Trekking Gunung Tahan

8/6/2019 Trekking Gunung Tahan

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/trekking-gunung-tahan 1/4

Trekking Gunung Tahan : The Unforgettable MemoryWednesday, February 09, 201109:14

A signboard with the words "GUNUNG TAHAN" and the figures – 2,187m -- written on it confirmedthat I was standing on the highest peak in Peninsula Malaysia."On top of the world!" Aidil , another successful member, yelled for joy as he bend his head to pass below the signboard like arunner crossing the finishing line. Out of 24 members, only two of us arrived at the peak early that Fridaymorning. Where were the rest of the members ? They were still sleeping due to exhaustive trip last nightafter reaching the camp site of the Mount Tahan last night. When we arrived and it was freezing cold.Standing at the highest peak for that moment gave me an overwhelming bliss. It was beautiful and Ithought that I was dreaming.

At that moment, all I could see was a breathtaking scenery. I wanted to admire the sunrise and then raiseup my hands to reach for the open skies. The combination of colors of the sun rise and the skies made itas the most magnificent view that I have seen for the rest of my life.

On that dawn when I stood on top of Gunung Tahan, there was no way to avoid the joyful feeling.Looking at the ranges of mountains, the gorges and the clouds made me feel that I am stranded on an beautiful island surrounded by ocean of clouds. The start of an unforgettable journey It was a good news for me after I have been offered last December 2010 to accompany T-REX to conquer Gunung Tahan during Chinese New Year Holidays on 1 February 2011 until 6 February 2011. Since thenI did my best to do mental and physical exercises in order to overcome any challenges during thatexpedition.

I am a very slow climber indeed. Throughout the journey, I’m always way behind the rest of themembers. As this is my first long mountain expedition , every single step is a big deal and a major struggle. Itwould’ve been a different situation if I did not have to carry a heavy rucksack all the time. But then again,I didn’t train enough so now this is turning out to be one ‘tiring vacation’.Most of the time, I need a ‘take five’ to catch my breath. The others stride along and it is impossible tofollow their rhythm. So, I take it easy. After all, this is not some sort of marathon competition. The whole purpose of the trip is to enjoy nature besides reaching the peak. The trail we are gliding through, widely known as the Merapoh trail, starts from Sungai Relau, Merapoh,in Pahang. It is an alternative route for mountain climbers to Gunung Tahan. This shorter trail (two days)to the peak which is located on the western side of the National Park has been accessible to the public

since August 1993. At the early stage, there are several river crossings. Though only knee-deep, careless mistakes can causeone to slip and fall. Plants called "Kor" are the main attraction here. The shape of the leaf reminds me of ahand fan. One of the campsites, Kem Kor was named after this plant. We spent our first night here. Our arrival was welcomed by a beautiful view of the river and cleanliness of the campsite. There were indeedno rubbish at all. This is due to regulations of the authorities which require the climbers to declare their rubbish before starting their journey. At the end of the journey they need to declare back all rubbishwhich have been brought together throughout the journey.



The next morning, after listening to the briefing which have been given by our nature guide, we startedour journey to the summit. The initial plan was to complete the expedition within 5 days which wasactually impossible but we were very optimistic to achieve the target. Therefore to achieve the target weneed to reach the summit to night by hook or by crook. Along the journey there were other stops such asPermatang, Kubang, Belumut, Bonsai and Bukit Botak.

As it goes higher, the trail becomes steeper. At some slopes, ropes have been prepared to assist climbers.Tropical trees stand tall on both sides of the path. I had a wonderful time just sitting on the groundlooking up. The tree tops sway to the left and right, like a row of choir singers, singing their nature songs.Ahh, what are the twin towers compared to nature’s splendour? We stopped for our lunch in Kem Kubang. Here the water source was very limited. All that we have herewas only original "Teh 0". It is getting colder and damper. Trees, roots and the jungle fringes arecovered with moss. To my surprise, ‘Mengkuang’, a type of plant which can be weaved into mats, is ableto survive at this high altitude. Before this, I only used to see them growing near rivers. It was 8.30pm when we finally show up at Bukit Botak. Water we have been seeking the whole day flowsfreely here. While waiting for other climbers we set up our tent temporarily. It was very difficult to set upthe tent due to strong wind. It was very cold and chilly. Exhausted and depressed, after a long day of walking, we decided to continue our journey to the top of the mountain. At 11.30 pm we reached thecamp site. The temperature dropped to approximately 5 degree Celsius. Without hesitation we set up our tent and had our last meal before proceed with our journey in the dream.

Unpredictable as … I awake the next morning to unexpected but welcome sounds. Gushing wind blew our tent. It was verycold and the rest of the team were still sleeping due to exhaustive journey. It is not easy to cook and mindthe tents in the middle of strong winds that blow at very high speeds from the mountain tops. I forcedmyself to wake up and as the reward I could watch a spectacular view of sun rise from the top of themountain accompanied by Aidil.

Looking down under the band of red on the horizon – then further down under the blanket of cotton-woolclouds. And bitterly, bitterly cold. Seriously chilly. The feeling was leeching out of our fingers andgetting very uncomfortable the longer we sat and waited. Then the sun appeared. Starting as a sliver of orange pinpricking the horizon, it rose at a visibly swift rate and lit up our mountain-top eerie. Now thatwe could see our surroundings, I realised just where we were: standing at the summit of the tallestmountain in Peninsular of Malaysia. And we’d walked from the bottom of it, to the top. Quite a bracingthought at the time!

Continue…. We have reached the summit. What's next ? Now we need to proceed our journey to Kuala Tahan.Everyone in the team wanted to eternalize their memory on top of the mountain. Therefore we havedecided to start our journey at 12.30 pm. Going back down the mountain was not as easy as what Ithought. We planned to overnight in Gedong Mountain. During our journey we passed by a warplanewreckage. As what has been told by the guide it is actually a japanese world war 2 relics. From Gedongwe could see ruins of military camp in Padang Camp. The camp was used as air strip to supply rations tothe army in the jungle.

Gedong Camp was located on top of a cliff. From the cliff we could see beautiful valley, Pantat LesungWaterfall and lime stones cliffs. It was quite challenging to camp there since the wind was very strong



and cold. From the top of Gunung Gedong we can view the sun set in the evening and the sun rise in themorning. There were a lot of bonsai trees. In the next morning we have to continue our journey to Kem Teku. To reach Kem Teku we need to climb3 more mountains which were Gunung Reskit, Gunung Tangga 15 and Gunung Pangkin. From here wecan see magnificent view of mountain ranges. We reached Kem Teku at 8 pm. Kem Teku was located at a

river side. Immersing my body in the river was quite refreshing. I could have a good night sleep after enduring an exhaustive journey. Our next stop was Kem Melantai. We crossed 7 rivers to reach Kem Kuala Putih . Kem Kuala Putih wasour lunch stop before we continue climbing to the top of Gunung Rajah. From the top of Gunung Rajahwe could see the line of mountains which consist of Gunung Tahan, Gunung Riskit, Gunung Tangga 15and Gunung Pangkin. On the other side we can see Gunung Tahan, Gunung Ulu Kerchau and GunungPantat Lesung. Journey at night was a must for us because we need to reach Kem Melantai as soon as possible. In order to reach Kem Melantai we need to cross Bukit Malang which consists of 11 small hills.After this torturing journey we reach Kem Melantai at 1 am.

The route to Kuala Tahan from Kem Melantai was quite easy-going but still it can torture our mental. Igive a very broad smile when my photo is taken with the rest of the team beside me. Before the trip, mostof the people I had spoken to gave me the impression that scaling Gunung Tahan via the Merapoh trailwas easy-going. Now that I have gone up, my perceptions have changed. This trail can be quite a challenge. One of the place where you could test your endurance and have someknowledge of your limits. At some other time, I could always come back and visit the peak to enjoy a better view. But theexperience throughout the journey would never be the same as this one.Each and every climber would definitely bring back their own story.These are mine. Though it was hell tiring, messy, challenging and requires so much of endurance..but we made it at

last! Thanks to all members who were quite helpful and supportive. Without their helps I am not surewhether I can complete this expedition or not.

The journey was an inexplicable experience for me and the rest of the team. It was a journey toremember. Thanks to the team, Aidil , Din , Sai, Fadli1, Fadli2, Xazi, Dong, Ayam, Jaafar, Aswat,Husairi, As, Fasha, Diyana, Pres, Achap, Botak, Hasyimie, Farid, Abas, Alif, Pian, Apek not forgetting,Anuar and Azhar, our guides, for making it all worth remembering.

Trekking Gunung Tahan

Documents

Transcript of Trekking Gunung Tahan