MT. ULU SEPAT (31 AUGUST 2006 TO 3 SEPTEMBER 2006) PART 3

2 September 2006

Woke up at time 0330 hrs. Heard some noise from the next campsite on the summit. Did not know what they were doing in the early hours of the morning (noisy). Decided to continue sleeping as it was raining. Woke up at time 0645 hrs to witness the sunrise but had no mood to do so as it was still raining. It had been raining since midnight. The temperature was around 16 degrees Celsius. Decided to continue sleeping until time 0730 hrs.

Woke up at time 0730 hrs to have breakfast. After breakfast, started to pack up. Descended from the summit at time 0930 hrs. At approximately time 1100 hrs, we reached the last water point. Took a short break before continuing the descend. On the way descending down, I accidentally hurt my right finger, as I was not careful when holding the tree roots with thorns. My right thumb was bleeding and it was near the river. So I decided to hold on to it until I cross the river near Lanweng campsite. Had to apply some anti-septic cream and plaster from my personal first aid kit. Had a quick lunch near the river and collected the rubbish that was left over by us on 31 August 2006 before continuing at time 1250 hrs.

Later we dropped by Emat’s grand parents hut for a short break. Continued our journey. As we were approaching the native village, it was raining heavily. The trail was slippery and I had slipped many times. Others were moving quite fast and I was moving at a slower pace due to insufficient food intake during lunch. I was feeling quite hungry and my right toe was hurting when hiking downwards. I told myself that I should not push myself as the native village was getting nearer and safety was the most important issue. At one point, I felt like cursing the condition of the jungle. It was quite slippery and uncomfortable but I had to respect the jungle no matter how harsh the condition was. At approximately time 1615, we managed to reach the native village. Felt tired and hungry after the hike. The other group of hikers arrived at time 1720 hrs. We had our dinner at time 1900 hrs and supper later.

We exchanged some leftover food with the other group. After dinner, we mingled around with the other group to listen to their Trans Chammah – Ulu Sepat hiking journey. Slept at time 2200 hrs at the native village.

Stay tune for final part of the report.

MT. ULU SEPAT (31 AUGUST 2006 TO 3 SEPTEMBER 2006) PART 2

1 September 2006

Woke up at time 0645 hrs to have our breakfast. After breakfast, did some cleaning up and clearing the camping area. Left some wet clothes and rubbish hanging at the campsite as we will be back tomorrow to collect it.

At time 0845 hrs, we left Lanweng campsite. Had to cross the river before the ascend started. From here onwards, it was all the way up to the summit. The steepness of the trail was around 40 to 50 degrees. At certain point, had to cross over the fallen tree and hold on to the tree roots. Some of the tree roots were not solid and had to be very careful when holding on to it.

At time 1030 hrs, we reached the open area where the first false peak and Ulu Sepat peak could be viewed. Later reached the last water point 10 minutes later. I did not manage to follow the others down to get the water as I got lost half way. The trail downwards to get the water was steep. Luckily, I have sufficient water for usage. According to Lam, it took them 10 minutes to go down to get the water and another 10 minutes up. At time 1110 hrs, we continued hiking. At time 1225 hrs, we reached the beautiful mossy forest. I really love this kind of unspoilt nature of Ulu Sepat. There were pitcher plants and other beautiful flora around. The trek at certain point was quite muddy. I could feel it as we were almost reaching the summit. The sky was getting brighter and brighter. We passed by a few false peak. At time 1325 hrs, we reached the Y-junction. If you take the left turn which was purposely blocked by tree roots, it will lead you to Mt. Chammah. So our guide led us to the right turn. From here onwards, the trek was really muddy. The mud can go up to around 30 cm from your foot. You may even loose your hiking shoe in the mud. We had to walk on the side way at certain point to avoid the deep mud. When getting nearer to the summit, we bumped into another group of hikers from B. P. Guild coming down from the summit. They hike up the summit with their light backpack and hike down to Lanweng campsite for overnight before descending to Kampung Lelar the next day.

Finally, at time 1404 hrs, I was the first one to reach the summit of Ulu Sepat with the guide. The others arrived a few minutes later. There were bees flying around us. We lighted the incense and mosquito coil to keep the bees away. The view on the summit was blocked by trees and vegetation. The summit can accommodate 4 tents. We set up our flysheet besides the small standing tree whereby the sign board of Mt. Ulu Sepat was hanging around. Since it was one day after the National Day, we decided to tie our flag (Jalur Gemilang) on the tree.

Rested for a few hours before started to help out in cooking dinner. At approximately time 1710 while helping out to cook dinner, a group of hikers of 7 from FYC and 2 guides arrived. They were on their way down from Mt. Chammah, i.e. hiking the Trans Chammah - Ulu Sepat trail. The first one to arrive was Ghee Beng with a guide. Ghee Beng was shirtless when hiking. Evanna, Miow Chin’s friend, was also in the FYC group. There were scars as a result of cuts from tree thorns around his body. The pace of the FYC group was quite fast. The first and the last persons distance was 30 minutes away.

I managed to witness the sunset on the summit of Mt.Ulu Sepat. This was the first time for me witnessing the sunset on the mountain summit. The view of the sunset was magnificent and wonderful. After dinner, we had Ginseng soup. The weather at night as cold with temperature falling to less than 20 degrees Celsius. Later at around time 2200 hrs we slept.

Stay tune for Part 3 of the report.