Friday, May 20, 2005
day 1: sunday
after meeting at 930 in the morning, we set off for segamat by train. the train ride was super long. and worst still, the aircon broke down halfway and it was so hot we were sweating. the food sucks too. but at least we managed to get 4 seats facing each other with a table in the middle so me, yihui, mel and sandy (most of the we in this post will refer to the 4 of us) can play cards and listen to my wonderful selection of mp3s ;) with yihui's speakers. after reaching segamat, we took a bus to our destination. after registering with the rangers' office, we proceeded up to set up camp at the base of mount ophir. there was a small stream there and we wasted no time in climbing up the rocks and lying there to let the water splash on us. when we were about to cook dinner, it started raining heavily. so the 10 of us had to squeeze inside a tiny pavilion to cook our meal and brave the cold. luckily the rain stopped soon after but still i did not get a good night sleep, waking up at least 6 times in 5 hours.
day 2: monday
this was the most exhaustive day for me although we only trekked from 830am to 1230pm. we were going to trek up to campsite 4 to set up camp for the day. my 55 litres bag was at its heaviest during the whole trip with around 5 litres of waters, many canned food and the camping necessities. on top of that, i had to carry one tent in my hand. after trekking for a while, i took over another 1.5 litres of water from sandy as her bag was already quite heavy. one quarter of the way later, roger was struggling to catch up and he asked for someone to help him carry the tent. i took the tent for him. it was taking tremendous effort from me to go up every step. it was like doing a one legged squat with 100kg of weight. oh, i was actually doing that, pushing myself up every step with one leg. finally managed to reach the campsite and there was a very nice rapid beside our campsite! after setting up camp, we went to the stream and lie on the rocks in the stream to suntan. we even ate apples and listen to music while resting there. the water was icy cold and we ended up playing games like finger guessing game, zhong ji mi ma and splashing cold water on the loser. a nice and relaxing way to finish off the day of tough trekking.
day 3: tuesday
we were going to start our trek at 4am in the morning. this time we were going to go all the way up to the summit but only with a small day pack. we woke up at 3am and started our preparation for the climb to the summit. this was going to be my first night trek (excluding those in the army) in my life...so exciting :) . after familiarising with the terrain, i decided to switch off my torchlight as my first battery ran out and i want to save my only spare battery for the rest of the nights ahead. i just used a very bright lightstick to guide my way. the trek seemed endless. there was also quite a few challenging obstacles along the way. the most difficult was this 60 degrees inclined 4 storey high boulder that we had to climb with a rope. after hiking for around 6 hours, we finally reached the summit. took lotsa photos and took a break. we had to rush down to our campsite coz we still have to pack up and go down to the 1st campsite before dark. we only had 1 hour to pack up our stuff and have lunch before we set off again. as we left the campsite, it started to rain. the terrain was getting dangerous. as we were crossing a rapid, roger slipped and fell. thank god he got his leg stuck in between some rocks and the ranger and me helped him out. i really dun want to see history repeat itself so i was always ready to pull onto the person in front and behind me. going down in wet terrain was very dangerous. roger slipped another time but i was in front of him to stop his fall. here and there people fell, but nothing serious happened. i was super duper relieved when we reached the campsite safe and sound. after dinner and supper, i had the best sleep in 3 days.
day 4: wednesday
packed up and left the place. the 4 of us decided to stop over at jb for a nice dinner before going back to sg. brought them to taman sri tebau. with only 10 sing dollars each, we ate until we feel like throwing up. ordered crayfish (yummy!), stingray, sotong, oyster omelette, chee cheong fan and satays. all this for only 80rm!! shiok!
this is my first trekking trip after that fateful incident. its been a long 4 years and i decided its a good time and venue to start as mount ophir is not very difficult. everything went well and im very glad that i decided to go for this expedition. special thanks to the organisors, to mel for providing company, and to sandy and yihui for being the butt of my suaning ;) .
here are some photos of the trip.

look at the waterfall behind us!

the 4 storey high boulder.

at the summit! look, im on the same level with the clouds!

view from the summit. simply breathtaking!
thoughts running wild2:43 AM