TransPeak Expedition with The Elites

Kids, when i was young and free of commitment like you, i enjoyed hiking so much (and still do). My first expedition to G7 mountains was in 2010 (go and google what G7 is). I managed to convince your Tok Abah to allow me to join aunt Jiji, aunt Mieda, uncle Don, Uncle Zac, Uncle Mad, Uncle Cagan and Uncle Jepah in the TransPeak Expedition...

(Uncle Zac named us as Team Elite)

(Aunt Jiji, Me, Aunt Mieda, Uncle Don, Uncle Zac, Uncle Jepah, Uncle Mad, Uncle Cagan)

Friday - 4th June 2010
[Bukit Jalil - Ipoh - Ulu Kinta]

All of us gathered at Bukit Jalil (it used to be a bus terminal) and repacked our haversack so that we could fit our ration which was A LOT! The fact that me, aunt Jiji and aunt Mieda were GRACEFUL LADIES (and still are), we had more essentials compared to the men like toiletries and more clothes were needed which reduces the space for ration. Still, I felt like carrying tons of bricks! But, the guys bags' - i couldn't even lift it! Our bus was scheduled at 6 pm to Ipoh, but was delayed until 6.30 pm which was a blessing in disguise because aunt Mieda got lost and reached Bukit Jalil at 6.30pm! So, we arrived at Ipoh around 10pm. We had our dinner and isya' prayer before heading to Ulu Kinta. We were lucky to be offered by Abg Rajes (the guide)'s relative to stay in their house for the night.

Packing up the ration

Saturday - 5th June 2010 - The hike begin
[Ulu Kinta Dam - Kem Seroja - Kem Kijang - Waterpoint]

After our subh prayers , breakfast and 'toilet businesses', we proceed to Ulu Kinta Dam by a pick up truck. Both the ride and the view were breathtaking! I'll describe it as a roller coaster ride with beautiful scenery. I can never forget the surrounding mountains and hills with mixture tones of blue and green color perfected with the view of splashing water from the dam. As we reached the starting point , we pulled up our socks high , sprayed SOME Bygon (it's a cockroach repellent,and we hoped that it worked for leech!), and with a prayer, we hit the track!

On the way to Kem Seroja, we had to cross few streams whereby we had to step from one rock to another (if you don't want to wet your socks), which i found quite difficult as they were quite slippery and i needed large extend of my leg to the next rock. Well, i ended up wetting my socks all the way! We reached Kem Seroja around 1.30 pm and had our lunch and zuhr prayer. At 2.30 we hit the road towards Kem Kijang. Along the way, we actually had 10 minutes rest after every 1 hour hike. We arrived Kem Kijang around 4.30 pm and decided to camp at the next checkpoint which was the last waterpoint before reaching the Korbu Peak. We made it to the last checkpoint around 6 pm. Since we were quite ahead of time (most hikers camp at Kem Seroja, and some at Kem Kijang), we aimed to complete the expedition earlier than the normal tentative.

Sunday - 6th June 2010 - The Summits [Waterpoint - Korbu Summit - Gayong Summit - Kem Cerek - Junction Peak]

Approximately, we started our hike towards the Korbu Summit on the 2nd day at 9.30 am. This time the trail was steep almost all the way up. At certain points we had to use rope to help us push our weight up. I guess it was pretty much the same as rock climbing. At this time we took 10 minutes rest after 2 hours of hike. There were also a lot of large logs that we had to cross and go through under. Luckily i was wearing my newly bought purple track bottom! On the way to Korbu Peak, we reached a 'pseudo' or false peak, but with majestic view of the lines of mountains surrounding us. We finally got to the Korbu Summit at 12.30 pm. Korbu Summit (7162ft) is the 2nd highest peak after Tahan Summit. After fueling up ourselves with our packed lunch, we were all ready to hit Gayong Peak.

Rock Climbing!!

Korbu Summit - Craziness

Though the 3 hours route to Gayong Peak (7129ft) was not steep all the way, but it was a mental challenge to us as there were numbers of false peaks. Whenever we felt that we almost reached the Gayong Peak, disappointment comes after that. Finally at 5.30, we reached Gayong Peak, i was terribly exhausted, i can barely stand even during photography session! We had our prayer and quickly head towards Kem Cerek. The guide targeted to camp at Lembah H2O so that we can complete the hike in 3 days 2 nights.

Gayong Summit - The one in 'rain coat' is Abg Rajes

Rewarding view from Gayong Peak

Kids, if you ask me, the most challenging part was from Gayong Summit to Junction Peak, as that was when i was at my lowest point ever. According to Abg Rajes, we need to hike across around 4 hills to reach the Junction Peak. However, after the sunset and it was dark, and after NUMBERS of hills and peaks, we still had not reach the Junction Peak! We had not taken our dinner yet, and it was already 10 pm, we were out of drinking water. I had one slice of bread to keep me going. The route was also terribly steep and was not within my reach. At one point, i actually had a fever rush and was quite nauseous. With limited drinking water i forced myself to swallow Panadol Actifast Tablet, so that i can keep going and maintain my pace. To make it worse, the wind was biting. We were too tired to hike, we were shivering so much to even stop for a rest (Kids, if we rest, it will be much more colder).I kept my silence as actually was on the verge of breaking into tears.

That is when i humbly appreciate the greatness of Allah The Almighty.We thought of breaking the record by doing it for only 3 days, but it's HE who decides how fast we can conquer The Almighty's majestic nature.

We finally reach the Junction Peak, and decided to camp there.

Junction Peak finally

Monday - 7th June 2010 - [Junction Peak - Lembah H2O - Kem Kuali]

With only slice of bread with no drinking water, we begin our hike as early as 8.30 am to Lembah H2O. We reached Lembah H2O around 1 pm and had lunch, prayers and toilet business. Then gearing up, we aim at reaching Kem Kasut before dark, but only managed to arrive at Kem Kuali and decided to pitch our flysheet there. The route to Kem Kuali involved a lot of crawling, bending, and 'root' climbing but the view was mesmerizing and motivating, we managed to see the sunset on the way to Kem Kuali. We also managed to appreciate the view of Ipoh town which was very beautiful. We could see twinkling lights surrounded by mountains. Personally, i was thrilled, and i believed same thing goes with my team mates.

Before reaching Kem Kuali - Subhanallah

We had maggi for dinner which i felt like eating the most delicious food ever as i was starving. That night did not went well as most of us couldn't really sleep because of the rain. Besides, the grounds was not even as there were many roots.

Tuesday - 8th June 2010 - The final Summit [Kem Kuali - Yong Belar Summit - Kem Kasut - Kem Tudung Periuk - Sg Besar - Brinchang]

Today, we were so energetic and all hyped up as we can't wait to end the expedition. We took less than 1 hour to reach Yong Belar Peak (7156ft) The trail was steep and involved few bending. All of us had the best time of our lives at the summit of Yong Belar.We managed to see the best view ever and we can see the Korbu peak, which is FAAAAAAAAAR from the Yong Belar peak.We couldn't believe ourselves that we actually went up and downs numbers of hills and mountains.

(Left)The small peak at the back on the left-Korbu Summit!
(Right) - Better view without us

One word, it was LEGEND....wait for it...DARY!

Then we headed to Kem Kasut, which was in 1 hour hike, and continued to Kem Tudung Periuk. This was when actually i could see arrays of mountains on the side. Me and aunt Jiji shouted our name out loud to hear the echo, and we did! We reached to Kem Tudung Periuk at 2.30 pm and refilled our drinking bottles, and headed to Sg Besar, with Marrybrown as our motivation. Around 4.30 pm it started to rain and we were quite demotivated at that point. But, there was no other choice than to continue towards Sg Besar. The trail most of the time were muddy and towards the end it was slippery. We reached Sg. Besar at 6pm and had our meal and prayer. Then we headed to Blue Valley from Sg Besar whereby the trail was PVC pipes! (Balancing skill and good shoe is needed here!)The trail was quite muddy and smelly. Then we finally reach the long stairs where a pick up truck was waiting for us.

Later, we headed to Brinchang. It was my first time riding a pick up truck on road! I felt like a labour worker just got back from work. It was kind of cool!

We had one day rounding around Brinchang and Tanah Rata, and later headed back to KL with the BEST FEELING EVER!!!!

YIHA!!!

Thanks to TEAM ELITE because, "it's not just about the journey, but it's the people you travel with!" :)

Team Elite - showing number of G7 conquered