Mount Datuk Sunrise
Mount Datuk Descent
After taking a large number of photographs, we began to make our descent back down (around 08:30). We said our farewells to the scrounging squirrel (Family : Sciuridae) that was still springing from rock to rock looking for anything edible that any of the hikers may have left behind.
Now that there was sunlight, we were finally able to see the flora and fauna that we had passed earlier along the trail, along with various types of fungi (now considered a separate kingdom which is distinct from both plants and animals) and an enormous tree with the largest buttress roots that I have ever encountered.
The trek back down took us about an hour, at a fairly relaxed pace. We made our way back to the bridge to wash up before making our way back to the car, passing the now visible sign that stated "Nan senting dilabuhkan, Nan panjang dikeratkan, Nan rumping disisipkan" which apparently means "If it’s short, then lengthen it; if it’s long, then shorten it; if it’s broken, then fix it" in the Minang (also known as Minangkabau, an ethnic tribe from Sumatera) dialect.
Route Playback
Hey, great post and pictures.
I also used Suunto and I like your difficulty rating system.
The ladders on Gunung Datuk have been improved as of 2018, you can take a look at my blogpost: http://www.yonderingsoles.com/2018/08/03/gunung-datuk/
Other than that, everything is still the same
Hi Gan, thanks for that update! I think I’ll drop by Datuk this weekend to have a look!
Great website by the way. I had a look at the ‘Kilimanjaro on a budget’ post, but I still think that trip is way too expensive for my liking :p