Gunung Chabang : Part 1 - Challenging Myself

13042013 : It has been a long time since I last went hiking. A month ago, I chose to join an adventure group on a hiking trip to Gunung Chabang. I have not the slightest idea about this mountain. I did a bit of google-ing and it turns out like a good hike. I paid RM80 for this trip, which includes the guide, the food and both of the ground and fly sheet.

We met at a train station and started our drive at about 1.30am heading towards Perak, the state where the mountain is located. It was about 1.5 hours drive, and we exited at Simpang Pulai. We stopped at the rest area right after the toll, and slept till 6am. Then, we made our next stop at the petrol station where we met up with the guide, Jai and his partner, Emay. Both of them are excellent guiders. Here is Jai's number and blog - +60195267206 / pjon_adv@yahoo.com / http://www.7sa.blogspot.com. He is a licensed guider, by the way. So, you can be assured you are in good hands.

For the first time, I saw a unique looking machine, a Go Pro Camera in this trip. One of the guys mentioned that this was used for extreme sports. He also did a short film of this trip. Check it out in YouTube - Gunung Chabang buat hal. Excellent video!

From the petrol station, we drove to the starting point of the hike. It is about a 30 minutes drive to Kg Pos Slim checkpoint. Here, we paid RM15 to the orang asli (aborigines) to take care of our car. It is their settlement.

The guide then took out the food to be distributed evenly to all of us to be carried. There were 15 of us and hence, the ration to be carried was not too much. He also got us breakfast, nasi lemak to fuel us up. Then, he distributed packed lunch for us because there won't be enough time for him to cook. Plus, he also distributed snacks for us. Snacks = a slice of banana cake, 3 jelly cups and an orange. Lots of glucose you need.

Then, he explained to us what to expect in the hike. And also the expected time of arrival, which includes the place to stop for lunch.

This is the orang asli settlement. Unfortunately, not many of them stayed in these brickhouses. They chose to occupy the wooden houses. It is not easy to remove yourself from familiar grounds.

We walked and then turned into the hedges. It reminded me of the trek I went to Ayer Hitam Forest Reserve, Puchong where we walked into some hedges, and voila, ended up on a route. Maybe they should put a signboard that states - Gunung Chabang. The route looks fine for 5 minutes only until I turned and saw the descending route to the river. That was it. That was the start of the leg-aching, muscle-workout route. Because it was the first time I carried a heavy backpack while trekking, my steps were a bit unstable. The trails were ascending at 45 degrees, and despite having my trekking pole, my thighs were feeling the strain and I could only wished that my legs were not give up on me. Physical strength is one matter, and the other is mental strength. My mental strength is that one that pushed me to keep going.

After just 30 minutes of walking, we stopped to rest. 30 minutes only! I could not believe this. With my physical capability, I hoped I reached before nightfall. My friend brought a viking hat and I just tried it on. I don't look fierce. Fail.

 

The next rest stop after 45 minutes of walking.

At 12.25pm, we reached the river. It was to be our lunch spot. Seriously, I never thought it will only be 12.25pm. I did not bring my watch and hence, could not estimate the time. With my speed, I thought it would have been past 1pm.

There were signs and marks on the trees to direct the route. In a jungle, it is 3 slashes on a tree bark. If the river, it will be 3 rocks piled on top of each other.

 

Slightly further up was a bigger spot for lunch. We reached at 12.30pm, and break was for an hour. By then, I was exhausted, legs aching so badly. The river is so cooling. I peeled off my socks and shoes and stood in the river. Ahh.. the cold water. Which caused my toes to cramp a bit. This is the 1st water point, where we can collect water for consumption. The packed lunch we were given was fried rice with a fried egg. Because I was so tired, I had lost my appetite to eat. But I still forced myself to eat because I know I needed the carbo. 

  

The guide took water from the river and made lemon tea. Hot drink is so welcoming.

I love this photo that my friend took of me drinking my hot lemon tea. I went 'wow'.

 

A friend and I walked downstream to wash up for a bit. 

 

The trail from the river was ascending all the way. We stopped for a while after an hour. While I took an hour, my friends took 45 minutes. From the walking gap of a feet, mine became half a feet. The next rest stop was 2 hours later which was the 2nd water point.

There is a water bottle hanging on a branch to indicate the 2nd and last water point. Water! Finally! It was a 10 second walk to the river. But this time, the stream here is smaller. And the water was yellow in colour. I was told that this could be due to the colour of the roots. Well, I did not mind. As long I could drink it. I filled up 2 mineral bottles of 1.5 litres, and my walk became a drag. Everyone carried 1 or 2 bottles to bring to the camping site.

 

As we slowly reached the top, the view changed. There were lots of moss and mists swirling around.

The forest looks enchanting and magical. Roots became bigger and we had to crawl underneath. The thigh muscles have reached their usage for the day, and bending them was the ultimatum.

At 6.40pm, I was close to the camping site. The guide, his partner and me stopped for a while for a chat to enjoy the view. Unfortunately, the mist was too thick and I hoped that the mist will clear for me to see what lies beneath it.

We continued our walk and stopped when I saw it. The sunset behind the mountains. The time was 7.15pm.

 

At 7.30pm, I was reunited with the rest of the group. And that little hole you see in the below photo is from where we came out from to the open. It had been a tiring 9-hour hike. The others were pretty fast, and sometimes, I wondered the source of their energy. I admit, I lack in energy but I make it up with the stamina. Not that I have excellent stamina, but it is definitely better than my energy. When I reached, the ground sheet was out, and some changed. Unfortunately, this was not the camping site. Well, good thing it isn't because it rained heavily that night!

So, in we go into more trees to a more spacious area. And the guys set up the ground sheet, fly sheet, while the girls changed. I lingered around snapping photos.

 

The guide and his partner slept in another area. And there, they cooked. We had cabbage and fried fish for dinner.

 

 

Time for dinner! The guide, his partner, 2 friends and me ate together on a clean rubbish bag. It was delicious, and it was fun sharing the food together. We shared stories and jokes, and it was one of the best dinner I had on a mountain!

After dinner, we talked till 1am. Then, I went to sleep. I was sharing space with 4 more people. I woke up at about 3am because it was raining. It was not cold. Then, I woke up again at 4.30am because the rainwater flowed into the ground sheet and onto my sleeping mat. My sleeping mat was slightly long and curved at the end, hence the water flowed down wetting my sleeping bag too. I could not continue my sleep. I lied down, foetal position wondering if I could catch the sunrise.