Climbing Gunung Tahan 1994

by Loh Kok Kin, 5 Science 4/ 5 Hijau
The Victorian 1995

limbing Gunung Tahan? Can you tahan or not? During the first semester break, eight scouts from the Second KL Scout Group/ Victoria Scout Group (One Kien Seng, Siow Steve, Yap Wing Hoe, Victor Tan Seng Lee, Andrew Chung Ning Sern, Chiam How Fai, Chow Fui Foo and yours truly) embarked on an arduous expedition in the conquest of Gunung Tahan, which at 2186 metres, stands as the highest mountain in the entire Peninsula Malaysia. The daunting task required sound physical fitness and an indomitable mental determination besides good equipment and thorough preparation. Climbing Gunung Kinabalu merely requires two days hence making it less strenuous for one's legs, and much more relaxed for one's back. On the other hand, with a five day hike to the peak and five times the amount of weight carried by Kinabalu trekkers, Gunung Tahan is by far the most gruelling and demanding mountain in the whole of Malaysia.

With all the ups and downs of the trail, a distance of more than around 65 kilometres had to be covered in order to scale this grand old mountain. En route, one has to make several river crossings, sometimes hazardous, and traverse long dry ridges which demand rationing of every last drop of water. Conditions on the Gunung Tahan plateau could range from burning heat to freezing cold temperatures. In addition, there is the intense humidity of the lowlands, torrential downpours, unknown pestering insects and the battle against our traditional enemy …blood-thirsty leeches.

But to us, all these added to an irresistible appeal and lure…

Gathering at Central Market, the eight of us took mini bus number 14 to Pekeliling Flats where our Nusa Ekspress bus was waiting to transport us to Jerantut. Prior to this date, ex-SSL Sekhar Sathyamoorthy, himself an experienced mountain climber (he scaled Gunung Kinabalu in 1988 and Gunung Tahan in 1993), had purchased bus tickets for us. He was the one who suggested the revival of this formerly biennial tradition. After a brief socialising session with nine other fellow expedition members from the University of Malaya, we were on our way to Jerantut, Pahang. It was not a very exciting ride so most of us slumbered off, trying to catch up on lost sleep that had not yet been lost, but soon to be. Three hours after wishing goodbye to KL, Jerantut Bus Station welcomed us. Then, a van took us to the Kuala Tembeling Jetty where we boarded our boat to leave civilisation and to enter the realm of our prehistoric ancestors for the next nine days. Frightening? Not really, exhilarating was more precise. However, the boat ride was a letdown as to our left and right was only water, greenery and more greenery except for the occasional buffalo soaking itself on near the river muddy river banks. The river seemed to stretch endlessly. Again, most of us dozed off during the sweaty ride.

Upon arrival at Kuala Tahan, the entrance of Taman Negara (formerly King George V National Park) at 1630 hours, after the three hour ride along the Tahan and Tembeling rivers, we were greeted by scenes familiar to us from photographs in the guide book and from past Troop expeditions. We then pitched camp and cooked dinner after registration formalities were settled. Later, as night fell (around 1900 hours), after our baths, rations were divided into eight equal shares for packing and extra food kept in our locker, to await our return. Dinner was briskly eaten after that - rice, ikan bilis, curry chicken and chicken soup. A group discussion with our guides Suhaimi and Zulkifli was then held at 2030 hours at the main office where most of us studied reports of former Troop expeditions. Then we held our own Troop discussion where SSL Ong Kien Seng briefed us about the journey and gave an important pep talk especially after we met a group who had just returned from their expedition - with bruises, countless bandages and fractured legs! Not long after, we dozed off early.

We were up (though not awake) at 0600 hours and began final preparations. Food was cooked for breakfast and lunch (for packing), backpacks were readied and morning exercise carefully worked out. "Check, check and recheck; you certainly wouldn't want to come back for any thing you've left behind", so were the words of Kien Seng. We fully understood their implications. Three hours later, our bags were neatly arranged in front of the park's headquarters to be scrutinised by the officers while we snapped a few photographs. At 1000 hours sharp, we eight VSGians - with determination to the brim and haversacks packed with equipment, clothing and rations for eight days - set off on our treacherous journey. Our first day was quite easy-going - the air was fresh, leaves were gently rustling in the wind, animals were orchestrating their sounds in perfect harmony. Most of us though that this hike would just be like any other pleasant ramble through woodland, but the ancient trees which loomed tens of metres above our heads knew better: "You have just begun your journey boys!", they echoed in mysterious tongues.

Sure enough, we encountered our early obstacles less than an hour after we began. Two overflowed creeks met us - the water rose to our chins even as we tip-toed precariously across the handles of a submerged bridge! The girls from the UM pack (especially the shorter ones) found great difficulty moving on as the water level rose to their noses, so we Scouts had to form a human chain to guide them across and also pass our haversacks to the other bank. What more, our guides told us that his was only a 'warm-up' obstacle. Anyway, continuing on, we travelled through slippery and muddy terrain, not to mention leech-infested jungle. We stopped a few times, not because we were physically taxed but our minds were already screaming for rest and so we obliged. It is important to note that jungle trekking tends to exhaust the spirit especially if one is inattentive and unappreciative of nature all around. After all, it is just swamps, thick undergrowth, wild bush, trees and mosquitoes - very unappealing to the city enthusiast. Nonetheless, we VSGians enjoyed it and felt quite at home in these natural surroundings. Our first camp, Melantai, greeted us after a four hour exhausting journey. After pitching tents, we had an enjoyable time splashing in the river for a few hours (we tried fishing too, but it was more like 'tadpoling') after which we filled our tummies with rice, dried meat and ikan bilis…our diet for the next few days. Bedtime was at 2300 hours but many of us were kept awake, scratching from head to toe throughout the night, by irritating goodness-knows-what insects.

The day began with a bowl of Maggie noodles and a cup of coffee. A few of us were pathetically sharing eating utensils. After the normal early morning business (washing up, cleaning cutlery and breaking camp), we set foot again, this time to encounter the most difficult part of the journey (according to our guides). Twenty-seven undulating hills of the Malang Range had to be crossed by going up, down, over and around the sides of those hills. Initially we were resolved to count the hills we traversed, but after less than a dizzying hour, we gave up after getting confused, although in the end I thought (I still think so) we had trekked more than 27 hills. Just imagine how disheartening it was after a weary climb to be annoyed by an immediate downward gradient and again followed by another steep ascent. In fact, some hills even had double or triple consecutive slopes. We did not even care about our foes, the leeches, anymore. Nonetheless, this provided some exercise for our 'lazy legs' in preparation for Tahan proper. The undergrowth, especially fallen logs and buttress roots of trees towering over 50 metres were a nuisance, impeding our difficult enough trail. Water was absent from view and we only replenished our flasks from a stream 10 minutes away from Kem Tengah (which we only reached after a thirsty 2.5 hour journey).

Immediately after a half an hour lunch break, we resumed our journey and reached the top of Gunung Rajah one hour later. Here, we saw Gunung Tahan for the first time in our lives, as this is the furthest point where one can sight the awesome 'grand old lady'. After a few photographs, we began to descend, this time it was thankfully just down, down and down to our next campsite, Kuala Puteh. Again, after settling down, we had a gala time in the river washing ourselves and our clothes while having frivolous water fights with one another. This time our attempt at fishing was more successful and we had catfish in our tom yam soup for dinner which was at 1900 hours. This was followed by a group discussion, our third in three days. Most of us were getting bored after two days and making advancement only in terms of distance and not altitude. Yet, we persevered. Leeches were still in abundance, and we caught about five INSIDE our tents. Falling asleep was difficult as sandflies continually kept us itching.

"Selamat pagi Kuala Puteh!". We rose with high spirits for another bone-twisting and back-breaking day. Breakfast was a hastily mushed bowl of cereals, plus a cup of coffee. Groan… But the consolation was that today was 'river day'! We had to tackle seven river crossings (the same snaking river had to be crossed seven times), each crossing twice the width of Klang river. However we were rather disappointed when the guide informed us that the river was swollen and we had to sneak through the jungle path, foregoing two river crossings. Though crossing the river would have saved us a lot of time and energy, it would have been an impossible task as the water was too deep, and the gushing currents would have easily transported us (at no charge!) all the way back to Kuala Tahan, which was the last wish on our minds. And so we groped our way through thick bushland, up and down muddy hills, one in a while slipping here and there, not fogetting the frustration when our haversacks got entangled countless times with the vines hanging across our messy paths.

When we finally came to our first river crossing, we had an exciting time splashing while trying frantically amidst the frenzy to keep our haversacks dry. The cooling waters refreshed us from head to toe. Many photographs were snapped and after another four crossings, we arrived at Kuala Teku for lunch. We devoted two hours at that campsite (and river of course!) before the painstaking ascent to Wray's Camp - our next campsite. It was a 50 degree climb all the way for the next three hours! The hike upwards seemed like an eternity in the passage of time. Trees to the left, trees to the right. But we VSGians remained cheerful and hearty, cracking jokes, chatting and singing along the way especially when the air turned cooler and fresher as we inched higher. From Teku onwards, being an up-up-up journey, our morale was boosted as Gunung Tahan was just a day or two away. However, our spirits were a bit dampened at Wrays - we had to clamber down an outrageously narrow 65 degree slope to reach our water supply. There we cooked and bathed in a trickling stream. Unfortunately, we mistimed ourselves and we were forced to return to our camp with just one candle and one torchlight (between the 18 of us!) in the pitch darkness of the night. So, slowly but steadily, we returned to our campsite after feeling our way up the 100 metre slope for…half an hour! It was beginning to feel chillly and most of us went off to sleep.

Many of us were reluctant to wake up and leave the misty and cool campsite (about 10-15 degrees Celsius). Nonetheless, after a few yells from Kien Seng, we were on our feet again and unanimously decided not to return to that dreaded stream. So we proceeded to have breakfast at Gunung Pangkin. We ate our 'delightful' morning Maggie by an exquisite cascading stream, about 10 minutes from our first stop on Pangkin Bawah. One hour later, we moved on. As we reached the top of Gunung Pangkin, we were awed by the panorama of God's creation which we recorded on our cameras. Moving higher still, the scenic landscape grew increasingly breathtaking. There was a quaint fragrance in the air (emitted by the stout highland vegetation) which added to the enchantment of cool and moist air and fluffy white clouds which floated beneath our feet.

However, in moving higher, there were also greater obstacles to be negotiated, especially uncompromising vertical rocks faces. Tremendous effort was required to overcome those colossal obstacles with corrugated faces. Sharp axes below us, pointed needles above us. One misjudge step could have easily inflicted serious injury or even instant death. It was bad enough that those obstacles came continuously one after another, but it was worse for those who did not have their shoes on either because they had lost them or their shoes were torn. Imagine shuffling your feet on rough, rocky surfaces with thorns everywhere or sliding your fee on wet and slippery slosh.

But those obstructions took a back seat when we reached the peak of Gunung Gedong. "Above all the rest, we're moving so free and high…", those words from the famous Salem High Country advertisement rolled automatically out of our mouts as fascination for nature's glorious beauty captured our hearts. At that moment, nothing troubled us. It was paradise here on Earth. How privileged we were to set our eyes on such a heavenly sight. We spent nearly two hours on Gedong, after which we descended to the "coldest place in West Malaysia outside the refrigerator" (according to our guide book) - it was Padang Camp. Due to geographical factors, it is (surprisingly) even colder than the peak of Gunung Tahan, which obviously sits at a higher altitude than Padang. Everything was freezing cold there - the wind, the grass and most of all, the water in which we soaked and cleaned ourselves! Though our teeth were chattering most of the time, smiles were obvious as we had a splendid time here conversing excitedly and joking madly with each other, as ours was a campsite with a view; a view of the beckoning Gunung Tahan.

Dawn was spectacular as the sun peeped over the misty mountains. Our spirits were elevated with it. After a quick breakfast, we began our final countdown to the conquest of Gunung Tahan. Unfortunately, it was not without obstacles. Vertical walls, slippery slopes, knee-deep swamps all became the ordeals of the day. As we climbed higher, the heat of the sun grew more intense and most of us, besides feeling very faint, were sunburnt. We grew weaker with every step. Worse still, we had no water.

Then all of a sudden, there it was looming above the rest, just ahead of us - the majestic summit of Tahan. We came, we saw, we conquered. With screeches of excitement and groans of exhaustion by eight Scouts of the Victoria Scout Group, the tranquility of Gunung Tahan was once again intruded upon. The sensation of being the tallest men in West Malaysia (with both feet on the ground) was incomparable. As we unfurled the Troop flag and snapped photographs while wearing our Troop T-shirts, memories of the past four and a half gruelling days flashed in our minds, climaxing in the successful conquest of Gunung Tahan. The sweat, the pains, the wounds, the groans and moans…all was worthwhile as we had finally tasted the succulent fruits of success. And once again we have proven ourselves worthy of our Troop song "Since nineteen hundred thirty three, Our glory has been high", with another victory for the Victoria Scout Group.

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