A week has passed but I still have my knocks and bruises to remind me of my last hike. At times I wonder what do I get in return from all that, what was I trying to prove, or how I end up climbing two peaks instead of one.
Yes, I did just all that coz that is what satisfies me, being high on the peak, after all the struggle climbing and surviving the stays in the woods, the harsh weather and befriending strangers. In the end I realised I wasn't trying to prove anything to anyone -- it's purely for my own.
Mount Korbu is located in Perak and is the highest peak of the Titiwangsa Mountains (Banjaran Titiwangsa). It is also the second highest mountain in Peninsular Malaysia, standing high at 2183m after Mount Tahan (2187m).
If you asked me, it never occurred to me that I would successfully reached Korbu's peak in one piece, let alone conquering Mount Gayong too. Alhamdulillah, alhamdulillah, my gratitude for the Al-Mighty and the team for making it happen and kept us away from harm.
I got to be honest, pendakian kali ini terlalu, terlalu mencabar. Nekad Along, I'll stop hiking for awhile after this expedition. Yes, it was
THAT tough.
First thing first, we had to leave behind Abang Ros who sprained his ankle after an hour's hike. Along agak terkilan dan sedih at that time. Selama ini, semua gunung yang Along panjat tak pernah tanpa Abang Ros. It was my first dugaan as I 'lost' my sifu there. Abang Ali was kind enough to accompany Abang Ros while letting us go ahead.
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| The actual team, all 17 of us (Not in camera is Fairuz and Abang Zul) |
We left our cars at the Ulu Kinta Dam, which was a half an hour drive from the main entrance.
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| Time ni tengok empangan dekat-dekat pun dah excited -_-" |
We got ready, packed our bag, hoping that the weather would turn out alright for us as it rained earlier. I could see the dark clouds hovering over us but we just had to start our hike by hook or by crook. It was 9 am as we made our way.
Then it started to rain.
Very heavily. We knew it was the rainy season but it was truly a different experience to brave the downpour while making your way in a very unfamiliar place.
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| Penyambut tetamu setia |
We crossed rivers and battled with leeches in the rain. We drank,ate and rested
also in the rain. It felt as if the rain didn't show any sign of stopping during the 8-9 hours of hiking. Our exhaustion took its toll when one of our member, Mael fell and injured himself. We just knew we couldn't rush in the bad weather so we silently prayed we'll made it before dark to our first campsite of the day, Kem Seroja.
It was around 6 pm when we safely arrived at the campsite. Alhamdulillah, it stopped raining and we quickly put up our fliers and sorted out our rations and cooking utensils. As Camp Seroja was very much nearby to a river, our water source was aplenty! I recalled that day was the only day I took bath in the icy cold water -_-"
We managed to prepare our dinner in time despite there were just 3 ladies this time,all thanks to the guys who run back and forth for lighting and water fetching.
And during dinner time was when we get to know other members of the team -- as this time RAKAN LLM is joined by outsiders (who are very much experienced than us). Slept at 9pm, something which is so impossible if I'm at home, hehe.
The very next morning, we got ready for the real thing - the Korbu peak itself. Left some of our rations behind to lighten our burden and because we'll only be spending a night at the peak. We left Camp Seroja around 10 am.
As predicted, it rained heavily again throughout our hike. The trail was somehow friendlier than the day before until we reached to the last water point.
The hike from Camp Seroja to the last waterpoint took us approximately 6 hours. We were pretty determined to reach the peak before night time arrive, not knowing what was in store for us.
An hour later, we reached Puncak Botak or Puncak Tipu. It was the last clear area before Korbu so we took the chance to gain back our energy before the last all out hike.
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| This aint the peak of Korbu yet -_-" |
We were told the trail would be tough -- in the words of the mount sifu "
Trek lutut kamu cecah ke dagu. Rasakan!"
Very
er, motivating, sifu.
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| Could almost see the whole of Ipoh town at this height |
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| Nearing the peak view, subhanallah. |
The sun set on us and we were forced to continue climbing despite in the dark. With so little lights from our headlights, I managed to be among the earliest to reach the peak together with Fairuz, Abang Nasir and Nizam. We clocked in at 8.10 pm, all drenched wet from the again downpour.
Another four members made it 15 minutes later. But sadly the others didn't made it. They stayed near Puncak Botak as it was too dark and it was just too risky as the rain got heavier than ever.
Since we got separated, so does our ration and supplies. We just had to made do with what we have, even it meant being sacred with the water usage and cooking without oil -_-"
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| Still, the dinner that night was just delicious haha. |
The next morning, while waiting for the second team to reach the peak, we had the best of our time enjoying the panoramic sunrise view of Perak. If only I could find the exact words to describe how it felt being up there. I felt like an eagle, only without wings. I walked hastily from one clear area to another just to enjoy the view from each point. Subhanallah - I'm just a speck in the sea of greens.
We were later joined by the second team who didn't make it to the peak last night. Reunion and camera happy altogether!
The team then decided to continue to hike to Mount Gayong which was just a 2 hours hike away from Korbu. It downed on me that I have to make a decision to follow them or be left behind. I hesitated coz I did told myself that I was there for Korbu only, not Korbu
AND Gayong.
But majority won and I know deep inside me was eager to see Korbu peak from another peak,
heh.
Hiking Mount Gayong sounded easy when they kept saying "
Ala,dua jam je. Dua jam je." But none of them told me how Mount Gayong was full of puncak tipu. You know, when you thought you reached the peak, but it isn't yet. Boleh gila jap okay?
But alhamdulillah, I made it :)
We all made it too :) :)
Didn't stay long in Gayong as we need to make our way back to Korbu, and later to Camp Seroja. Estimated an hour
BUT IT RAINED HEAVILY, slowed us down -- and I realised I was having that time of the month!
DOUBLE BUMMER!
Us in Korbu peak -- drenched wet. Packed and left to meet up the second team who are waiting for us. I might looked all smiles here, but only they knew how I struggled with the cold and pain.
AND BOY WAS I HUNGRY AT THAT TIME :(
I couldn't move at one point because of the cold, but the team took care of me, by giving extra food & jackets to ease my menstrual pain :(
As I'm writing this all down, I couldn't believe I survived all that -- especially the experience of having menses (which I hope won't happen ever again next time) during hiking -- but like I said, it was truly an experience for me :)
Hiking down was a big challenge as the trail got slippery indeed in the heavy rain. We look forward to be in the woods rather than the open trail as it was easier with the trees covering our the path a bit.
The two pictures above was one of my memorable hike spot. Susah tapi terbaik! Turun dan naik was a challenge as it was a 90 degree stone wall -- dan kita hanya bergantung pada tali dan dahan pokok. I was lucky to have this moment captured, biarpun hanya waktu turun. Percayalah, I miss this moment much.
Then some of our members who were ahead of us took the wrong path and ended being lost for awhile. Lucky they found their way back and was reunited with us again. Upon reaching the last water point, some of us had injuries -- and that included me as well. I fell down and hurt my right knee and it kinda slowed the whole team. It was nearing night time -- and that's when one incident came after another.
First was when the whole team terbau bau yang sangat,sangat wangi. It was not from the smell of the flowers that we found earlier, so it kinda got eerie at that time. We recited Al-Fatihah and doa's as we walked closely to each other -- knowing we shouldn't ask or say anything about the scent.
As we hiked down, somehow two of our members, Kak Ina and Fairuz walked too far ahead of us that we lost them. We were forced to be divided into two groups : one group with the injured members and shall spent the night at Camp Kijang and the other group to go straight ahead to Camp Seroja where Kak Ina & Fairuz were headed to.
It was already 10pm when I was left with the guys in Camp Kijang. With menstrual pain & an injured knee, I was treated like a princess, haha. The guys really took good care of me and I was very thankful of that.
The next morning, after a well rested night, we head to Camp Seroja to meet up with the rest of the team. It took us four hours before reunited with them. Had lunch, packed and headed to where it all started.
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| The Camp Kijang residents - thanks guys! |
Hiking down might be challenging as well hiking up but it took us lesser time for sure. We were happy to see the familiar checkpoints and was very,very much thankful for the kind weather. For the first time during the four days expedition, baru terasa indahnya berpeluh dek cuaca panas :)
It was a nice surprise when Abang Ali showed up halfway through our journey down. He and Abang Ros waited for us and even helped us ladies with our backpacks. I swear Kak Ina & I would have run towards the finishing line, but we took the chance to just walk and shared stories with Abang Ros, once in awhile looking back and feeling proud of what we had went through.
The satisfaction, feeling of achievement as you walked out of the woods is just indescribable. Four days seemed too long for a first timer like me, but it was truly, truly an experience for this one amateur hiker.
I would like to thank Abang Ros, Abang Ali, Abang Man, Sifu, Cik Ju, Abang Zul, Abang Nasir, Mael, Kak Ina, Kak Zu, Fairuz, Nizam, Din, Awe, Arep and Qader for bearing and helping me throughout this memorable hiking experience -- and the Al-Mighty, atas kesempatan menghayati keindahan ciptaanNya.
Kuota untuk panjat gunung lagi tahun ini sudah ditutup (I targeted 2 mountains per year -- ini dah tiga gila!) so you can be assured that you won't be reading any of my hiking stories anymore.
That is if I don't accept their offer to go to Mount Tahan.....or Mount Kinabalu....
