Into the Jungle

The walk to the Boh tea plantation was about three hours each way but only half of that time was through a jungle, and I wanted some more jungle.  I asked at the reception desk of my Guest House about the jungle treks nearby, there were about 17 trails so I asked which one was the hardest.  They told me that trail number 1 was what I was looking for but due to the recent rain it would be too muddy and difficult (the main problem being losing your shoe in the mud).  Well naturally I took this as a challenge, the trail would take me to the tallest summit in the Cameron Highlands at 6,666 ft. in elevation, to the top of Gunung Brinchang.

So in the morning I awoke and began my adventure.  I invited everyone who I had hiked with the day before but they preferred the leisurely stroll to the strawberry fields.  I began by walking from Tanah Rata (where my guest house was located) to Brinchang (one town to the north).  The walk was only about an hour and a half but it took me another 45 minutes to actually locate the trail head.  The funny thing about the people here is that if you ask them for directions and they don't know the answer, they'll go ahead and tell you one anyway.  So after a nice walking tour of the entire town I found my way down a small road to a sign marked Jungle Trail No. 1.

The trail began at a reasonable incline, I even thought that it was a little too easy.  Where was this "hardest trail available"?  I was walking on what were essentially steps formed naturally from tree roots... or I guess I should say I was initially walking.

 Then began the climbing.

As I progressed the trail seemed to be getting steeper and steeper.  And as I would reach my hand up to the next branch, all I could think about was that giant snake and all the other creatures that call this jungle their home... but I was loving every second of it.

In sections the path would flatten out and that's where the mud pits introduced themselves to me.  Now I understood about losing a shoe.  I should mention that having not packed any hiking boots (much much too bulky to carry around), I was doing this trek in a pair of Crocs I bought in town for 15 ringit (the standard $5 Chinatown price).  I considered getting trainers or something more athletic but honestly these Crocs did the trick.  If they got muddy I would just stand in a stream and they were clean again.  They were also extremely light and buoyant on the mud.  But back to the mud pits, there weren't too many and it was actually pretty fun because you had to choose between either sidestepping around them (boring), or trying to hop across pieces of debris to the other side (awesome).  So they turned out to be not so much a threat but more of a game.  That having been said I got an hour long shower's worth of mud all over my body.

 As I came closer to the peak the jungle began to darken and become enshrouded in clouds.  Quite an enjoyably mysterious setting to be walking through.  Couple that with the fact that not a single sound from the civilized world can be heard and wow.  Just me, my camera, and a jungle.  It felt good.

 

After three hours of hiking, climbing, and leaping across pits of mud I reached the peak and was blessed with this glorious view...

Aaaaaaand a furious thundering rainstorm...

Luckily for me at the top of the mountain there are electrical towers and a bit of cover.  So I spent about an hour here waiting out the heaviest of the rainfall.  Then I began my long walk down via an alternate back route of roads.  I met a guy from Spain on my way down and had a friend to talk (and wait out the two other heavy downpours) with.  I also got see the second of three Boh Tea Plantations.

It's funny because even though there was no view at the top of the mountain and it poured rain all over me I still very much enjoyed the day.  I'm finding more and more that it is never really about where you are trying to end up, it's about how you're getting there, and more importantly, that you're having fun with it.