Gunung Suku/Mount Suku

Gunung Suku/ Mount Suku

1797m/5896ft

Cameron Hihglands, Pahang Malaysia

10^th March 2018

This blogpost could have been about Gunung Besar Hantu, but it’s a post about Gunung Suku, because that’s what we ended up climbing.

We had planned to climb Hantu (wonderful name, ghost) but after string of incidents, we cancelled on Hantu and went with Suku (which means ‘quarter’).

There are clear trails and you don’t need a permit, so we decided to make it a day trip.

The five of us (me, Aili, Sophie, Lyn and Eva) took off from KL at about 5.30am, and we took our time to get to Simpang Pulai. We stopped for a quick power nap in the car and then continued towards Cameron Highlands.

It was very misty and foggy, very Silent Hill. The mist was so thick we got lost on the way to Tanah Rata. It was started to look like the beginning of a slasher movie. Thank god, in the end we managed to find our way and not die. We had breakfast close to a temple.

We contacted Mr Kumar to get a 4WD to take us the rest of the way. 

(Mr Kumar & Son 010-3702505 highly recommended + very good service)

We reached the starting point and began the hike at about 11.30am.

Ok, if I didn’t believe people before when they told me how steep the climb was, I believe them now. It was relentless, all the way up, with a few downhill bits here and there, and almost no landmarks at all. I regret overlooking leg day and never thinking about leg day.

On top of that, one of us got her period, just as we were about to start the climb.

I hike to appreciate nature and remind myself how lucky I am to be alive. I love everything about nature, except natural disasters and periods. How are these things decided? How does nature decide to give women the pain of childbirth, AND THEN add menstrual cramps on top of that?

Period cramps or not, we continued the hike. On the way up, we had bumped into a group of 20 or so people coming down and had a nice chat.

We reached the last water point at about 3.30pm. We were the only ones there. Several times along the way we thought about turning back because the period cramps were so bad for my friend, but then we decided to continue because we had already made it this far.

I pulled a muscle in my leg, and the others were in varying degrees of discomfort (running nose, cough etc). It was not easy. Pain aside, the hike was beautiful. Lush, green moss, almost carpet-like in some places, above 1,500 metres. It was like I had been transported to Middle Earth. It’s so good to be out in the stillness of nature. I couldn’t ever imagine a place like this being overrun with highways and condos.

  

We reached the false peak, and we were instantly rewarded with a breathtaking view. WOW. As I looked around me I struggled to find the words to describe this place.

We took another 20 mins to reach the summit. Overall, through blood (literally), sweat, and tears, it took us about five to six hours to get to the top.

The mist and fog earlier in the day had lifted, and we had clear blue skies. IF we thought the view from the false peak was amazing, this was absolutely mind-blowing. You get to see the Titiwangsa Range and it almost feels like you’re on the top of the world. Definitely worth the pain and effort!

We stayed for more than an hour, eating and taking pictures. We each took little bit of silent time to reflect before we packed up to head down.

By this time the painkillers I had taken for my leg were wearing off, and I could feel my muscle spasming. Downhills are always a killer, and more so when you can barely support yourself on your legs.

It took about half the time to reach the bottom, and we sped down, reaching the starting point just after sunset. Mr Kumar was waiting for us and he was happy we had made it back safely.

Definitely one for the memories. This mountain will stay with us forever.