Time to collect new photos of the toilet at the carpark, get used to walking on slippery mossy surfaces, and swimming in the natural jacuzzi of the waterfalls! I’m so excited about this trek because its was such a last minute thing – and it serves as a good time to do a refresher and recce for treks to run in Cynovate in the near future. I also need a break from everything in life, to keep my mind off all the nuances in the urban world and get back to greenery again, sleep with the ants, and experience the serenity of mother nature.

So well, I’ll update again after I get back! Oh! This trek will give me an opportunity to really put my rubber shoes to the test!

Its great, because just right up in a month’s time, I will be bringing these boots to the peak of South East Asia – Mount Kinabalu! I heard that the weather is like 4 degrees Celsius, and having experienced the wind chill in my feet in Melbourne, I guess these boots would be just the right equipment for such weather!

The boots are also made of Gore-tex material, so they are waterproof – but I don’t think I will be using them for any wet treks, more for keeping dry during wet weather. Well then, I’ll report back once I get to use them in the trek, to see if it is worthwhile getting for tropical treks!

One thing for sure – it’ll be heartsore when I see these boots covered with mud! Haha.. but its inevitable, well. So much for the passion for trekking!

The few of us met up yesterday to discuss stuff with regard to the trek. There are a couple of things I am yet to invest in… and I guess I will be investing in a pair of trekking boots, since I will really be going trekking quite often. I have highlighted the importance of having good footwear before.

Will be going shopping tomorrow for those boots! And that’s more motivation to trek more when I do!

I haven’t been training or running really regularly to get myself ready for the trek, but I still do exercise in my irregular schedule, running for about 30 mins at least twice a week. Well, I better increase the frequency during the coming 14 days. I realised why I am less motivated to run! Its because my MP3 player is spoilt! I used to play a very fast paced music and just use the beats of the music to pace me a while ago, but since the player was spoilt, I had never used any music, and I think without something to occupy your mind during the run, your mind will just wander and think of yourself being tired. Must go and get an MP3 player again soon.

Apart from that, I still need to get things like my waterproof (zip lock) bags, exchange some currency, get some high fiber energy food, and that’s about it! So very excited! Its a pity that my camera is a little bonkers now, but I will be bringing it up anyway. I have 2GBs of space of my memory card, even if half the photos turn out not as good as expected, I can still have 1GB of photos Good strategy right!

Its a crater lake! The scenery is going to be really beautiful! Hmm… now considering whether I want to go or not! Sounds really fun, and at the same time, I think I should invest in good trekking equipment first (and maybe organise my own trek there maybe next year).

Oh, with regard to trekking footwear, I realised that there is another brand – Columbia. And they are really nice! I was in Takashimaya a couple of days ago and I checked out the prices on a few of them. The higher ends one made of gore-tex, waterproof and have better ankle support cost over S$250! Phew… but they are really nice!

Also found a website that lists some of the more popular brands manufacturing trekking and hiking footwear. Neat!

The Dr Marten’s ones I mentioned are heavy – and I realised that they are more for work safety. On the other hand I found another brand selling footwear for adventure, Merrell. I checked out their website and it was superb! Just on outventure alone, they separate their footwear into six different categories – Hiking, Chameleon, Active Speed/Trail, Multi-sport, Aqua Sports, and Sport Sandals.

Hiking ones are for erm… well hiking, trekking, and they bring you anywhere. I will talk more about this later. Chameleon (I wonder why they call it chameleon) is basically for aggressive day hikes, where you attempt challenging terrains, but for short durations. Active Speed/Trail ones are like trail running shoes. I actually own a pair of trail running shoes (from Vasque) and so far its been doing good for me. Use it for running and training, and I think they are especially useful and good if you are running off road. Their Multi Sport collection is for “multiple activities at multiple levels” – I think these shoes are like cross trainer kind. Aqua Sports – meant for you to get dipped in water and not have your sole missing halfway. And lastly the sports sandals.

I checked out the hiking collection and they really have a big list! Of course, some of these shoes appear in more than one category, and since “hiking” is so generic, they list everything from the sandals, to the lightweight sneaker-likes to their “Thermo 10 Gore-Tex” which probably everyone will be envying when you trek at snow caps! Nice!

I don’t remember seeing any steel toes from Merrell though, neither do I see sticky soles.

I think I have briefly touched on the topic before – footwear is one important part of the adventure equipment. The footwear that you wear will determine your trekking experience!

While I was in NUS Rovers, we used to always trek in sandals – whether it was Berkelah Waterfalls, or Mount Ophir, or whatever. The previous time I trekked with Singapore Adventurer’s Club, they recommended us to wear sports shoes.

From the website, I gathered that different boots are from different occasions. For easy flatter terrains, lighter footwear is recommended. These lighter boots resemble sneaker and are made of nylon or light leather. They do not offer ankle support.

In the mid-range (and weight) boots are made more of sturdy leather, with ankle support. I think these are like the ones that they have in Timberland. They are meant for support your feet comfortably for a short weekend hike.

Next, of course, you have the heavy boots for cross country and rough terrain. The main function of these boots is for safety! Some of these boots are like those with steel toe caps, and they are sturdy and made of rugged materials. I’ve not seen any other kind of boots (as least in Singapore) apart from those like the ones Dr Martens have. Maybe now that I am aware, I will be more on a lookout.

Lastly, for the true blue himalayan climber, there are mountaineering boots. These boots are designed to withstand tremendous abuse, and also, help to keep your feet warm, dry and protected. These are the ones made for climbing on ice, and allow for easy attachments of crampons.