Trekking Singapore and Beyond - The Journey of an Urban City Kid into Beautiful Nature » nature

Imagine Mount Kilimanjaro without a snow capped peak

Kian Ann — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 12:10:23 +0000

Just a couple of days ago, India eNews.com published an article about Africa’s melting glaciers a warning sign for climatic change.

It says:

Over the past 100 years, the glaciers on Mount Kenya and Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak in Tanzania, have been melting away at an impressive rate, and scientists say the glaciers could disappear by the next century.

Here’s another article about Mount Kilimanjaro showing signs of global warming, written also, just about a week ago. It says there that an estimated 82% of the ice atop Kilimanjaro’s peak has been melted, comparing the models in 1912 and 2001.

Its sad isn’t it? At the rate that mankind is using up mother earth’s resources and destroying nature, how many more generations do you think is there to live?

Why do people want to go trekking?

Kian Ann — Sun, 30 Jul 2006 07:54:17 +0000

Actually, sometimes I ask myself – why do I (and many others I have met along the way) love so much to go trekking, torturing ourselves having terrible headaches, having to cook and eat our own food, suffering from strained muscles, instead of relaxing ourselves on a beach resort, watching bikini babes run along, sipping on cool lemonade and playing water sports?

I think it boils down to a few reasons:

Satisfaction - Comparing the number of people who haved peaked Mount Kinabalu, for example, versus the number of people who have been to the Manukan Island beach resort… obviously, less people have been to the peak! And that is the satisfaction. Being able to say “Hey, I’ve been there, and not any tom, dick or harry can make it up there.”
Achievement - Sometimes we just HAVE to get there. Like… if I don’t climb this mountain, I’m gonna lie on my death bed unrest!
Health - While beach resort holidays are relaxing, it is also sometimes quite bad for health! At least, climbing up the mountain lets you put your muscles at work while on holiday! Not many get to do this during your day 9 – 5 job!
Company - When you have a close group of friends of the same interest, you tend to push each other… one mountain leads to another, automatically!
Nature - While the sceneries of some mountains may not be as beautiful as advertised, I think many of us just want to see “untouched land”, basically we are sick and tired of concrete walls. We want to see animals and insects, mud and soil, the clouds and the sun!

So which category do you fall into? To be frank, I even don’t know about myself. Does it matter? I just love it!

Good practices to preserve purity of water

Kian Ann — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 05:12:20 +0000

If you have ever been to Berkelah waterfalls, you will find that the campsite stinks – there is a huge pile of human rubbish there! Really. Imagine setting up your tent next to a pile of rubbish. Doesn’t sound nice right? It is every trekker’s responsibility to keep the areas we trek clean. Simply by just trekking alone has caused enough damage – imagine how many plants and insects are killed each time a group of 20 people hikes though a trail!

So how best can we preserve the purity of water? Here are some tips!

Dispose of waste at least 200 feet away from water
When washing up, do your best not do use soap! If you really need soap, make sure that there is no phosphate in the soap! Again it is best to wash up at least 200 feet away from the water source, and scatter the wastewater, so that the plants don’t get “drowned” in your polluted water!
Instead of washing your cutlery, consider using wet tissues to wipe clean the food, and pack garbage out!

I remember during my trek in Mount Ophir, the group was supposed to report our belongings right down to the single AAA battery – this is done to make sure that people don’t leave waste along the treks!

So please, “Take only photographs, Leave only footprints!”