Initially, it was Ng Ping Loong (PM24) (Loong) who wanted me to take him to Nuang. Since, I was quite free during the weekend, I agreed to take Loong to climb Mt. Nuang with the help from Steven Ng (Loong’s friend) and to let him experience the challenge in climbing Mt. Nuang.
Hiking equipment checklist
1. Torchlight
2. Whistle
3. Small compass
4. Map (just for me to recognise the way to drive to Nuang)
5. Hiking boots
6. Deuter waist pouch
7. Personal first aid kit
8. Walking stick (just in case someone needs it)
9. Knapsack
10. Penknife
11. 2.5 litres of water & 500 ml of isotonic drink
12. Lunch and fruits
13. Extra Powerbar, Powergel and chocolate bars (just in case someone needs it)
14. Extra clothing
Mt. Nuang hiking eve
This was my third time climbing Mt. Nuang. Before the trip, I was worried whether Loong will be able to make it to the summit. Loong was still a junior in climbing as he had climbed Mt. Bunga Buah, Mt. Angsi and Mt. Kinabalu. I told myself that I should let Loong to climb at his own comfortable pace and not to pressure him, as this was his first time climbing Nuang. No matter what happened (i.e. whether Loong reached the summit or fail to reach the summit or how fast or slow the pace was) safety aspects of was the main priority in hiking. I was confident that I could guide Loong successfully to the summit without much problem with the help from Steven.
Mt. Nuang hiking day
Drove to Shell Petrol Station at Bandar Tasik Selatan to meet up with Loong and Steven at 6.45 a.m. We waited for Steven for about 20 minutes and he came to meet us at 7.15 a.m. Then we started our journey to Nuang. Had to stop half way after passing Hulu Langat town for Steven to buy his lunch. Everyone had taken his or her own breakfast, as it would save our time in Nuang. We arrived at the car park of Nuang at 8.10 a.m. There were many cars at the car park as the next day was a public holiday. We had to register ourselves at the Ranger Office before being allowed to proceed with the hike.
The hike started at 8.27 a.m. Usually, I would like to go in front and let Steven (the most experienced hiker among us) to stay behind (anchorman). This time I told Steven to be in front and I stayed behind (anchorman) to guide Loong to the summit. I told Steven to lead the way and Loong and myself will follow from behind and to stop for a while if the pace was too fast for us to follow. Initially, the pace by Steven and Loong was too slow. I had no choice but to follow their pace and since this was the first time for Loong in hiking to Nuang, I must not pressure him to go at a faster pace. I just focused on my hike from behind and we targeted to reach Lolo campsite by 10.27 a.m. At certain point in time, Steven’s pace was quite fast and he would only stopped when he was tired and needed water break. I knew that I could go at a fast pace with Steven but there was no point in doing so since Loong was still inexperienced in Nuang as compared with Steven and me. I had to guide him carefully to the summit. At certain point (a few times) Steven’s pace suddenly slowed down and he had to stop for a while to rest. Loong and myself also stopped to check whether Steven’s condition was all right. From my observation, Steven’s condition looked like an unfit hiker and he was getting tired before reaching the dam and when trekking up a small hill slope. I was really surprised to look at his condition as I had never seen him like this before in our previous hiking trip and he was always faster than me. We reached the dam at 10.00 a.m. I told Loong that we had to move faster in order to meet our scheduled time of 1027. At the dam, Steven requested us to wait for him at Pacat for one hour, as he wanted to sleep for one hour at the dam. We asked Steven whether he was all right and he replied that he needed to sleep for one hour. I told him that if we were to wait for him for one hour at Pacat, we would already exceeded our cut-off time of 1400 before reaching the summit and we may have to descend even we did not manage to reach the summit. It would be too risky to continue, as the day would be getting darker by then when we descend from the summit. To me the question of me reaching the summit or not reaching the summit was not important. What was important was to ensure that Loong and Steven reached the summit safely. It was not our intention to leave Steven alone. Steven insisted that we leave him alone and then asked us to proceed with our journey to the summit as he just need to sleep for an hour at the dam. He was experienced enough to take care of himself. We decided to proceed without Steven and the responsibility of the safety fell on me. My mind was still thinking what was wrong with Steven.
At time 1027, we Loong and I managed to reach Lolo campsite without much problem. We were on scheduled time. We decided to take a short break for approximately three minutes and snap photos. Later, we continued our journey to Pacat campsite. Our next Estimated Arrive Time (EAT) for Pacat campsite was time 1200. We managed to arrive at Pacat campsite at time 1155, i.e. 5 minutes ahead of the EAT. Since we arrive earlier, we decided to take a fifteen minutes break to hydrate ourselves, snap photos and chit-chat with other climbers. This time the surroundings at Pacat was different from the last time I was at that place on 10 January 2006. There were bees flying around. Luckily, the bees did not stink us.
The hike from Pacat to the summit took us almost two hours. At certain point, Loong kept asking how far more to the summit. My reply to him was “keep on going, it’s getting nearer”. I told Loong not to rush and go at his own pace and safety was the most important aspect of the hiking trip. Halfway through to the summit, there was a peak called Pengasih Peak. If you turn left, the route would lead you down to a valley and up to the summit of Nuang. If you take the right turn, it would lead you to Janda Baik, Pahang. (Sorry, forgot to snap photo on Pengasih summit) When I was hiking at this point, I was very cautious with every step I took, as I did not want to have any mishaps and not to expose my swollen left thumb, which was still recovering at that time. In the past when climbing Nuang, there are some experienced hikers to guide me from Pacat and to show me the safest step to climb up the steep hill. This time, I had to figure it out myself since I was guiding Loong from behind. Loong did not have much problem going up the steep hill. As the time passed 1340, i.e. the EAT, we still have not reached the summit. I decided to let Loong to continue his hike at his own comfortable pace and follow from behind. I knew that we are going to exceed our cut off time of 1400 to descend from the summit. I decided to take some risk in continuing the journey as I had the confident that Loong and I would be able to descend from the summit and reach the car park safely before time 1900. At the point when almost reaching the summit, there was a left and right turn. The left turn was quite steep and risky to climb. Since, I had tried the left turn before, I decided to take the right turn. The right turn was not so steep and less risky. The right turn was actually the back entrance to the summit of Nuang. I arrived at the summit at time 1406 and Loong arrived at the summit a few minutes earlier than me. We had our lunch on the summit and snap some photos.
Stay tune for second part of the report.
Photo taken on 29/12/1996 at 7.09 a.m.
Photo taken on 29/12/1996 at 7.07 am.
This photo was taken on 29/12/1996 at 7.03 am. Seating from left to right: Fang Hau, Min Wei (Ong), Wai Meng (Lai) and standing: Kok Teng (Hor) (Expedition leader).
