Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Gunung Datuk - October 29th, 2007

This was my 2nd time climbing Gunung Datuk. Gareth was the main reason why this climb took place.
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We had breakfast at Ah Seng's before we left for Gunung Datuk. And when we arrived at our destination, it started to drizzle. This, however, did not deter us from climbing. We prayed for the rain to stop and it did.
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The heavy downpour from the night before caused the leeches to come out from their hiding place. They were everywhere. I was not bothered about it at first but Eunice screamed the moment she saw one. Somehow, despite careful monitoring every now and then, one leech actually managed to get under my sock and was feasting on my blood for a while.
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We took about 3 - 3 1/2 hours to reach the 1st summit. We didn't go right to the top. I was far too scared. Maybe it was because I'd been up all the way to the 2nd summit before. We had our brunch there and then went just slightly beyond the 1st summit. We didn't stay long at the top because it looked as though it was going to rain again.
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The walk down was quite easy. About midway, it started to drizzle again. I was worried that it might pour, so I moved at a faster pace. I was already picturing fallen trees and landslides, like what happened at Gunung Angsi and the heavier the rain was, the faster I went.
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Thank God we made it to the foothill in one piece.