mixture of good and bad (as always), but

it seems the good reviews outnumbered the bad ones ...

and for just 50$, I decided I'd take my chance.

There was one hitch though ... one of the eyelets of the

right shoe was detached. The eyelet was on a piece of

plastic string which was attached to the shoe and so

my wife said 'maybe it can repaired?' ... so I thought,

ok, I'd still get it. Hey, even a pair of Havaiana slippers

cost over 50$ !

The Revelation began immediately after I paid for the

shoes. I immediately put them on ... It was like walking

barefoot on a thick pile carpet! I can feel my

knees were already thanking me! Walking with these

boots in the shopping mall make you feel funny.

They are clunky and unwieldy BUT they are very

very comfortable.

I wore them again the next day to work. I also

wear them whenever I walk home from

Lavender MRT to Whampoa. All this time, I still

have a patella band. Finally, when the weekend came,

I wore them on my walk from McRitchie

to Bukit Timah (10km).

From the time I bought them up to now, it has already

been 3 weeks and I have used them every weekend

on my hikes...Last Sunday (9 Oct) and yesterday (15 Oct),

I not only used them to go hiking from McRitchie to BT but I

also used them to climb the stairs in the Catchment Trail

in Bukit Timah. They are heavy, like almost all hiking boots.

However, yesterday, I forgot to bring my patella

band and I was pleasantly surprised to find out that

I don't need it anymore ... when I'm using these shoes :-)

Notice that I left out the specs of these hiking boots

in this review. You'll find the specs here at this website.

I don't understand much of the terms anyway

(e.g. "last", "rand", etc.). 

I just know that these shoes have saved me many

many times from twisting my ankles. It also has very

good grip even in the wet. It is waterproof but of course

if you use them during heavy rain, water will come in

from the top. Don't worry, though, once the rain stops,

the water does not slosh around inside the boot. I know

this since I have used it while raining.

But best of all, and I can't get over it, is it seems to

have 'cured' my knees!!!  I don't feel any knee pain

now ... so much so that I just bought a lighter alternative

to these shoes : Salomon XT Wings 2 hehehehe

#209 - Hiking

Wake up !

Today is the 2011 edition of The NorthFace 100 !

At first I wanted to go to McRitchie Reservoir to see
the starting line of  the TNF100. But I thought with the
large crowd of spectators, competitors, groupies, etc.
there, I would rather start my hike from Bukit Timah.

I woke up quite late (yeah still suffering from waking-up-late-
syndrome) and so got off late at the bus stop near King Albert
Park McDonald's. That is where my hike started. I walked
up the overhead bridge and went in to Rifle Range Road.
I turned left at the entrance to the Bukit Timah Mountain
Bike Trail ... and noticed that apart from the medics
and traffic enforcers ... there are no competitors to be
found?!? I walked the MTB trail and turned left
at the first junction that leads to the Visitor Centre.
It was here that a competitor or two passed me.

I then went to the Visitor Center and went right
into the South View path (?). I thought I should
return to the locale of my last defeat AKA Catchment Path
and set things right. I was climbing the stairs quickly
and descending them even more quickly ... but ! (there's
always a but), it seems my clunky hiking boots are
not the tool for what I was planning to do. Hehehe
and so that was my excuse. I reached the junction
of Cave Path and Catchment Path. Going left means
more misery but the end promises some form of
redemption from being such a wuss last week.
Going right means taking it easy and being a wuss
again... hehehehe no contest. You can call me
a weakling all week LOL.

Anyway, at the exit of Catchment Path, I turned
left to Rifle Range Road again and went into Durian
Loop. It seems I managed to catch up with those
running the 50km loop in Durian Loop.

I took some pictures while I was at the side of the
Durian Loop bridge. It seems the TNF100 participants
have really trained for this. Not one of them looked like
exhausted. A lot were even having conversations with
their running partners as if they were eating Big Breakfasts
at McDonalds. Then I saw this guy running who doesn't
have his right arm. I took his picture (see last photo above)
and basically was looking at him with admiration. I was
still looking at him when he was ascending the stairs after
the bridge that I didn't see his friend running after him.
His friend doesn't have one of his legs! There was just
a hi-tech looking prosthetic there. Wow, talk about
commitment and perseverance!

... and then yesterday NoLights Louie posted the below
video in our Facebook Groups page

#208 - Hiking

Since Saturday was MTB day, Sunday automatically

becomes hiking day :-)

This Sunday hike again started from McRitchie Reservoir.

I am still being plagued by this sickness called 'waking up late'

sickness and so I started the hike at 10AM. I was, however,

making good time as I have started to become familiar

with this hiking thing and the routes. The thing now is,

since there's only a limited area in Singapore for hiking

and trail running, the place is so crowded it's beginning

to look like a shopping mall...

... and so I ducked into the Petai Trail ... which was

a bad idea since I started late. Petai Trail added 2.25km

to my walk. It was a nice boardwalk 'trail' though.

At the end of Rifle Range Link, I saw a group

of hikers who seemed to be, first, doing an adventure

type race and second, lost :-) Good thing I heard them

speaking in my native language and so I didn't

let them go in a complete circle and pointed them

to the direction of Bukit Timah. Ah, that's my good

deed for the day taken care of.

Once, I was in the vicinity of BT, I went in

to check out this trail called Catchment Path ... oooohh

another one of my bad ideas. It consisted of stair climbs!

I think it will eventually lead to the Bukit Timah

Summit. It was already 1PM and I'm hungry and so

I wussed out and turned left to Cave Path...

I think I will come back here next week and

scour the area. Seems to me this place offers some

serious Zen experience.

#205 - Hiking

McRitchie Reservoir at 7AM (no filter - it really looks like this)

Stream at Rifle Range Link

They ran from McRitchie Reservoir to Rifle Range Road and back!

Most of my friends use Salomon XCRs

Merrel Col Mid Hiking Boots - review to follow

I enjoyed hiking so much last week that I went back

for more :-)

So, some of my friends got bitten by the running

'bug'.... and some even went ahead and bought

Salomon XCRs in the hope of doing some trail

running. Well, bad knees have made sure that

I not only 'retire' from playing soccer but also that

I do not enjoy any running on hard pavement.

But, of course, good hiking boots and a patella

band made sure that I can still get my fun doing

trail hiking!

Anyway, last Friday, emails were flying around

the office as to how best 'attack' the trail from

McRitchie Reservoir to Bukit Timah Visitor

Centre. It was decided that my friends were

going to run the route and that they will also

do a u-turn and head back to McRitchie

Reservoir to take a shower. I was just reading

the mails and smirking. Heh! Run?! That long?!

Saturday came and I didn't even bother going

to the McRitchie Reservoir Visitor Centre. I am

sure my friends can't come so early. They were

all coming from Pasir Ris/Tampines/Bedok area.

I headed straight to the trails but before I went in,

I sent an sms to NoLights Louie to say that I was

already there and that I'm going ahead... and that

if they really are running that they should be able

to overtake me since I'm just going to walk.

McRitchie Reservoir is covered by fog early

in the morning. Fantastic scenery! I swear I will

go back again next week!

I was waiting for my friends to just zoom past

me but this never happened. Hehehehe I knew

they were just walking :-) So I sent another

sms just before I got to the Park Ranger Station.

I smsed : You are all so slow. I will wait for

all of you at the Park Ranger station so you can

catch up. After that, I went into the toilet and then took

pictures of a pair of motorcycles (do they use

them to chase errant mountainbikers?). I heard

some trail runners say they do trail runs at night!

Then I heard my phone buzz and I got a reply

from NL Louie saying they just passed the

Ranger Station and did not see me! Huh?!

... soooo they really ran?!

I continued my hike and just before I reached

Rifle Range Road, I received another sms saying

they have already reached the 'end' of the trail and

they are running back. True enough, while I

was composing my reply, here comes the trio

of Bal, NoLights Louie and Henry running

towards me!

I wanted to take them with me to Durian Loop

but they left some of their stuff in the lockers

at McRitchie and so they really had to do a

u-turn and run back. Well, maybe next time

then ... but ... they really ran?!!!?

#203 - Hiking

McRitchie Reservoir

Nice place ! Will go back here.

Boardwalk after HSBC TreeTop Adventure





Pity the guys going for TNF 100. I think they have to crawl up this.

McRitchie Reservoir

Actually, people who should be doing this are my
friends who have registered for TNF100. But due to
varying excuses (yes, excuses :-P ), they are not able
to go and do a proper reconnaisance of the route.
So, being a nice guy, I went and did the recce of
McRitchie Reservoir to Bukit Timah :-)

I filled up my 2 liter CamelBak and thought of
taking my walking stick with me... but I routinely
see uncles and aunties hiking from McRitchie to BT
and thought this would be a piece of cake. So I left
my pair of walking sticks at home.

I entered the trail in McRitchie that leads to BT
and I saw signposts that provide the countdown that
start from 10km apparently once 10km is up then
you'll be in BT.

I was surprised by the route! It was up and down.
I was thinking to myself that even with a bike, these
climbs will be very long and challenging. There was
even one place where I think there will be no choice
but to crawl up over the roots.

Also, the climb to the HSBC TreeTop Adventure
bridge was quite tough. However, I don't think
that will be a part of the TNF100 route as the
bridge will definitely sway from all those people
running/walking there.

Lastly, as I go nearer Rifle Range Road (BT),
the trail started to get muddy ... and guess what did
I find? Yup, Kenda Nevegal tire marks hehehehe.

I finally reached RRR and my left knee was
giving me problems. I did not wear shoes with
pronation control because I thought my knee
operation has already fixed my knee problems.
The thing is, this time the problem is with my
left knee ... I wonder if proper hiking boots
would solve this?