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Activities Report 1999 July Newsletter

Gunung Stong — A Trip for the Strong
By Dr. Kiew Chik Sang

      The morning of 17 April 1999 saw us start off in the dark. There were 23 of us in 5 cars and a van. We stopped for a quick breakfast at Lenggong before burning rubber on the road again till Jeli where we turned off the East-west Highway on to the Jeli--Dabong road. At about 47 kilometers from Jeli we turned right into what appears to be a private road leading to the Perdana Stong Hill Resort, but not before we were awed by a tall waterfall cascading down a sheer rock face to our right in the distance.
      None of us had been to Gunung Stong before but we instinctively knew that that waterfall was our target. We were later to know that the waterfall stands 800 feet (246 meters) tall, the top was at an elevation of 1500 feet (461 meters) and later in the day we would be standing right at the top where our base camp would be.
      Base camp was achieved after a two and three quarter hours' trek with the trailhead beginning at the resort. The trail was very well-worn and eroded. Even so, we had trouble just after the resort, because we had to cross the rocky base of another smaller waterfall along the lower reach of the river which formed the bigger fall we had seen earlier. Of course, no trail could be seen on rocks and our leaders had to scramble over a considerable distance looking for the continuation of the trail. Fortunately we had the aid of a sketch map from another group of intrepid explorers who passed that way in 1995.After about 20 minutes of scampering hither and thither over rocks and boulders we found the trail again and by 3.30 pm we marched into the Jelawang Jungle.
      This was to be our base camp. It consisted of several wooden huts with leaky roofs and damp mattresses. There were also several tents. All of them belong to the enterprising En. Baha. It wasright at the top of the tall waterfall beside the river that flows over a rocky bed for about 100 m before plunging almost vertically down 246 m. Above the rocky section was a smaller fall of about 20 m. At the bottom there was a good-looking pool for soaking and swimming. It was here the next day that some of the more adventurous among us had a lot of fun repeatedly climb-ing the watery rock face of the fall for several meters and then sliding down the fall, splashing into the pool below.
     Before we could enjoy the pleasures of the next daywe had to endure the discomforts the first night which was a night to remember. Just after 7 p.m. it started to rain. It really poured for about one hour after which it continued to rain less furiously. The river underwent a fearsome transforma-tion. Where we had enjoyed our cool, balmy soaks in the quiet river flowing into rocky pools of water, there was then a raging, roaring, murderous-looking torrent. The river had risen a full 2 meters higher. It was a frightening and chilling sight to behold. To add to our woes, those staying in the leaky huts did not find them as comfortable as they had wished while those in the tents were literally flooded out and had to flee. One group of ladies fled into a nearby hut and dislodged one of Encik Baha's assistants and so gained relatively dry sleeping quarters that night. However the men in the other two tents had no such luck. They had to make do with whatever was available.
      In case you wonder why, they were not our tents – they belonged to the proprietor and they either had no fly sheet or the fly sheet was stuck to the tent roof or there were holes in the tent floor. We did not bring our own tents because we were looking forward to chalet accommodation and were too lazy to carry our own tents. I think that should be a lesson to us and in future we should bring our own tents unless we know for sure it is safe not to do so. This was amply borne out by the wisdom of F. K. Law, the only one who brought his own tent and had no problems that night. Some of us did not get to eat a proper dinner – the rain got into the dinner – so unexpectedly fast and
heavy did it poured down. Indeed, the group staying at the hut nearest the 20-meter waterfall had such a fright thinking that their hut was going to be overwhelmed by the waterfall that at the height of the storm they evacuated and crammed into the next hut, only to return later when it let up. After such a long litany of woes it was to the credit of the hardiness and uncomplaining spirit of the MNS members that virtually no grouse was heard though I did wonder aloud how I was able to survive the long wet night standing in En. Baha's kitchen which was nothing more than a slightly leaky roof over
four upright poles with nary a wall to speak of. Thankfully, the rain stopped some time after 10 pm and we managed to mop off the water from the tent floor, spread some plastic sheets over the damp
floor and in such fashion spent the night sleeping fitfully on the plastic sheets.
      On the second day we trekked up to the summit of Gunung Stong, reaching 5,244 feet (1,613 metres). On the way we passed a cave but it was actual1y a space formed by a rocky overhang. It was fronted by a clearing and we found signs that it was a popular campsite, there being no space to camp at the summit. This was also where we provisioned ourselves with water before continuing to the summit. From the top we had a good view of part of the Kelantan River with a sizeable settle-ment on its bank. None of us were able identify that township. Nearby was Gunung Ayam, a peak of comparable height. At the summit we ate lunch andd took photographs to prove we were there.
      On the way down we repeatedly cast worried glances at the sky. It sure looked like it was going to rain. We were even more anxious when we heard soft distant thunder behind us. Earlier on we felt one or two fine raindrops at long intervals. We were praying repeatedly, "Please, God, don’t rain” because we had to cross the river on the way back and the spectactular transformation of the river the night before was still fresh in our minds. ThankfuIly, the threatening rain did not come and we breathed a sigh of relief when we crossed the river for only then we knew we were safe. Despite our anxiety, we took the trouble to stop briefly take photographs of a giant rattan of about 15 cm in diameter and we also drank water from a bamboo stem. It was nice. This latter pleasurabIe activity is actually an important jungle survival technique — how not to die of thirst in the jungle.
      The weather surprisingly held good throughout the remainder of the second day and the night was spent lazily enjoying the night view from our high perch, chatting, eating and frightening one another telling ghost stories.
      On the third day we trekked down after breakfast. We split up — one group retraced the route taken on the way up, another group took a fresh route down, finally crossing the river by a suspension bridge and  reaching the resort car park where we had previously left our cars. We washed and changed at the resort, had a late lunch at Grik and dispersed separately. A rather enjoyable outing, I would rate it — despite the difficulties and discomforts which in itself was a new experience arid a good lesson to learn.

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Created on 30th June 1999