Gunung Nuang – One hike to remember

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Gunung Nuang is a bit different than other hikes. If you haven’t been hiking for sometimes, you better reduce the expectations and forget about hitting the peak.

Our journey began roughly at 7:30 AM from Endah Parade, Bukit Jalil. After a quick breakfast and a chitchat, finally we were on the road. The navigation took us through all village areas and a narrow road. The road can be a little dangerous if you are not careful. However, there are no tolls.

The drive was about one and half hour from Bukit Jalil and we were at the start point by 8:45 AM. As usual there is a registration book that you have to sign prior to the hike and of course a fee of RM1. With that sorted, we were off with a great start. Lot’s of smiles and happy faces. I was a a bit of a bummer since I knew this smiles will not last for too long (Evil Face was on). This was the second time for me hiking these heights and I perfectly remember the last 20 minutes of the hike 🙂 .

After about an hour, we started to split up. We were divided into 3 groups of fast, medium and slow hikers. We didn’t plan such thing and we kind of got forced into it. This usually happens when you don’t know the ability of the people you hike with. It’s fine to do so as long as no one is left alone and each groups has minimum of two members.

This mountain is really beautiful. There are a few river crossing along the path. After about 1.5 hours, we reached to a waterfall that is perfect for a dip. We marked this location and we set it as the prize for the hike. After this point, the gap between the groups spread and we didn’t see each other.

I was with the medium speed hikers group, walking slowly and appreciating every minute of the hike. It is really recommended to slow down a little and spend more time observing the fascinating ecosystem surrounding you. This forest is housing huge number of monkeys. When you get closer to the peak,  their voice echoes and breaks the silence. In my opinion, this is the best part of hiking in tropical rain forest.

As we get closer to the 3th camp, one of my friends was down with a severe muscle cramp. It was too bad that he couldn’t walk anymore. With the help of other kind hikers, we applied some muscle relaxant on his leg. It was not effective since he also had low blood pressure and sugar level. Luckily, we were not too far from the camp site so I could carry him for a short distance. We made him warm and comfortable so he could rest while we continue to the peak.

With one down, two of us stayed hopeful to reach the summit. We knew the turn around point for Nuang is 2PM. It was about 12:30 that I got a call from the fast group, checking in. They haven’t reached the top and they were concerned that we wouldn’t make it on time. No matter what, we staid strong and kept moving.

As soon as we reached the last camp side, my other companion yielded. He also was feeling low blood pressure. Considering today’s experience, he decided to call it off and stay back and rest until we come back. Now it was me alone with a decision to make. I couldn’t bare the thought that I would go back not achieving my goals. I was deep in my thoughts that I saw two middle aged ladies walking up to the camp side. They both saw what happened to our group and found me puzzled. They throw in a word of encouragement and that was enough to tantalize me. So I joined them and continue the hike to the peak.

It was about 2PM that I finally made it to the summit where I was greeted with lots of cheering and hand shaking from my friends and other hikers. It was indeed a great achievement. I couldn’t be more proud that day to finally make it despite all the events. I sincerely thanked the two ladies for their help, had a short rest and started descending.

On the way down we were meeting one team member at every camp. We had finally the full team heading down together. And as we planed, we stopped at the waterfall to boost the joy to the max. The cold water on my heated buddy is exactly what I needed. Listening to the sound of water and staring at the nature beauty is what sets me up for a hard working week ahead. Isn’t that just amazing? From there it was all downhill until it start pouring.

Malaysia and moonsoon what can you expect? We were ready for this and we all had a rain coat. Obviously it couldn’t keep us dry but helped to save out items in our back-pack especially electronic devices. We just made it more interesting by running the rest of the path to the start point. woooh. A memory I will never forget 🙂

In short, Gunung Nuang is a rewarding hike if you are fit enough to enjoy it. Never over-estimate your abilities because it wouldn’t be easy for your companion to carry you down. Hiking is not only about climbing up and having some physical activity. It’s more about rebounding with the nature and receiving energy from our lovely planet. It’s about friendship and seeing the kindness in mankind. You don’t see people angry in the forest. All you see is smiling happy faces, having a great time.

Hike Detail

Here is all statistics you need to know about the hike.


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