Mountain Intro:
Gunung Besar Hantu, also known as Gunung Antu Besar, is situated in
Jelebu, Negeri Sembilan, near the border of Pahang State, West Malaysia.
Standing at 1,462 M above sea-level, it is the highest mountain in the
State and is one of the mountains located at the tail end of the famous
Titiwangsa Range of Peninsula Malaysia.
Date Of Expedition:22 July 2011 to 24 July 2011
Crew:Khai,Joe Five,Iskandar & Roslan
This is the main climb that we have planned for the year,everybody is anxious about this climb...We set off at around 10pm on a Friday nite...Meeting was at Roslan's house...after everyone have gathered,we packed up and ready to embark on our great journey...Since this mountain is located at Negeri Sembilan,we decided to set off on a Friday nite as the journey is quite far....We have our dinner at Bestmart,chit chat here and there for abit then we zoom off...We travel through N-S Highway then exited at Yong Peng to take a shortcut through the old roads...Everyone spirit is high as we continue chit chating all the way...It took us about 6 hrs to reach our destination which is Kampung Chennai...We stop here and there to ask for direction as this place is really secluded,....we reach at our destination at around 4.30am....since it was still sleeping time,the town was like a ghost town...only a few hardworking orang asli preparing their stuff to gather some rubber from the plantation nearby....Parked our car at Kampung Chennai Polis Station to have a Power nap for awhile...Woke up after just 30 min as the town is starting to get busy with people goin to work...Have a quick Breakfast at a warong nearby and met our guide by the name of Hadi Bakhil...the sun is getting brighter and we are getting more excited bout the climb....We park our car at the nearby mosque,washed up abit and soon a 'Transformer' lookalike 4x4 came to pick us up...It was one hell of a 4x4...its a surprised that this 4x4 can still move....the owner even say that this 4x4 has gone down the ditch for like twice already.....LOL!!
Woohoo....we reachin soon!!!
The road is rather spooky...
Even the sign looks eerie...
The ride on the 4x4 was very bumpy....it was a totally off-road trail...and to make matter worst we need to travel for about an hour in it....stop here and there to cut off fallen tree as it is blocking the road....bamboo tree that is...but there wasn't any panda though...even a bumpy ride was worth it as we pass through some orang asli village and some very nice landscape view....
Our driver stop us at a best possible place to start our climb....a 70 degree accending trail for about 2km....our sore asses from that ride was even more tiring then the trekking btw....lol........A few minutes of sleep take a toll on some of us as fatigue beginning to sets in....our guide gave us some NATURAL water from a root of a tree to rejuvenate us...
Its a one hell of a trek for him....
Our very own ironman with our guide...
After a few kilometers of walk we saw the first stream of small waterfalls....that is the entrance of the jungle trek which will bring us to the top of the mountain...A few makeshift orang asli tent was spotted around the entrance....The jungle trek wasn't as bad though as the steepness is not that bad...but leeches are around waiting for us....After a short walk we cross over a makeshift bridge where the trek starts to get steeper....
We are accending rather fast as the steepness is quite great....After trekking for about 6km,we reach our campside whic is call Camp Orchid,it was given that name as there is alot of wild orchid growing around the area....The time was about 2.30pm...Raindrop started to fall....we quickly set up our tents and make a makeshift 'kitchen' for us to cook our meal....the rain stop for awhile as we enjoyed our lunch..........Just as we finish taking our lunch,the second wave of rain came,this time it was very heavy...all of us go into our tent and have a good rest and sleep for a few hours...all of us woke up at around 8pm to have our dinner and guess what???All of us can't wait to fry our mashmellow..lol...never i've seen ppl eating marshmellow when goin trekking....The night was nice and clear...weather is chilling and alot of stars twinkle on top of us....we just sat there to chit chat and enjoy our time...
Woke up at around 4am,pack our necessary equipment and ready to make our last climb to the summit...This time monkey climb for about 400m to reach the summit...the pitch black darkness make it even more challenging for us with light come only from the moonlight and our headlight...replenish our water with a pure MINERAL which came out from a small rock....I've never tasted a nice mineral water B4..this is the best....coupled with the fresh air...tiredness is no longer an option...after 2 1/2 hour of monkey climbing....we reach the summit....Just in time to capture the sunrise....the view from the summit is absolutely priceless...it makes our tiredness all go away....this is what Hiking is all about....U get tired but the view,the fresh air,the pure mineral and the experience is something you won't get anywhere else...its really is a PRICELESS reward....
We decend all the way back down but this time all the way down through a 90 degree 120 metal steps to enjoy the waterfall...the waterfall is another iconic landmark at this place...it is said to be the highest waterfall in malaysia....The trip overall was a huge success and everyone is happy with it...This is a mountain i wouldn't mind to make a second climb....
