The Longest Day

Messner's account on climbing Mount Nuang.

Feelings of regret were beginning to fill my heart as I watched Chris struggling in pain just to take a few steps. It was only the Sunday before that I persuaded her to join this climb of Selangor's highest mountain. Nuang has a reputation for being a tough mountain but I was confident that Chris could do it, as she exercises regularly. Have I made a wrong judgment call?

Boring, never ending road.

Night had fallen and the 5 of us were moving slowly along what is famously known as the "Boring, Never ending road". It certainly felt very much that way then, I mean the never ending part. There was no energy left to feel bored. We were the last of 17 climbers apart from the Boey family of 5. They came specifically to assist us at KG's last minute call the day before for help. What camaraderie! They had earlier climbed a hill in Broga and then came over to Nuang, had in fact waited at Pacat camp for close to 5 hours for the last few of us to descend.

Boey and his two sons with Messner (white T-Shirt)

Boey and his two older boys, Calvin and Daniel accompanied and supported us. It was comforting to have them. Our eyes kept looking out for familiar landmarks to indicate that we are nearing the end of the road, looking for pine but only saw bamboo trees. Fireflies were hovering around and one even managed to get itself swallowed by David earlier, which could possibly explain how he got his second wind and covered the last stretch so quickly despite a twisted ankle.... he had fire within him.

We met Jason here at Puncak Pengasih.

It has been a long day...15 hours of hiking since 6.30am. Jason was the point man, taking the lead and marking the route with pieces of plastic tapes tied at strategic locations and shredded paper along the trail. It was good to have him, efficient, reliable, dependable and strong, which earned him the nickname "Camel" on an earlier hike of G3. Boey and I wondered how this man could do all that he did, and that without training!!!. He was fast too, covering the distance to the top within a very respectable 4 hours 45 minutes, followed closely behind by SK, fondly referred to by her husband KL as 'tigress'. KL did well, though a bit unsure of himself earlier on.

KL who referred to his wife as 'tigress'.


Chris, at the start of the never ending road.

The walk in from the base right to the end of the never ending road took me 90 minutes covering a distance of 5km. Although I have walked this road a number of times, I never did remember that it was going uphill and downhill, certainly not a casual stroll in the park. For those unfit, they would be panting and huffing and some may even think of giving up. Nevertheless it was a good warming up which could possibly explain why many of us did not feel as much muscle ache after the climb, as compared to after climbing Ledang.

KG, Eunice, Chris, David and myself were covering the back most of the way up. Weather was good, much to the relief of Eunice, that dear fellow climber, and of course the rest of us. She only decided to come if and only if it didn't rain the day before. You see, the rain would bring out more leeches, something which triggers a panic reaction in her. Chris was also afraid of them until she actually saw one...her first remark was 'huh, this is a leech? I should have known earlier'. She expected the leech to look like something out of the Rambo movie, those round shaped thingy that sticks to you and sucks all the blood out. So a giant was slain that day. Eunice's prayer that no leech would get to her worked. She saw 6 but none got to her. Courtesy of Nuang, KG and I got one each. Hmmm...call it hiking fee, donate some blood. Some even insisted in taking photograph of the creature sucking blood from my calf!.

Hiking fees in the form of donating blood :)

Along this road, I went ahead and caught up briefly with Radzi and Ismail, two friendly gentlemen who joined our group for the first time. They were preparing for Mt K the following month. Well, I shall say they are ready for it. I didn't see them again until they were descending from the summit while I was on the way up. They made good time. Apart from them, the other newcomers were Ah Fatt (Chih's friend), Brandon and Chan, young men who were way in front.

That's one thing about mountain climbing which I welcome very much. We get to meet many new people and hit off at the first meeting. Climbing somehow brings people together, regardless of race, religion, social status or otherwise. Some have become close buddies.

The trek to Lolo campsite was uneventful enough. Many campers were around. The usual greetings followed. I noticed that someone had removed the arrow sign pointing to the left indicating that the trek up is across the river. We almost made a mistake during Nuang 2, if not for that sign. We did the 4 river crossings easily enough, since the water levels were low.

Uncle Loke & Jack

Pretty soon we caught up with Jack and his father Uncle Loke. Uncle Loke is a springy elderly gentleman in his 60s who would put any young man to shame. He walked up Nuang with no sweat, sup sup water as they say. I mean he WALKED... while the rest of us CLIMBED. I wondered whether some people are just naturally physically gifted for such activity. On the other hand, Jack appeared to be struggling. I touched base with him and found that his last climb was KK in March, which KG and I organised. It was good to see a father and son team doing a climb together. Nowadays how often do people do that?

Praying for Jack.

We did not know it then but today we would get to know Jack a little better. It was obvious that the lack of training was taking its toll on him as he plodded along. Just after Pacat campsite, Jack suffered a back ache and decided to turn around. It must have been a difficult decision having come so far. But an injury to the back is not something that anyone should risk. We said a prayer for him before he descended with his father.

KG in his usual element..

My buddy KG was in his usual element, surpassing himself again. Having completed a 21km half marathon the Sunday before within a respectable time, following an Angsi climb on Saturday, he certainly was in tip top condition. I daresay the best I have known him to be in since many moons ago when we started our climbing adventures. I still remember that defining conversation we had about climbing Mt K in Jan 2007 which precipitated all our climbing activities till today... We still enjoy the planning and strategising and the preparations, and the satisfaction of seeing others summit peaks, pushing their limits and beyond and discovering for themselves the joy of mountain climbing.

He assisted Eunice by carrying her backpack all the way up and down and assisted any others who may need help along the way. He will say it's his training for G1. Along the way before Pacat, Chan had fallen back because of a cramp. He could not proceed further even after KG has applied medicated spray on his thigh. Chris and I met Chan that way, seated on the ground, resting, the others having left for the summit. Initially I could not recognise him since it was still dark when we met at the base. By that time Chris was having a struggle of her own. She kept wanting to stop and not proceed further. Somehow she found that her leg muscles had no strength.

KG massaging Chan's leg after applying medicated spray

I told her I cannot just leave her on her own. When she saw Chan, she quickly and happily seized the opportunity to say that she could stay with Chan until we came down. I told her no, that it would be better that she rested at Pacat campsite. She reluctantly plodded on. I found out that she had only 2 hours of sleep the night before (or more accurately that morning itself) and only 1 piece of bread. Perhaps it is the lack of energy due to insufficient food that was causing her trouble, I suggested. Along the way she took 2 energy bars.

After seemingly an endless climb up, we finally reached Pacat at around 10.30am, 4 hours later. Not bad time considering the pace we were moving and more importantly we were still within target of the summit. However, in view of Chris' performance so far, I was prepared to let her stop at Pacat and stay with her. KG on the other hand, felt she should go on at least until the next stop at Puncak Pengasih or otherwise known as the False Peak. Chris herself I was sure may have remained at Pacat if not for the fact that she felt it was unfair for me, if I were to miss out on the chance to summit because of her.

Jason, helping Chris when she almost reached Puncak Pengasih

It turned out to be the right decision for her to continue climbing and as they say, the rest is history or rather 'her story'. Chris began to climb better and better from Pacat onwards although she was sorely tempted to follow Jack and his dad down. The stretch from Pacat to Pengasih is one of the most difficult parts of Nuang or of any mountain I have climbed, more difficult than KFC of Ledang. I would call it root climbing. And yet Chris was doing very well. From then on I had no doubt she would reach the summit. At the False Peak about 12.30pm we met KG and Jason, and they were contemplating that Jason should go down to assist us. Jason, by the way, had summited at 11.23am and descended back to False Peak (about 1 hour from the summit) to provide assistance without being asked to do so. Wow...I can say very few climbers would do that, even if asked. I am sure a word of appreciation to Jason is in order here. He certainly lived up to his reputation. From then on Jason assisted Chris to the summit and carried her backpack.

David, resting at the peak after a long climb.

We finally reached the summit at about 1.30pm, approximately 7 hours later and well within the turnaround time of 2pm. Kudos to all who summited and those who didn't, don't give up. Many congratulations were passed around together with the shaking of hands. I found David sitting there snugly and having his lunch, wearing on his face the most satisfied look and savouring the moment. We shared his joy. I congratulated KL Chan, who was probably pleasantly surprised he made it despite his earlier doubts.

KG, Chris, Eunice and myself

And of course to Eunice and Chris, who have overcome personal fears and physical challenges, I am proud of you both. Scaling a peak means more than just physical achievement. For to some it is pushing beyond one's perceived limits and fears, breaking forth and finding new grounds in oneself, a sort of self discovery.

Uncle Loke and Jake made it!!

While we were all relishing the time at the summit, just before 2pm, someone brought us the news that Jack and his father were on the way up!! He sent his heralds before him! Lo and behold... what a great comeback and grand entrance (did he plan all this??? Haha) (psst KG jokingly has this theory that his father must have given Jack a piece of his mind on the descent that got Jack to turn around...). I believe Jack had the steely determination to summit. He has demonstrated that mark of a 'no quitter' so essential to any climbing adventure and the making of a true mountain climber. We were all so glad and happy for him and his father.

A great climber once said, 'Going up is optional but coming down is mandatory'. So began our descent. KG, Eunice, Chris and I were the last to go down, at about 2.30pm, 30 minutes beyond our turnaround time. We felt that it was ok to do so having that sense of control. And as any experienced mountain climber would tell you, the descent is more dangerous and many an incident has taken place on the way down.

An hour and half down, after Pengasih, I slipped as I was turning around to take a step down. It was a smooth piece of root that was positioned like a step. It happened so fast that I did not have time to react. My ribs took the full impact as they came in contact with that piece of root. Uugh! I went backwards and landed on my backpack. For a couple of minutes it took the wind out of me. KG was behind and quickly came over. I couldn't reply him initially. I found out later that I had a small crack on one of the ribs. Thank God it was only a crack. Doc Wong, a fellow climber whom I consulted, said it was not serious and I would recover fully in a month. Well, I try not to dwell on what could have happened.

David slipped and fell..

The descent otherwise was uneventful until David's left foot took a twist at the Lolo dam river crossing. Boey skilfully dressed up that foot and David found himself able to walk comfortably again, though perhaps now with much more caution.

Boey helped David with his twisted ankle and said a word of prayer.

On the way out, I reflected on that incident. Could I have avoided it? Even the question of why I am climbing mountains came across my mind. Not surprising after such an incident while walking on the never ending road in the night.

Yes, perhaps I could have avoided it. But I believe I was not reckless. I reasoned that with Nuang at certain sections of it, we have to treat it like crossing a highway, rather than a trunk road. Raised the level of care. Would I climb again? Probably yes. Apart from the sense of personal achievement and also the satisfaction of seeing others succeed, there is a bonding that forms between climbers who truly stick out for each other, as amply demonstrated by the Boey family, Jason, David and my buddy KG and the rest of the team which I was not there to witness, that would draw me back...

Chris started out with KG, Eunice and Daniel, but later fell back because her knees were hurting.

Back to Chris... it was now about 9.45pm and she was not making much progress. Her legs were in pain. According to Daniel's GPS calculation, we were still about 1.7km from the base. A long long distance.. Chris confessed later that she would not be able to walk anymore and did not know how she was going to get out. KG later told me that all the bikers he approached at the base had one excuse or another. Finally, and probably by divine intervention, a biker coming along the road agreed to stop and gave Chris a lift out at a price.

We managed to exit the never ending road about 10.15pm. Finally, the end to a very long day. Chris slept fitfully in the car. KG took over the driving cos I was almost knocked out. And can you believe it.....3 days later Chris is thinking of climbing Nuang again!!! By the way, she is already in her 60s but on that mountain peak that day, I would not be surprised if she felt 18 again. Well, that's what she answered when people kept calling her auntie and asking her age during the climb.

Finally, I must say that if not for my buddy KG's foresight of getting Jason & the Boey family in, this climb could have turned out much differently. Kudos to him... the consummate planner, who analyses all angles to a climb and who firmly believes that a major disaster is usually the result of many small (by themselves, inconsequential) mistakes coming together at the wrong time.

Climbing Gunung Nuang

Warning - This is the longest post I have ever written...

Name of Mountain - Gunung Nuang
Location - Hulu Langat, Selangor
Height - 4898ft.
Length of hike - about 9km
Level of Difficulty - 5th toughest mountain to climb in West Malaysia

Some would say that Nuang is an easy climb. Most people would say that Nuang is a tough climb. Some used Nuang as a training ground for higher and more difficult mountains. Some climbed Nuang because they wanted to meet the challenge - to climb the 5th toughest mountain in West Malaysia. Others go for the sake of their friends. Others like me, were encouraged to join the climb and to be one of the select few who made it to the top.

Now that I'm safe and well, let me tell you my story.

First and foremost, I NEVER had the intention of joining this Nuang climb. After the Ledang climb 2 months ago, I wanted to hang up my hiking boots. It was such a shame because I bought a pair of Timberland hiking shoes just before my Ledang climb. To put my shoes to "rest", just after using them for only one time, I would have thrown away RM378.

After climbing Ledang, the organisers, Messner and Sirdar started talking about climbing Gunung Nuang. I think it was during the dinner we had in Tangkak the day we climbed Ledang. Two days after the Ledang climb, Messner sent out an email on organising a climb in Nuang. I must say, that was a good move on his part so soon after the Ledang climb because everyone was excited. 61-year-old Aunt Chris had her fun in Ledang and was gamed for Nuang. I shook my head when I read all the emails coming through my mailbox. Everyone, except me, was excited about climbing Nuang. After RW's horror of Nuang in Jun 2007 and Jimbo's account in May 2008 (and the negative stories of some who were in either one of the two groups), I told myself... NO, I will not even think of climbing Nuang.

A week before the climb, Messner was on MSN and his opening line was "your Aunt Chris is doing Nuang this Sat. How about this niece?" I chatted a while with him on the general topic of climbing mountains (he did Angsi the day before) while he continued to press me for a "YES" to climb Nuang. Feeling cornered I gave him 2 conditions - 1) I have to exercise at least 4 times before the climb and 2) If it doesn't rain the few days before the climb. His reply was "wah alot of conditions....more than what a lawyer will put in a contract.." I saw Sirdar online too and he too was persuading me to join the climb. I told him that I was not fit and didn't think I should go. I also told him of the conditions I gave to Messner.

Yesterday was my decision. It didn't rain the whole week and I guessed both Messner and Sirdar were secretly glad that I would be joining them for the climb. I went to cell meeting last night and requested prayer. I told them of my fear of leeches and also ask them to pray for fine weather.

Since this was a last minute decision, I only finished packing after the meeting. I slept at about 12.35am and woke up slightly after 3am. Usually before a climb (or a vacation) I find it hard to have a good night's rest. This time I slept soundly and felt refreshed after the 2 1/2 hours of sleep.

The climbers in Seremban met in our usual place - Kemayan Square at 4am. There were 10 of us and we left in 3 cars.

We met the 7 climbers from KL at Nuang. There were 4 new climbers this time (We always meet new people in every climb).

All of us arrived on time and Messner and Sirdar briefed us on this climb. It was so dark that Messner had to turn on his car headlights. (A note to anyone who wants to start off early next time - bring a big battery-operated torchlight)

We started our journey at 6.43am. Some started earlier because they didn't have to use the restroom.

We were told that we had to walk about 5km on a never-ending boring road. 22 minutes into the journey, I stated panting. Sirdar generously offered to carry my about-5kg bag pack which I gladly gave it to him. There was no discussion of "porter fees", otherwise I would be very broke. :)

At 7.16am, I saw some other climbers taking pictures of this hut. Being a busybody, I stopped to take a picture of it too. (What I really wanted to do was to stop and rest. Taking this picture was just an excuse :)).

7.29am - A break at one of the rest areas. The never-ending boring road is just like Bukit Kepayang's.... only thing is - you'll have to walk 4km extra.. and probably take 5 times longer to reach to the end.

We smelled durians along the way. We saw at least 2 people on scooters travelling on the same road as us to collect durians. Sirdar was already thinking of buying some from the locals when we descend. A thought came into his mind and he voiced it out to the bikers. He asked if they could help us carry our bags to the end of the road. The answer was expected. They said that they had to detour into the jungle... or something like that.

I saw my first leech here. I couldn't believe it. The ground wasn't wet and here it was at the start of my climb showing off its long and lean body... like as if it was warning me that I would see more of its kind later... yucky. Aunt Chris was so excited to see one. She had a different picture of a leech in her mind.

8am - Another 5 minutes rest stop before we continued our journey. Messner placed a paper and a pencil here so that the rest of the group could mark the time they passed through here later when they descended.

8.05am. We crossed our first river. My pictures were all blurred. Not enough light, can't blame it on the camera.

Walking along the pipes reminded me of the Angsi trail.

We left the pipes and headed upwards to where the old dam was. The ones I circled were the pipes.

8.18m. This is the old dam. We have nearly reached Kem Lolo.


Durians, durians and more durians. Smelled heavenly...

8.21am - Crossing the 2nd river adjoining the dam. Aunt Chris was determined to cross the river by herself.

We saw some very interesting plants.

8.29am - At last we reached Kem Lolo. It took us 1 hour 46 minutes to reach this place. Crossing the 3rd river. If it had rained heavily today or even the day before, the water level would have risen up to our thighs and we would have had to take off our shoes to cross the river. It didn't rain and we didn't have to take off our shoes.

Crossing the 4th river near the camps. This was where Aunt Chris fell. The water was shallow but she must have slipped on a rock that was slippery. Her shoes and socks got wet but she didn't want to change her socks because she didn't see the point of wearing dry socks with wet shoes.

After Kem Lolo it's upwards all the way. From Kem Lolo to Kem Pacat the ground was orangee in colour. This made me glad that it wasn't raining and the ground was relatively dry.

A fallen tree. It was so huge.

All the way to Kem Pacat, the ground was smooth and uneven. I tell you... if it rains.. habis (gone) lah. One slip and we may end up in the natural longkang (drain) made by years and years of rain water flowing downstream. We took more than 1 hour walking through this ground.

9.54am - Just before reaching Kem Pacat, we saw LKK, Brandon and his friend, Chan. I was surprised because I knew that they were fast climbers. As we got nearer, we saw that Chan had cramps on his leg. Quickly, Sirdar went over and attended to his muscle cramps. Chan was wearing long pants and had difficulty pulling up his pants to where the cramps were. Fortunately Brandon had a spare pair of shorts in his bag and gave it to Chan. With my back turned to them, I started taking pictures of the surrounding trees. I always never see the beauty of the surroundings in all my mountain climbing trips because my goal was to reach the peak and back to the base safely.

Another fallen tree and at 10.17am, we reached Kem Pacat. (Pacat means leech in Malay).

A picture with Sirdar and Brandon. BTW, Brandon and LKK went off without Chan. Chan said that he would walk slowly to Kem Pacat and rest there.

I was here for 37 minutes. Sirdar wanted to wait for Aunt Chris and Messner. The rest of our group left at different times.

Bees everywhere. I don't like them buzzing at me. I tried to avoid them but they kept coming. :(

A bunch of students climbed with us too, but different pacing. It's good to have them. We don't feel so lonely climbing up.

We left some of our water bottles here to lighten our load. (Must remember to write names on the water bottles just in case someone accidentally takes the wrong one). My water bottle was missing when I returned for it later.

Messner left a paper and pencil here for others to record their passing through this place.

10.54am - We left Kem Pacat. Not long after that Jake complained of a back ache and he felt that it was bad enough to turn back. We were kinda sad for him and his dad. Messner prayed for him and told him to sms him when they reached the base.

Continuing our journey... it was uphill all the way to the next checkpoint. This stretch is even harder than the KFC in Ledang.

When I looked up, gosh.. the ground was almost vertical. I don't have long legs and this was a major problem. I sighed so much during this stretch . Many a time I didn't think I could make it to the next level. Fortunately Sirdar was there to help pull me up.

Along this stretch, we met Boey's 2nd son Daniel who coolly overtook us without a sweat. Boey and family had planned to lead a group up Broga Hill and couldn't join us for the Nuang's climb. After receiving Sirdar's distress call a day before the climb, the family said that they would come to Nuang after their hike at Broga. Daniel reported that they reached Nuang's base at 9.30am , almost 3 hours from the time we started. The rest of the Boey family (Boey, Shirley, and 2 other sons, Calvin and young Brandon) said that they would wait for us at Kem Pacat.

12.24pm - At long last we reached the next checkpoint - Puncak Pengasih (Lover's Peak) also known as the False Peak. It was very misty. The air was cool. Sirdar thought that it would rain later but he was wrong.

We saw Jason here. I remembered we kept asking him where Puncak Pengasih was and he didn't know what we were talking about. Then suddenly Sirdar spotted the signboard just a few meters ahead of us and told Jason that this was the Puncak Pengasih, the last checkpoint before we reach the summit. Jason was a last minute recruit for this trip. Sirdar, realizing how weak our team was (only Messner, Sirdar and Brandon had summited this mountain before) managed to persuade Jason to help out. I remembered what Jason said last year about Nuang. His leg muscles ached for 3 days and he would never want to climb Nuang again.

Jason had summited at 11.23am and he came down to check if we needed help. Sirdar asked if Jason could accompany Aunt Chris back to the base. She wanted to turn back after Kem Lolo and both Messner and Sirdar persuaded her to go to the next checkpoint. At Kem Pacat, she said she would wait there for us, but Sirdar made her fell guilty by saying that if she stayed, Messner would have to accompany her too. They told her to climb up to the next checkpoint.

While Jason and Sirdar were discussing about Aunt Chris, we suddenly heard Messner calling out to Sirdar. Wow!! I thought. Aunt Chris made it I was happy for her. It seems she ate only 1 piece of bread and that was too little for a big climb like this. So after gulping down 2 energy bars, she suddenly had the energy to climb.

Together, we continued our journey. Jason carried Aunt Chris' bag and slowly we made our way to the peak. We came across this stone that marks the Pahang/Selangor border.

We rested at Puncak Pengasih for about 10 minutes before we continued on. After Puncak Pengasih we found ourselves descending climbing over the rocks and had to be very careful. We took about 1 hour to reach the peak.

1.34pm - The peak at last. I was so glad I made it to the peak. I quickly smsed Mctc and started snapping pictures. Sirdar started making lunch. He boiled water to make coffee and then later heated some Brahim's Beef Kurma to go with the pita bread. Aunt Chris offered some of her sandwiches too.

And what do you know...we saw Jack and his dad summiting 24 minutes after we did. Gosh! It was indeed a miracle. After we parted ways, they went down to Kem Pacat to rest and suddenly Jack realised that his back ache was gone. So they started climbing up again.

We saw a squirrel too. It posed for the camera before running off. Messner had a leech bite and allowed us to take a few photos before Sirdar gently pulled it off with the help of some salt.

A group photo to show that we made it!! Some had already descended so we don't have an actual group picture of the whole team.

Sirdar and Messner, the two organisers who diligently planned and organised this climb and other previous climbs including 5 trips to Mount Kinabalu. You guys are the greatest. I can't imagine climbing any mountains without you guys. You made the climb more interesting. More importantly, you guys believed that all of us could summit. Thank you Sirdar and Messner.

2.37pm - Our turnaround time was set at 2pm, but we lingered for another close to 40 minutes before leaving the summit.

3.32pm - The Pahang/Selangor marker .

Heading towards Puncak Pengasih.

3.44pm - Reached Puncak Pengasih. We could hear Aunt Chris, but didn't know why she was making so much noise. Later, we found out that Jason had "abandoned" her and she needed help to go down the steep ground. David agreed to be with her and together they went down and were never to be seen again until we reached Kem Pacat.

Somewhere between Puncak Pengasih and Kem Pacat, Messner took a fall and cracked one of his ribs. (He found that out later). Sirdar quickly attended to him. Messner laid down for at least 5 minutes. Fortunately the ground he fell onto was flat. This terrain right up to Kem Pacat was very steep and he was indeed fortunate to fall flat on his back.

After a while, slowly, he could move and we descended slower than usual, always keeping an eye on him. I never got a chance to take a picture of him lying down because my camera was in Sirdar's pouch and Messner may not have liked me taking his picture when he was in pain.

We spotted a chameleon too.

5.20pm - Finally reach Kem Pacat. We were greeted by Aunt Chris " Why so long one ah?" and hellos by the Boey family. They were at Kem Pacat since noon and waited for us for more than 5 hours.
We left Kem Pacat at 5.36pm and along the way, Aunt Chris knees were starting to get really painful. She took an aspirin and Sirdar sprayed some instant pain relief thingy on her knees.

7pm - We reached Kem Lolo. Aunt Chris's knees were getting worse.

While we were crossing the river near the dam, David fell. I guess either the rocks were too slippery or he was also tired out from the long hike or both. He sprained his ankle and couldn't move for a while.

Aunt Chris didn't want to stop because if she did, her knees would be more painful. After like 5 minutes or so, Sirdar, Aunt Chris and I started walking, leaving Messner and Boey's family with David. Sirdar was hurrying out to the "never-ending-boring road" because he wanted to check if there were any motorbikes available to take Aunt Chris and David out to the base.

7.39pm - When we reached the start (depending on where you came from) of the boring road, we saw 2 bikes and some (at least 6-7) scooters. Our hopes were raised. When we asked the owners of the vehicles, they had some lame excuse. The bikes did not have lights and there was very little petrol in the scooters.

Left with no choice, we walked on. Aunt Chris took out her torchlight. Mine didn't give out much light, so I didn't want to use it.

After like 15 minutes or so, we heard Messner's voice... and soon we saw the Boeys and David.. WOW.. he was walking steadily with the help of 2 walking sticks. He said that Boey prayed for him to have supernatural strength and he got exactly that. PTL!

We saw some mushrooms.. it reminded me of Enid Blyton and her tales. I didn't come across these mushrooms while walking up this road early in the morning.

Anu Chris' knees were so painful that her pace was so much slower than mine. Soon there was a gap between the first group - Sirdar, David, Shirley (Mrs Boey) and I AND the 2nd group - Peter, Aunt Chris, Boey and his two older sons.

Every motorbike that passed us we asked if they could fetch Aunt Chris to the base. All of them had the same excuse - no petrol.

The first group reached the base at 9.26pm. My knees were hurting and my soles were in a bad shape. I just wanted to take off my shoes and wear my comfy slippers. Imagine, I was wearing a pair of panty hose (someone said that the leeches won't get through them), a pair of socks and another pair of panty hosed-kind-of-material ankle stockings.

A few minutes after we reached the base, we heard from Boey's radio that Peter's team managed to get a biker to take Aunt Chris to the base. It cost her RM30, but she gladly parted with her cash. She must be thinking - What was RM30 compared to a LOOOOOONG walk in the dark? (FYI, my friends who went to Nuang in 2007 and 2008 paid only RM5 per person for a biker to take them out to the base).

I quickly showered and boy, the water was cold, but very refreshing. The bathrooms were quite clean too. Let's see, there were 4 toilets, 2 changing rooms and 2 bathrooms.

Not long after I took my shower, Aunt Chris reached the base. She looked so tired. I helped her carry her bag of clean clothes to the bathroom. Although her bag was very light, I sensed that she did not have the energy to lift even her own bag. I had the same feeling when I was in Ledang last year. I was so tired out, till even taking of my clothes to bathe was a hassle.

10.13pm - About 45 minutes later, Peter and team arrived at the base. He looked tired and worn out. Oh, by the way, there were no street lights near the bathroom or even at the car park, so it would help a lot if you have a big torch light and place it on top of the car.

10.38pm - We left Nuang and headed to Semenyih to look for food. Messner was so tired that he allowed Sirdar to drive his Rexton. Jason drove Sirdar's car. It was already past 11pm and we couldn't find any Chinese restaurants open at this hour. So we decided to eat in Seremban - Lobak Food Court. We had our dinner at 12 midnight and I reached home at about 1.15am.

Surprisingly, the next day I was able to get up with minimal muscle aches. I could run up and down the stairs. To me, climbing Nuang was not as tiring as Ledang. Maybe because it didn't rain or maybe because I had so much help from Sirdar. :P

Oh, compliments from Nuang. I took a fall on the "orangee" ground between Kem Lolo and Kem Pacat. My back hit a thin tree stump and gave me a nasty bruise just beside my left shoulder blade.

All in all, I thought this was a good climb. It didn't rain, I saw 6 leeches but none bit me and God's hand was upon all of us.

P/S Read Messner's account coming up soon. (For Messner's article on Nuang, click here)