View from G. Tangga 15
Saturday
29th May
Reached
Pahang National Park at 4 p.m. Late in the evening, a few groups came down from
Mt. Tahan. They look like buffalos after their mud bath. We expected our trip to
be the same – difficult. That night, wild boars outside of our camps stole our
bread for breakfast.
Putih River
Sunday
30th May
The expedition started from Kuala Tahan at 8.45 a.m. The track was muddy since it
has been raining heavily for the pass few days. Although the journey was mostly
on flat ground, it was pretty unpleasant as the mud kept our pace slow. I’d
suppose this is how Mt. Tahan is greeting us….. We reached Melantai (about
12km from Kuala Tahan) at 2 p.m. Taking it easy and enjoying the cold Melantai
river was a clear winner here, so we’ve decided to camp at Melantai for the
night. We could force ourselves to continue to the next campsite, Camp Tengah.
If we were to do that, we expect to reach Camp Tengah at about 7 p.m.
Vertical climb along Gunung Tangga 15
Monday
31st May
Our
mission for today is to reach Kuala Teku Camp, which is about 28km from Melantai.
We started early at 7 a.m. to catch up with the distance. It was a direct 45
degrees climb from Melantai. No ‘foreplay’ what so ever. We were climbing
what the local called Bukit Malang, or The Unfortunate Hill, which I might add,
fits the name. I felt like throwing out all the food I’m carrying.
Unfortunately, I can’t eat the leaves or rocks along the way, so basically
I’m stuck with the stuff I’m carrying.
We continued at 3 p.m. The journey becomes more difficult as we had to cross the rivers. Although the river is more or less waist deep, the strong current, slippery and sharp rocks caused us to be extra careful. Not to mention the annoying fishes which kept nibbling our legs ! Apart from crossing the rivers, we had to pass through the narrow and slippery riverbanks. The vision of some ancient reptiles hiding between the rotting trees and ready to make a meal at one of us kept running through my mind. When we crossed the 7th river, it was already dark. We had to continue the journey mostly in the dark as most of the flashlights we carried were not working because it got soaked in the river. All we could think now is that we are cold, hungry and where the hell is Kuala Teku Camp. Our guide had to track back as there were a few people who were left behind were still missing (we were confident that these people could catch up). Fortunately those missing men were found, and there were having their ‘lunch’ between fallen trees and sharp rocks. So the rest continued to Kuala Teku Camp. Our guide had put candles along the way so that the last group could find their way to the camp through the dark. That’s the problem if you bring just one guide for the expedition. We reached Kuala Teku ant 9.40 p.m. and the last group behind us arrived at about 11 p.m.
Tuesday
1st June
Today
we started our journey to Padang Camp (1600m) at 8.30 a.m. as most of us woke up
late. We would have to track for about 16km from Kuala Teku (200m) passing
through Wray’s Camp, Mt Pankin (1463m) , Mt Tangga 15 (1539m) and Mt Gedong
(1830m). It is all the way up throughout. I don’t know about the rest of the
team, but basically, with all the things I am carrying on my back, I was
complaining all the way up. We stopped at Pankin for lunch. By the time I
reached there, it was already 3 p.m. The campsite is not big. You can only fit
about 6 tents. Although you can get drinking water there, you would have to walk
for about 10 minutes to get it – it’s brown in colour, taste like tree roots
and it only drips, so you have to be a bit patient here. Gunung Tangga 15,
or The Mountain of 15 Stairs, would be one of the most challenging climb, and
dangerous, throughout our entire journey. We have to use ropes to get through
the paths. It was already dark even before we passed Tangga 15. Feeling tired
and hungry, we had to reach our destination though it means that we have to do
most of the vertical the climb in pitch darkness.
Getting wet was part of the highlights
I could see that our guide was
really concern about the situation. It was about 10 p.m. when one of our team
member survived a miraculous fall. The rope that he was clinging on at the
vertical climb snapped. We heard a scream and then silent. God knows what all of
us was thinking at that moment. We were numb until we heard his voice. He fell
about 50 m before his rug sack got stuck on a branch of a tree. We learned later
that it was the only tree, which grew between the rocks. That night, he was the
luckiest man alive. We cut some rope, lower it so that he could tie it around
his waist, and pulled him up. By then, it was 11 p.m. We continued until we
reached Mt Gedung at 12 p.m. and ultimately decided that to camp at Gedung
although we were almost near Padang Camp. There was no water source at the
campsite, so we had to make do with what we have brought from Pankin. It was
really windy on top and the wind managed to blew off one of our fly-sheet for
the tent.
Another view from G. Tangga 15
Wednesday
2nd June
We woke up quite late. Without having any food or drinks, at 8.45 a.m., we headed towards Padang Camp to get the much-needed water. After we had our breakfast, we continued to track to the peak of Mt Tahan. It was about 11 a.m. when we left Padang Camp. The track to the peak was a bit odd. First, we went through the rocky area. At that time it was really hot as there are no trees to cover you. Then, we went through muddy paths, which continues to slow us down. Finally, at 4.40 p.m., after 4 days of endless hiking, we finally reached the peak of Mount Tahan.
.
Some plants you can see at G.Gedong
We have travelled 55 km and climbed 2187m all in the 4 days and it was
worth every step. You don’t really get to see sceneries like Mt Kinabalu, but
for me it was more fulfilling – personally. Due to the mist and fog, our sight
we limited to a few metres. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out how cold it
is up there. This is where a good sleeping bag will come in handy. Knowing that
I have fulfilled one of my dreams, I slept like a baby that night.
