Godsent: Along Nuang aka The Wizard helped the group of newbies climb Mount Nuang.
Despite little preparation, muddy trails and leeches, four newbies somehow make it up a tough mountain, thanks to help from a ‘wizard’.
What would happen if four city girls are taken out of civilization and dumped into the woods? Here’s the story of our adventure.
First there was no Internet connection (horrors!), then we were totally outcast from the hubbub of urban life and finally, we had no air conditioning! Our initial thought: “First world problems, bah! How hard can it really be?�
Now, throw in the finer details – a drizzle, an overdose of Vitamin D (too much sun), creepy forest creatures with uncountable legs and thorny plants …
We adopted a cavalier attitude towards these “littleâ€? discomforts and made no further investment in worrying about them …
We had a plan. We were going to conquer Mount Nuang. Our preparation, as per below, was as “comprehensive� as could be:
Camping list (outstanding items considered first: radio, tablet (computer), pots, pans, raw eggs, marshmallows).
Talk about priorities! In retrospect, I chuckle to myself thinking about how natural it was for us to want to bring technology to the woods, above all things. We also wanted to transport an entire kitchen to the jungle!
Shop and pillow-talk a night before the hike – Ta-da! Easy peasy … la la la.
You would need to be fit to climb Mount Nuang.
Challenges
Despite our grand plan of starting the hike at 7am, two of us woke up late, realised we had no trail map, had no water (that week, KL’s water supply was affected) and no source of fire.
We had not started packing; with one friend delayed by traffic and the other at the dentist. Then, bleary-eyed and hair all tousled, we asked the unforgivable: “How exactly do we get to Nuang? Where in the world is it?�
Feel that chilly breeze of impending doom? You can so bet on that!
No worries. A few hours later, all four of us were together, with an ample supply of water, a haphazardly handwritten itinerary of the Nuang trail, and lots of crazy, funny banter.
The only snag? The clock showed 3pm when we reached the rangers station at the foot of Mt Nuang and it was raining. Perhaps we were too casual in our approach to the challenge ahead – we’d thought we could just wing it.
Bewitched
We bumped into an extraordinarily charismatic ranger at the rangers station, known as Along Nuang – lean, dark, fit, funny, mysterious. He promised us the peak, only if we were willing to follow him on a night (-marish) trail commencing at 2am – when darkness would envelope the senses and the wind would chill the bones, while evil branches reached out to graze tender human skin and roots and rocks appeared unexpectedly to trip innocent wandering girls.
The Wizard wouldn’t tell us why he insisted on a night hike, thus increasing our curiosity and awakening the daredevils in us. After he bewitched us, we set up our tent at Campsite Lolo (8km from the rangers’ station), convinced other campers to follow us for the midnight conquest and went to bed in full anticipation.
We were lulled to dreamland with the constant gushing of the rapids, accompanied by the songs of the crickets and owls.
A Leech Camp inhabitant called ulat guli or marble worm.
Nightmare trail
At 1.30am we were awoken by Along’s voice. A group of 20 people were already waiting for us sleepyheads by the campfire. I dragged myself towards the group and before I knew it, the four of us were already touching the soil of the mountain with our bare hands, grappling our way up in the dark, with illumination only from torchlights.
Nothing fancy for breakfast save some apples and honey oat bars. Not even a sweater on our backs and only four bottles of water to last us the whole way up and down.
Then a merciless torrential downpour drenched us, leaving all of us soaked to the bone. We continued this way for more than an hour to reach the Leech Camp (Kem Pacat). The trail up to Leech Camp is known as the “red earth section�, where the soil turns into slippery mud in the rain.
We had wriggly leeches sticking to our skin, happily sucking the warm blood from our freezing bodies. I felt like an animal, reaching, pushing, pumping myself up in defiance of gravity.
Surprisingly, I was almost laughing in the rain – so wild and free – welcoming its initial cooling effect against the heat of my body (later on, the wetness became unbearable). It was a peculiar feeling, as if I was disconnected from my body, just willing it on from afar while it automatically moved itself up the slopes.
At Leech Camp, Along and his trusty companion, Angah, made us hot coffee from a mess tin – ah, total life-saver. While we warmed up in the shelter built by Along, the man himself shared the N.U.A.N.G acronym: “Naik Untuk Anda Yang Nak Ganas� (Climb if you like brutal hardship).
Hiding beneath the tarpaulin, I realised how big his bag was. It contained all the essentials – Maggi, Gardenia, Swiss army knife, cans of tuna, gas burner and all the things we girls should have brought, but didn’t. It was humbling. The Wizard’s generosity, kindness and charisma was what kept fuelling us onwards.
We finally left the comfort of Leech Camp (as ironic as it may sound) to chase our peak. Strangely enough, a “false peak� by the name of Puncak Pengasih was between us and the real peak, Puncak Gunung Nuang. This meant climbing up and down a small hill before reaching our destination! Oh the joy! Oh the PAIN!
So we huffed and puffed our way up. Flicked (or squished) leeches away, screamed at the sight of centipedes, lacerated our palms, grabbed at tree roots, hopped over fallen tree trunks, executed balancing acts at swamps, hugged overhanging branches for dear life, bumped our limbs, stepped into puddles and accumulated dirt under our nails from clawing and crawling up!
We sighed, cried and wailed. But most importantly, we kept motivating each other. I would never have done it without Arina, Cheryl and Putri, Along and Angah. Thank you very much! We were bimbos who turned into soldiers out there.
Dream ending
At 7.15am, we conquered Mount Nuang’s peak. Everyone yelled, posed for customary pictures and laughed their fatigue away.
Our group of 20 had by now dwindled down to half that number. We celebrated with breakfast – Gardenia slathered with tuna and Nescafe Gold mixed with Old Town White Coffee.
The air was misty and we were shivering. A leech was found hanging onto my back, plump with blood.
I had three wonderful smiling girls around me, amazing friends with a heart for adventure and comradeship – Along in his yellow cap and cigarette, stirring us hot coffee and tickling us silly with riddles; Angah beckoning a squirrel with some bread and a fellow hiker jovially complaining about how his belly bounced around like jelly.
We were a picture of happiness in that simple moment.
? Editor’s note: This is a tongue-in-cheek article. Do note that trekkers have gotten lost on Nuang, resulting in large-scale search and rescue operations. Some have even lost their lives on this mountain.
Facts on Mt Nuang
MOUNT Nuang (1,493m) is one of the highest points in Selangor, and is known
as the “Mount of Infamy�, boasting an extreme trail that is a nightmare for many
hikers.
It is a common training ground for serious hikers and runners who use it to get fit for the likes of Mount Kinabalu , Tahan, Rinjani etc.
Situated on the border between Pahang and Selangor, the peak can be conquered via three routes,
either beginning from Janda Baik, Hulu Langat or Kemensah.
The Hulu Langat (Lembah Pangsoon) trail head is the most popular among hikers and can be reached from the Cheras-Kajang highway.
The adventure starting from Hulu Langat can be divided into four distinct parts. First
is the easy 5.8 km ascent along almost horizontal terrain from the rangers station to Lolo Camp, which is the foothill of Nuang.
One option is to camp here for a night and hike up the next morning. This would make the climb less strenuous, especially for first-timers up this mountain.
The second part, infamously known as the “evil red earth� clay section is from Lolo Camp to Pacat Camp (1.2 km). If it rains, the soil becomes slippery, making it very difficult to a scend and d escend.
Next is the 1.2 km route heading to Pengasih Peak (false peak). Although less slippery, it is a steep and demanding climb along a trail carved out by tree roots and rocks.
The final part is the trail leading to Nuang’s Peak, approximately 1km away. Fit climbers usually take an average of 4-5 hours to reach the peak from the rangers station.
