I want to join along too. Hike in TC once and I like it.
I want to join along too. Hike in TC once and I like it.
Hi everybody,
Sorry i am still stuck oversea and won't make it back on time for this weekend. Please feel free to meet with each other. It just gonna be for next time.
I am sure you'll be having fun and good time
hi everyone
not sure if anyone has arranged anything for this sun but hktrampers (a hiking organisation which organises hikes for free - just google it) are doing a hike on sun going through tai lam country park which i was thinking of going to. Trail is apparently not that hard but its a long day (all day) however its easy to exit if people want to. Looks like a group is already going - if anyone is interested please pm me and hopefully we can meet up! will start at tsuen wan station 11am.
The link to the hike is here: The Hong Kong Trampers - Walk on 28th March 2010 from Tsing Lung Tau to Au Tau
But people need to be aware that the HK Trampers have a reputation amongst the hiking community here for being disorganised and very bad estimators of time or distance. They often end up getting lost and walking in the dark.
For example, looking at that walk: the writeup says 12km. A quick look at a map shows that there is NO WAY that is a 12km walk. My estimate would be about 20km. Their timing of 7 hours is probably about right, but with an 11am meet at the MTR then a bus to the start point you probably won't be walking much before 11:45 which means even if nothing goes wrong you will be finishing as it gets dark.
Moreover, there are NO easy exits on that route. There is only one point a little short of halfway where you meet a road that is accessible to vehicles. But it's not on any bus routes and you'd have quite a job calling for a taxi to pick you up there.
Treat these people with caution, especially if you are not an experienced hiker. The leader specifically writes:In my view that makes him utterly incompetent to lead groups of hikers, especially inexperienced ones - he obviously stuffs up sufficiently often that it is a feature of his hikes.(3) The following people should not join this walk, and indeed any walk that I organise:-
(a) those who do not want to take any/little risk in outdoor activities e.g. being lost and stranded in the mountains,
(b) those who would grumble about things that do not turn out the way they want them to.
As an alternative, the HK Hiking Meetup Group is much better organised, their writeups are much more accurate, the leaders almost always recce the route before taking a group out on it, and they don't simply leave people stranded out on the hills as the Trampers apparently take pride in doing.
Last edited by PDLM; 27-03-2010 at 01:27 AM.
Calm down PDLM, it's only a leisure activity. I certainly appreciate an element of adventure when I go into the hills. I thought you of all people would feel the same.
I do - but you and I are both very experienced hikers. I suspect most of the people on this thread looking for something to do are not. Leading a group of people of mixed experience and abilities out into the hills is quite different from you or I wandering out with a map and a vague idea of where we might want to go. Doing so knowing that you are sufficiently incompetent that there is a significant chance you will end up lost and in the dark is utterly reckless.
Look at the write-up of his last hike:
http://www.hktrampers.com/Mambo/cont.../lang,english/
Utter, utter incompetence, in which he seems to take pride.
And on his previous hike a month ago they had to call emergency services to get people off the hills:
http://www.hktrampers.com/Mambo/cont.../lang,english/
And it was the first time either:
http://www.hktrampers.com/Mambo/cont.../#usercomments
The other leaders may be better, but I would strongly recommend not going anywhere near walks led by this guy "Francis".
Last edited by PDLM; 27-03-2010 at 02:15 AM.
I seems many bored people in Tunh Chung.
How about ahaving a drink all together to discuss about activities we can do and plan.
We can meet at AVIATOR Pub this week?
Eric