Elle: Hey, Alex recommended this hike near me. It’s about seven hours round trip and up the tallest mountain in Terengganu. It’s supposed to be beautiful. You wanna go?
Annie: It can’t be
that bad. And I’m getting fat from roti canai and Neslo ice, anyway … so
sure, let’s do it.
Never have I regretted uttering “sure, let’s do it” more.
When the teachers at our schools warned us to not go on the hike due to the
mountain being “haunted,” we scoffed. While the haunting aspect of the warning
was unwarranted, we might have been better off listening to them regardless.
As Pacific Northwest natives, Elle and I probably had some
unrealistic expectations going into this. It would be challenging, but beautiful,
with plenty of places to rest and a stunning view of the South China Sea and
the Perhentian islands. Not bad for a Friday, right?
WRONG.
This hike was 14km of pure discomfort. The trail began
nicely enough, walking next to and over a river and some accompanying pools.
And then the incline happened. (Yes, I’m aware it is a mountain and there are
inclines. But inclines without switchbacks is another thing altogether.)
Sometimes we walked straight up over tree roots, sometimes we went down to go
up, and sometimes we were faced with a tow rope to help haul ourselves up the
side of a muddy, freaking mountain. As we climbed we also heard more and more,
um, sounds. Not sure if they came from bugs, birds, or monkeys, but they
sounded like high-pitched, monotonous screams. It never really stopped. Perhaps
that was what the teachers had worried about …
Elle very kindly put up with my slow, old self, promising
that there would be a great view at the top and that it would be, literally,
all downhill from there. Well, she was right about the descent. Unfortunately,
when we reached the top, we were met with this view:
The one saving grace of this hike was that at a certain
elevation, it cooled off a bit and felt more like home. It wasn’t exactly like
Washington – I was, after all, still sweating through my pants, which by the
time we’d walked 20 minutes, were thoroughly soaked – but it was as close as
I’ll get here.
Once we reached the top, surveyed the non-existent view, and
downed our peanut butter and banana sammiches (merci buckets, Elle), we started back. I was so tired,
but so determined to get off that freaking mountain that I just about ran down
it, stumbling all the while.
