Where Less Is More: A Clean-Up cum Workout at Shah Alam Community Forest (SACF)

Group photo before the start - check out the tools we brought!

The last clean-up I did was in 2014 - with Leave No Trace objectives in mind. This round, my hash walk group, Evergreen, decided to do something out of the ordinary walks and hikes. I had proposed SACF as the hash walk destination last month - Pete added on the clean-up idea after our chat group revealed a clean-up exercise (separate event) done by a member. Today we realised that clean-up mission.

Our main target is the route MOU > The Wall > Masterpiece > Peak Garden, and we discovered the big chunk is the area near the base, or trailhead.

Personally, I was worn out from today's trip, partly due to yesterday's hike at Gunung Hitam. I have reserve energy but it ran out when I and a few did the heavyweight of grabbing, pulling, carrying, dragging, and transferring the big pieces. And loads of them...

Below are photos from our "expedition..."

Work begins

A pouch and a bottle

This is the bulk we soon discovered

Rather than dragging one by one, we piled them up a one spot

The dumpsite we located quite near the junction turnoff

After clearing the forest enough to reach here, I soon took up the role to man this spot - and haul the big pieces from the forest's connecting trail (temp) to this final destination.

Need to make wider as the drag needs a big space

'Fantastic Four' who focused the bulk of their energy here

20 out of 24 who reached the peak before the "fantastic four" did (photo: Mike Long)

Both hands are tied (photo: Mike Long)

Work continues at MOU trail

The flat, exposed junction of MOU and The Wall.

It wasn't sunny, due to haze, so we're not scorched

View of construction site from The Wall.

At the Peak Garden

Peak Garden is the local name. It should be interesting to know that the official name, as per RSO map, is North Hammock (Bukit Pasir) - 226m. Part of this Setia Alam area here were formerly known as North Hummock Estate - one would notice a little spelling disparity with the peak's name - "hammock".