[ explore.dream.discover ]

The call to climb came 2 weeks before, in the form of a Facebook post. A year ago, my hiking friends and I went on a 2D/1N trip to Yong Belar, but didn't get to the peak. We camped at Kem Tudung Periuk, and we had turn back due to bad weather. The second time, we planned it as a daypack but 2 days before we were scheduled to leave, I had a nasty neck sprain. So my friends went ahead and summitted - without me. So to make that up, I had to go and summit Yong Belar on my own without my regular hiking mates.

The previous guide who took my friends up to YB was organizing this expedition, so I signed up. I had approximately 10 days to train. So I began with stairs training. ( Living on the 11th floor of a high rise condo has its benefits )After work, I'd come home, change into my sports gear, carry a 8 kg load, and shoot for the stairs. On most days I could only do 3 reps of 10 floors each. One weekend I went to Batu Caves to climb the 272 stairs, accompanied by a friend. I could only pray the training would at least give me some head start.


2 other friends who didn't know what they were signing up for also joined me, because I asked them. It rained the whole two days ( Note: WHOLE ) before our scheduled climb. So on the 12th January, we left ( in the rain ) to Lojing Mosque, where everyone would be gathering.

13th January 2018
Our 4 wheel drive arrived at 5am to transport us to the start of the trail. We opted to use the kebun route, and not the pipe one. We arrived at the starting point, and as our Muslim friends performed their prayers, we got to know one another. After a quick briefing, we started off, at 6.40am.

It was a short, uphill climb until we arrived at a small clearing, often also called Pintu Rimba ( Forest Gate ). I was already huffing and puffing by this time ( Note: 20 minutes into the climb ). Soon I was the last on the line, with the sweeper behind me. We had to count the false peaks ( there are 6 false peaks before you arrive to the first camp ). After what seemed like a never ending false peaks, we arrived at Kem Tudung Periuk, 2 hours later. The time was 8.30am.



Here, after a quick breakfast, the guide took us to the Pelaur Waterfalls. I opted to skip,  as I wanted to make a head start to the second camp and prepare for the summit bid. So my team left with the guide, and I went ahead with another guy who also opted to skip the falls.  Immediately after the Pelaur turning, the trek shot uphill and......uphill again. It was uphill most of the way. Well, all the way. The guy behind me complained of cramps in his legs and stopped many times. I stopped with him because it was only the both of us on the trail. We continued after he seemed OK to walk again.

 I wore my trusted Adidas Kampung. So did the guy behind me, but his Adidas Kampung was destroyed. The soles of his shoes were torn. I have never heard of anyone's Adidas Kampung getting destroyed like that, so it was new to me. Maybe he used it to work as well, who knows.

So naturally he became slower and slower, and I had to wait for him to catch up. Due to the incessant rain days before, the trail was extremely, insanely muddy. I kid you not. It was the worst mud trail I have seen ( and I have seen many mud trails ). I'd walk right into a perfect trail only to go straight into a mud pit, as deep as my knees ( again, I kid you not ). Every time this happens and I struggle to get my legs out again, a 1- 2 kilograms of mud would be sticking on my shoes.  The trick is to walk the sides and bypass the main trail, but after you have gone into the mud and out as many times as I did, you won't care anymore. This getting-into-mud activity also slowed me down a little.


Soon, a few of our teammates began catching up with us. It took me 3 hours to get to Kem Kasut, the second and last camp before the summit. Here, I stopped for 10 minutes to have some chocolates and some water. Most of my team members have already left to the summit. The time was 12.50pm.

At 1pm, I began my final push to the summit. It was getting dark and rain clouds were circling overhead by now. I was alone on the trail, having left the guy with the torn Adidas Kampung at Kem Kasut. I was cold and hungry, but I was saving my lunch for the summit.

Mount Yong Belar is a beautiful, mossy jungle and each turn can make you feel like you are in an enchanted forest. Unfortunately, each turn also brings you into fresh new mud pits. The trail is uphill and fairly straight forward with roots and tree trunks taller than me, to be climbed. It also began to slightly drizzle. I put on my rain cover for my bag and soldiered on.

Less that 15 minutes later, I ran into my group coming down from the summit. I took a final few steps and suddenly, I was at a clearing, with nowhere higher to climb. I have made it! Time: 2.30pm



 Jerry, a medical student I met when volunteering for 4Deserts Gobi March, China last year, was among the group that was descending. He was sweet to go back up the summit with me just to take a couple of photographs. After some pictures, he went back down, while I sat to contemplate why couldn't I have taken up some other hobby. I slowly ate my lunch, a cheese sandwich and some chocolates, and watched other hikers pose with the summit mark.

It was cloudy with no view, and it looked like it was going to pour anytime. And it was very cold. Very, very cold. I had a spare fleece in my backpack but decided against using it as it will get warmer when I descend. I spent 20 minutes on the summit I took almost 8 hours to climb. I thought about the long, arduous and muddy journey that awaited me. I also thought about the bragging rights I just earned by being here. With that, I set off to descend Mount Yong Belar.

20 minutes below the summit, I ran into Mr Torn Adidas Kampung and another friend. They coaxed me to go up to the summit with them again. Which I reluctantly did. So I summitted twice, really. And waited while they snapped some pictures and ate their lunch. We only started descending at 3.55pm.

By daypack standards, this is  very late. As much as I could, I wanted to avoid hiking in the dark. However, a lot of people descend Yong Belar after dark. Our guide estimated that we will only reach back to base by 10pm. So we started descend, as a group this time. Me, my friend, Mr Torn Adidas Kampung, our guide and his assistant. We took about an hour and a half to reach Kem Kasut, and after a 10 minutes break, left to Kem Tudung Periuk.

The most challenging stretch is Kem Kasut - Kem Tudung Periuk. Apart from the longer leg,  it is in this stretch that the most mud pits can be found. Due to tiredness and dehydration ( my water supply long since finished ), I tumbled and slipped a few times, with my shoes stuck in knee deep mud. I was cold, wet and dirty ( hungry too, but I could not summon a briyani even if I wanted, so I ignored the hunger ). Halfway between the both camps, I could feel sharp pain on my right upper tight. It was slowing me down and it was getting darker. It felt like a muscle tear and every step felt like a knife slicing through my thighs. but no time to dwell on it now. The focus was to get out, and safe.

At 7pm, we stopped for 30 minutes. As Muslims, our guides were respecting the unspoken rules of the jungle to not hike during the twilight hours.  I took this opportunity to gulp down 2 Panadols for the pain. Mr Torn Adidas Kampung was whimpering about how tough the hike was. The cold was biting to the bone. We started moving at 7.30pm, headlights at the ready.

We arrived Kem Tudung Periuk at 9pm. Here, our guides tried to establish contact with base. Nobody responded. We were pretty sure that all of our teammates must have gotten back down and were waiting for us to get onto the 4 wheel. It made me feel guilty for letting people wait for us. I knew after this, there will be 6 false peaks that needed to be climbed and we will be done.

At the 5th false peak, our assistant guide heard noises of people talking in front of us. We could hear muffled voices of people, but we weren't sure which direction are they coming from. We also knew that there are many other people on the mountain at various points, some still descending behind us. We continued moving, each time the voices were getting louder. Abang Man, the assistant guide, walked in front to check the source of the voices. He came to the 4th false peak and was met with a group of people, our group, huddled close with emergency blanket covering themselves. On the ground, lay our gogo ( organizer ). She has had some difficulty breathing during the hike down and was placed inside an emergency blanket.

We were shocked as she was extremely fit and fast. She practically glided up the mountain effortlessly. She was an awesome person and all I wanted was for her to get well. I was extremely relieved to know that it was not an MI attack later on.

Our guide stayed back to monitor the situation and to arrange evacuation. The Fire Department, ambulance and the police were already called. She had a suspected MI ( later it was confirmed as non MI ) so a few of them stayed back with her while the rest of us continued down. It was 1.30am when we reached Pintu Rimba.

Down at the kebun, a few people who arrived before us were resting in a little shack. The cold was killing everyone. I sat on a big jerry can, unable to move. At the site of emergency, I had lent my fleece to Jerry who was  in extreme cold himself, so I was inadequately dressed for the biting cold. All I could do was sit still and nod off in exhaustion.

At 3.45am, the 4 wheel drive arrived to transport us back to the Lojing Mosque. It was a long, exhausting journey. We arrived back to base at about 4.45am, had a quick wash up and decided to leave straight to KL.

It is true that Yong Belar is the easiest among all the G7, but if you do not have adequate training, don't attempt it. I suffered because I did not train enough ( I learned my lesson ). It was a humbling experience and a great memory. It challenges you physically and mentally. We also had minor injuries, but that's a story for another day.

Special thanks to : 
1. Kak Ema, our gogo, who organized a great expedition.
2. Abang Shah, who is by far the best jungle guide I have met. If you want to join one of his hikes,      ask me for his contact.
3. Abang Razman, who came as a participant but had to be an assistant sweeper to help Abang 
    Shah.
4. My friend Gayathri, who despite climbing for the first time, never gave up and soldiered on       
    until the finish line
5. Friends and family, for rooting for us and waiting up until the wee hours of the morning to 
    ensure we were safe.

Enjoy the trail and here's to your own summit.