A Wet, Wet Gunung Angsi

Please click here to view photos by courtesy of Kathy. There are two albums in the same link: Pine Tree Trail (at Fraser's Hill) and Gunung Angsi.
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I saw Pansy stepped into the water when she was almost reaching the other end while crossing the stream. Why wouldn’t she step on to the other bolder which was just above the water? I watched in disbelief and seemingly consumed by own thought while waiting for my turn to cross.

The water was about 1-2 feet deep and it was flowing swiftly due to heavy rainfall in the past few days. I surveyed the adjacent boulders for a dry landing spot as the nearest boulders were submerged in water. With the help of my “blind-man” trekking stick to maintain my balance; cautiously, I stepped forward.

“Ahhh…” before I could react, I slipped and fell with my back landed in the water. I struggled for a moment to stand up, completely wet. “KC fell into the water!” I heard one of the trekkers exclaimed, and I really have a good laugh for the mistake. Luckily, my camera and handphone were not wet. Falling into a stream that way was my new experience.

It is a great challenge not to step into the water

We started the ascent at 9:15 a.m. on a Sunday morning on 14 October 2007. The mission is to trek to the peak of Gunung Angsi. Before the start of the journey, Tony, the team leader a.k.a. The Mountain Sifu, gave a short briefing to all. Any event would not be complete without taking group photos. It was such a huge group – 41 trekkers and Kenny’s cute little doggie.
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Kathy was happily showing her new T-shirt bearing her name and lucky number.

To assume the role of a “sweeper”, I finally caught up with Kelly and friend. Kelly’s friend was trekking very slowly as she developed difficulty in movement. To ensure their safety, I accompanied them. We later met Miss Choi who was resting by the trail. At times, we tried to telephone the other team members to gauge their location. There was full signal as shown in the handphone but the telephone line was not through. Slowly but surely, we trekked up the numerous steep slopes.

Kelly’s handphone finally rang at 12 noon after numerous failed attempts trying to contact her friends who were way in front. Her friend, Kathy, told her that they have reached the peak of Gunung Angsi. As reported, one of the girl trekkers, however, sustained injury when she fell at the steep surface area accessible only by using ropes.

Kenny's doggie is on its way down

We stopped at the spot where we saw a few of the trekkers were on their way hurriedly going down. I saw Ming, MC, Kenny and his little doggie, Lee and a few others. Those were the fast trekkers.

At that moment, the sky started drizzling. We opened our backpacks looking for our raincoats and at the same time, we took the opportunity to have a light snack.

The rain seemed to start a little too early. On the day before, the torrential downpour started at around 5:00 p.m. Hopping that it would rain again only in the evening, we should have enough time to return to base.
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Mun Yee and group is boiling water and making tea in the rain (at the peak)

As told, we would require about another half hour to reach the peak. Since it started drizzling and other trekkers were on their way down, we decided to descend. We were donning raincoat most of the time. With the rain, we were wet anyway: either from the rain or from sweating profusely as it was like having a sauna inside the raincoat. I felt a little better. Even if I did not fall into the water, I would be completely drenched too.

The models are displaying the latest fashion for wet season ... :-)

Trekking in the rain was also a different kind of experience. All were quietly walking down the slope by placing one foot in front of the other, mechanically. With the raincoat covering the backpack, a trekker would look like a hunchback person supported by a stick (the trekking stick) when viewed from behind.

With much difficulty, we finally reach the base at 3:30 p.m. We saw Tony was sitting at one of the unused stalls waiting for us. He must have been waited for long time as his hair was completely dried after taking his bath. We then went to clean ourselves while waiting for the others to return. Finally, the last batch of trekkers safely returned at around 4:30 p.m.

Yeah, all safely return to base

Post-Trekking

Jason told us that the peak was at times covered with clouds. They were up there briefly as it started to drizzle. Part of the lunch pack – the bread – which was carried by Kelly, was not able to reach the peak.

As for the girl trekker, she fell because the rope snapped. Her head hit against a sharp object that caused much bleeding. Tony was there to render help. She was later sent to a nearby hospital by her friends. She underwent outpatient treatment and received a few stitches for the cut.
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At the peak of Gunung Angsi

This time, I was lucky – I was not bitten by any leeches. Pansy, however, was attacked by a leech at the inner thigh that caused much bleeding.

We later adjourned to Seremban for the famous Grill Crabs. The restaurants were full of people even at 5:30 p.m. True to its name, the food was superb and delicious; possibly, we were hungry. Or maybe we felt good to reward ourselves after achieving our goal.

Chooi Lin bought a pair of new trekking shoes costing RM 280 from New Balance at The Gardens, Mid-Valley City.

Written by KC
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