Gunung Lambak

8^th December 2009

ICs: Lee Meng Yong, Rachel Wong, Lee Hui Ling

On the 8^th December 2009, 23 of us went to Gunung Lambak, located at Kluang Johor Bahru for a day trek. After we crossed the customs, we went for breakfast at Johor before heading to Gunuug Lambak itself.

It was a 2 hour ride from the breakfast place to the starting point of the 510m Gunung Lambak.

We all carried our small daypacks with our day supply of water and our lunches. The weather was fine the whole time, as the afternoon sun was shining intensely at us.

After doing our warm-up exercises, spraying our insect repellants and applying sun-screen lotion, we finally began our climb together.  This trek was relatively difficult to some of us as there were quite a lot of steep slopes which we had to climb. Thankfully, there were neither leeches nor mud to accompany us for this trek.

After about 1 and a half hour of climbing, we reached the peak!

Everyone happily settled down at the pavilion for their picnic lunch. Since the sun was scorching hot, we preferred to stay in the pavilion instead of spreading our groundsheets on the camp site.

A variety ranging from home-made sandwiches, healthy fruits, sausages, sushi and the very typical energy bars were brought for this trek. With everyone sharing their food and chatting together, indeed it was a nice moment to remember.

We then satisfied our desire of taking pictures, by taking pictures with the beautiful view of Kluang village from the peak.

The walk down was not difficult as there were trees nearby to hold on. Eventually, we reached the base of Gunung Lambak and we all boarded the mini-buses to head for our greatly anticipated SEAFOOD DINNER @ Taman Sentosa Market. After our sumptuous meal, we headed back for home.

Written by:
Rachel Wong
Trek Organizer
Gunung Lambuk 2009

Gunung Yong Yap

11th-15th dec 2009
ICs: Warren Tuan, Kenneth Tan, Alan Yong, Lee Hui Ling

Day 1 & 2
We gathered at Kranji MRT at 1800 and headed towards Larkin Bus station, ate our dinner there and finally left for Ipoh in our bus at 10.15pm. We only reached Ipoh in the next morning at 4.45am.
After having our super early breakfast at the nearby McDonald’s we took the bus all the way to Lasah town, where we boarded the two 4WD waiting for us. The ride from Lasah to Kuala Mu is incredibly bumpy and if it’s raining you will feel cold. There is a risk of the 4WD overturning as well.
We reached Kuala Mu at about 1145 and had lunch and used our last proper toilet for the next 3 days. We set off on the trek at about 1230 in high spirits. The trek is accompanied by plenty of thorny plants, bamboo deadfalls, with trails of heavily overgrown vegetation.
The rest of the trek to the first campsite was more normal jungle terrain, albeit much of it overgrown and we waited for the guides to clear it before we could pass. Finally, we reached the campsite within 5 hours. The campsite is big enough for 4 or 5 tents to fit in comfortably. There is a knee-deep stream near the campsite.

Day 3

The next day we woke up at 630am and started off at 815am to continue our climb up to the peak. We aimed to reach the peak by 3pm. At Around 1pm we had a water break, while some of us headed down a super steep slope to refill our bottles from a ‘nearby’ river.

Some parts of the trek have a nice Lord of the Rings feel to it, with all the mossy forest and light streaming through the forest.

We finally reached the summit and started cam-whoring with the beautiful view, set up the basha, tents and we managed to finish cooking dinner before nightfall. Night brought on freezing winds and shooting stars. The night sky was a beautiful sight indeed, but most of us were freezing due to the inappropriate jackets we brought for the trek.

Day 4

We woke up early at 430 with the aim of leaving the summit at 6. The route down was very steep and we made fairly slow progress as some did not bring along headlamps. The trek downhill to Kuala Mu was tiring and even painful for some. It started to rain during the last half an hour of the trek. It also made us realize how lucky we were that there was no rain till the very last part of the trek.

When we finally reached Kuala Mu at about 430, we were thoroughly soaked, shagged and longed for civilization. First though, we had to take the 3-hour hell ride again. The rain made the logging path even worse and we were told that another 4-wheel drive had overturned earlier. We were also told to jump out if we felt that our vehicle was about to overturn.

Luckily, no accidents occurred and we made it back to Lasah at about 730pm safe and sound, albeit shivering and suffering from leg cramps after the ride. The school bus appeared shortly after and sent us on our way to Ipoh. We negotiated with the bus driver to send us to our dinner place and then to send us to our hotel. We ate at a chicken and tau geh restaurant at the junction of Jalan Sehala and Jalan Yau Tet Sin. After that we headed towards our hotel, The Majestic.

Day 5

In the morning, we had breakfast at the hotel before heading for the train station. The train is significantly slower than the bus but there is more space to chat and even play saboteur. There are also packets of rice sold during the journey which are the only food you can procure during the train ride as the stops are too short to safely run out and buy stuff from the stores at the train stations.

We reached Johor station at about 2030 and proceeded to City Square to have dinner. Some actually wanted to catch a movie but fatigue and the possibility of missing the last bus back to Singapore meant that we left after dinner and split up at Singapore customs.

Reflection of the trek

Training

After the trek, it is easy to see that our training helped us tremendously. Without the stairs training and overnight walk, we would not be in proper shape to tackle Yong Yap. Our regimen could have been improved though; to have really been prepared we should have committed ourselves and trained even during the study week. As it was, the two weeks of inactivity meant that we weren’t as fit as we should have been. The intensity which we had during our training could have been upped as well; less break time and more repetitions.

Another aspect of training that was neglected was training for descending. Many of us had a lot of trouble going down because our knees weren’t strong enough. One way to solve this could be to train at Bukit Timah. To sum it up, my impression that were prepared for Yong Yap was wrong; we weren’t fully prepared and what seniors said was true: you can never over train for a G7 trek.

Conclusion

Yong Yap was a great eye opener for me. I had a taste of what a G7 trek was like and despite all that I said during and immediately after the trek, I’m game for more. It is a good first G7 experience and most importantly, I made great friends through this trek. Good luck to future expeditions!

Written by:
Warren Tuan
Trek IC
Gunung Yong Yap 2009

Team Highlight Reel

View some of the heights and adventures that the team has been too these past couple of years. For seniors, reflect and enjoy the good memories. For new trekkers, relish the opportunities to trek up these awesome peaks; as you grow as a trekker, adventurer and as a person.

SMUX Trekking Team Highlights Reel from Sameer Rasheed on Vimeo.

SWET comes to SMU!

SMUX Trekking Team proudly invites the NATAS Singapore Women’s Everest Team (SWET) down to SMU for an eventful night of sharing.

Singapore Women's Everest Team

For the uninitiated, SWET comprises of 6 women who had successfully summit the world’s highest peak early this year. Besides being the first all-female team from Singapore, they are also unique individuals from diverse backgrounds and experiences; bound by a common aim to challenge their boundaries and pursue their desires.

Formed in 2004, they have proven their mettle as one of the toughest climbing teams around, climbing various mountains in their preparation for Everest. Some of their prior expeditions include Mera Peak (Nepal), Siguniang Mountain (Sichuan, China) and Cho Oyu (Tibet).

Click here to check out their photos and find out more about the team.

Come 21^st October 2009, we finally have the chance to meet SWET live and in person. Don’t miss this grand opportunity to hear their inspirational stories and to ask them about their motivations and endurances that got them to the highest peak on this Earth.

RSVP your presence now!

Details on the event are stated below:

Date: 21/10/09
Location: SCREME @SMU (Concourse Level)
Time: 1930

*Food & Drinks will be provided.

We’ll see you there!

Mount Rinjani ‘09- Reflections

The rehearsing of script lines for a play and the countless practices for a debate competition was ‘my kind of world’. The summit of Rinjani certainly did not fit in my little world of the arts. Before the trek to Gunong Rinjani, neither did I nor most of my peers think me fit or cut out for the rough tumble of Mother Nature. Well, I certainly surprised myself and shocked a lot of my friends when I returned a week later having completed the trek. Although I looked 2 to 3 shades darker, endured several grand falls while descending Rinjani, and injured several toes, it was worth it!

The Rinjani trek has become one of the best experiences of my life. It is something I would want to relive again. Initially, I was apprehensive about joining the trek especially since I could not persuade any of my friends to join me for it. However, the fun I had with my new friends far exceeded my expectations. At every point of the trek I felt as though I was reliving some part of my favorite fantasy book as the scenery at Rinjani was surreal. I will definitely be a regular on treks and hope to see all my new trek friends with me in the near future.

Talisa Kaur Dhaliwal

The Crew Story

Why does the SMUX executive committee call themselves the Crew?

Here, we bring you an excerpt from Shawn Tee, President of the 1st Crew and the story behind it.

Gunung Datuk Trek

Gunung Datuk is a little known mountain located in the state of Negeri Sembilan, West Malaysia. From 17th to 18th Jan, 40 valiant trekkers from SMUX Trekking Team decided to trek up Gunung Datuk. Interestingly, the final push to the summit was no easy feat, especially for those with fear of heights. The wind was extremely strong and chilly and it blew Terence’s spectacles off! But, the prize of it all: a picturesque display of plantations, mountains and the straits of Malacca; an indescribable portrait of nature. All of us were mesmerized by the majestic view and our cameras kept snapping away, hoping to capture as much memories as we could.  Although the descent was painful on our knees, we had fun bonding while helping each other down safely. The last reward was a sumptuous lunch at A&Ws and an awesome seafood dinner at Taman Gardens. Most importantly, the friendship fostered during this trek will definitely last us a lifetime!

Tan Jing Min (17-18/01/09)

Gunung Datuk’09 Trek I/C