Mount Berembun 11th May '18
Mount Berembun 1840m
It was a quiet afternoon in Cameron Highlands when the GOTMAD crew consisting of G, Sophie and Aili had an itch to hike up a mountain. We're always itchy. After shopping almost derailed our plans, we finally headed for the mountain.
There are three Gunung Berembuns in Malaysia, with the other two in Negeri Sembilan and Terengganu. There should be a council of mountain name advisers so things like having three mountains with the same name won't happen.
The road leading to Gunung Berembun was narrow and winding
and was smack in between several plots of vegetable farms. After about 20mins, we reached a TNB power station where the high steps on the hillside
met the entrance to Robinson’s Falls and Mount Berembun
this is where people plant vegetables
This is where the challenge began. We packed lightly for
this trip, so up we went (at this point, we were too excited to list down
hiking essentials and subsequently forgot them).
The trailhead began with a well-maintained path with bright
blue markers made of cement spread meters apart (meant for the power station).
The path itself leading to Robinson’s falls was half concrete. Here, the forest
starts to get interesting.
Robinson Falls
Gunung Berembun is elevated at 1840m, and like it’s name
namesake is quite chilly and damp, and regularly catches rain and mist from the
clouds. As we entered the trail into Mount Berembun (marked by small
signboard-trail no.8), the ambiance slowly changes from friendly forest to an
eerily surreal landscape, with tall trees beautifully blanketed in moss.
looks like a dragon
The hike was steep and narrow, and you may be barely able to
make out the actual
trail. This route receives less traffic than Irau or Mossy
Forest, as evident in how untouched (but clean) the trail was. Ferns dominate
the trail, and the trees stand frozen in time covered in lichen and their
branches laced with tussled moss. For a short distance the ground was elevated
and almost spongy due to the massive roots system below it.
About an hour into the hike, we came to rather flat land
(like a false peak) that had a couple of huge electrical poles. There is a view
here and you can see the neighbouring mountains.
As we continued, the steep incline of the terrain did not
waver. (Aili was out of breath) A final push up the trail, which snaked its way
through tall thin trees, delivered us to the peak, finally!
The hike up took us approximately 2 and half hours. The peak
was surrounded in thick ferns and bamboo shoots, with only a small opening with
an amazing view of Irau and Brinchang.
We were relieved! We quickly set up tent and started a fire
as the day was getting really dark and cool. Sophie went all Bear Grylls and managed to start a fire with very little fuel (just dried bamboo shoots, leaves and a magic spell)
look at how confident we are of not freezing
We settled in for the night after we had our fill of the
view and taking pictures. The temperature dropped to about 15 Celcius that
night, and we sat up in tent most of the time as it was freezing our socks off
(of course, it would help if either one of us remembered to bring the ground
sheet and sleeping bags). All the survival guidebooks say that to avoid hypothermia, you should take your clothes off and huddle for warmth, but maybe that only applies in snowy countries and not Cameron Highlands.
To add salt to our freezing wounds, we also forgot to bring the camper stove.
Lesson: List down what you need and make sure you don't leave it in the car.
To add salt to our freezing wounds, we also forgot to bring the camper stove.
Lesson: List down what you need and make sure you don't leave it in the car.
The next morning we awoke to a beautiful mist blanketing the hills, and after
taking even more shots (which thankfully, the clouds and mist were not as thick
as the night before) of the peaks of Irau and Brinchang.
the elephant hat was the warmest item of clothing we had
this is some kind of hipster band
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