JUNE 5 — My sister had suggested to me and my mum that we climb Gunung Nuang, the highest mountain in Selangor at 1,493 metres, in preparation for our hike up Mount Rinjani in Lombok later this year.
Out of the three of us, only I have had some mountain climbing experience, having hiked up Mount Merapi (2,930 metres) in Yogyakarta. I didn’t manage to reach the summit, but made it close enough.
After reading a few blogs about how it takes five to six hours to reach Nuang’s peak, and slightly less time descending it, we decided to give it a shot. How hard could it be? We didn’t find a website that gave Nuang the second-hardest ranking (only found it after the climb).
So we happily started the hike in Hulu Langat at 6.30am last Saturday. It was still dark and the forest guide wasn’t around. We didn’t take the guide’s number before our climb.
There were two main points to go through before hitting the summit: Camp Lolo and Camp Pacat.
We first walked a flat 5km road of what people call the never-ending road. The trail was stony, but it wasn’t too difficult.
Then we made a few small river crossings and passed a waterfall.
Finally, we reached Camp Lolo. There were several people camping out there – mostly Malay Girl Scouts in headscarves.
Then came the first difficult part of the climb – the 1.2km steep, red earth stretch to Camp Pacat. It was a steep incline and the terrain was slippery with mud at times. Huge tree roots made the course difficult to navigate.
Hikers who had arrived later would pass us by – a group from Singapore, a Caucasian couple. There was a Chinese middle-aged couple too, with the man walking jauntily by in just a T-shirt, shorts, and Japanese slippers, carrying a portable radio that played Chinese songs. Even the forest guide’s two adorable dogs quickly passed us by.
After what seemed like forever, I finally reached Camp Pacat at 10.15am. It was a flat open area where some guys had a small fire going. My mum arrived some 15 minutes later. My sister finally reached us half an hour after as we waited for her (she was carrying our lunch after all – egg sandwiches).
The third and most difficult stage began – the treacherous 1.2km hike to Puncak Pengasih, or the false peak before the actual pinnacle.
It was even steeper than the trail to Camp Pacat. There were huge rocks and tree roots which I had to scale with my hands and feet, like rock-climbing. The ground was slippery and my feet sank ankle-deep into the mud a few times.
I was faster than my mum and sister, so I mostly hiked alone at this stage.
Then I reached a group of four guys who had hiked earlier on from Camp Pacat while I waited for my family. They were surprised that I reached them so quickly.
So we decided to climb together.
Throughout the entire time, I was muttering to myself: ‘You can do it, Su-Lyn. Don’t give up, babe. One step at a time.’ I must have sounded like a mad woman.
But in any case, my mutterings helped and we reached the False Peak. We had to make a steep descent after and then climb back up again – the last hike to the summit.
I finally reached Nuang’s pinnacle at 1pm.
There is nothing quite like the feeling of reaching a mountaintop. The sense of achievement is incredible – pushing your body to the limit in a test of physical endurance. If you can conquer a mountain, you can conquer anything in life.
My mum and sister reached the summit too.
The torturous descent down mud and rocks and giant roots, however, was far more difficult than the ascent.
We didn’t run down the trail (though perhaps we should have to save time and energy), but took one laborious step after another.
It took us longer to descend than to hike up and by the time we hit the 5km never-ending road, it had already turned dark.
Some people find the forest scary at night. I don’t. As an atheist, I don’t believe in spirits, “pontianak”, “hantu tetek” or the like.
The sound of running water is extra clear in the dark and there is a cool peace in the forest, undisturbed by mortal men.
I was only concerned about whether we were on the right path because no matter how many times I shone my torchlight at surrounding trees to look for markers, I couldn’t find any.
But the road to the carpark was relatively straightforward. Logically, we had to be on the right path. So, we just trudged on forward.
I was quite ready to start crawling on my knees when we hit the small shelter that marked the final 2km. At that moment, the forest guide coincidentally came by on his motorbike – he was there to pick up an ill Girl Scout.
Then he gave us all a ride back to our car, which we finally reached at about 9.15pm.
He told us that Nuang is actually more difficult than Rinjani, the mountain we were training for.
Fancy that.
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
