Scattered Seeds

“It is to conquer fear that one becomes a climber. The climber experiences life to its extreme limits. A climber is not a crazy man. He is not trying to get himself killed. He knows what life is worth. He is in love with living.”

— Walter Bonatti

That’s it. No more trekking for the rest of the year.

Going up Gunung Datuk on 8 September, 2007, sort of confirmed it. I suspect I have a cracked metatarsal bone in my foot (I’ve yet to visit a doctor, and I don’t think I’m going to see one; just to show how much I love them). A day after the trek, when I rub my thumb over the area, and put on a little pressure. I can make music of slight cracking sounds. In case anyone is wondering, I didn’t get the injury from a trek. I got it about three weeks ago doing something important (I am sure of it, but I can’t remember what it is).

I trekked up Gunung Datuk earlier this year, and having spent time on Gunung Tahan, I didn’t feel extremely excited about the mountain. Also, I already knew about my sore foot. But Leon Varga and I had talked about this trek for a month now. He had recruited Aaron Smadja and Marc-Andre Plouffe (two new great trekking guys! Yeah, I’m hoping they read this and will continue trekking with me in the future), and there were 22 other students. Despite knowing that a number of them were my students (thus a good opportunity to know some of them), I really wanted to stay home because of my sore foot. Then again, no one else knew the way to get to the foothill. I came along to help navigate the bus driver.

I didn’t have to trek, I could have stayed at the bottom. Initially, that was the plan. I had brought Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air to keep me company. Instead of my 2kg camera I use for treks, I stuffed my bag with 4 liters of water (I had Milo and I had Ribena). Leon thought I was always on extremes: When I don’t carry enough water, I really don’t carry enough water (sometimes only a mere half-liter). When I carry water, it was too much. I didn’t pack lunch knowing that there are a few food stalls at the foothill.

But I had also tied my trekking boots to my bag.

Believe me, I was prepared to laze around at the foot of the hill. Then again, the thought of 25 people trekking and I had to wait hours for them to go up and down didn’t seem right. Mountains have this inexplicable mystical lure that I cannot resist. It seduces me in a way people who do not climb mountains cannot understand. Because I had my boots with me, I don’t think I was at any moment being crazy; if I thought that I couldn’t trek, I wouldn’t have brought my boots. It was Gunung Datuk, after all, and I was sure I wouldn’t kill my foot walking slowly. I took the risk and trekked with everyone.

The Latest “Gang of Four.” TMC, Aaron, Marc-Ardre, Leon. ©2007 Leon Varga

It was fairly easy going. I was the sweeper going up. Being near the slowest of the pack, it took me about two and a half hours on the way to the top. Early on in the trek, I was talking to Marc and another student from Mauritius, Shiekh, quite a bit. It was the first time I was walking with Marc, so I was going through the motion of, “Yeah, this is how a tropical jungle looks like,” “It’s so humid. Look at how much I sweat,” “Watch out for the thorns on those ferns!” Nalgene bottles and the likes. Then our conversation went into drinking hot chocolate. I can’t remember how we got there, but we did. I love chocolates, so for talking about it, I like him already. It was our first time out, and we haven’t got too comfortable or crazy just yet. But I think he’ll be good to have around.

Not long after, I was by myself with the last few persons on the trek. On my slow walk, I had all the time of my life looking at how much the place has changed since I started trekking up the mountain in 2002. The laterite trail is so much wider now with less undergrowth or roots, I saw badly eroded paths. At some sections, there were puddles of water—probably remnants of rainwater from days ago. Around those, the laterite path was slippery; my thoughts went out to Gunung Nuang and why I had so much trouble on that mountain. Rocks and pebbles that were once embedded within the trail were now loose. On a steep section, it was so much more difficult to navigate and not lose balance. But as I walked on, I began to lose myself in the jungle. In the freshness of the air, and calm and natural surrounding, I felt at peace. I didn’t realise that it has been nearly three months since I walked in the jungle. The Gunung Tahan trek is still so fresh in my mind; It still feels like it just happened yesterday. I like that trek very much, and I believe it will stay fresh for a long long time, or at least I hope so. So it was that I was “lost” while I walked on the trail up Gunung Datuk; despite the fact that the surroundings and environment were quite different from so many other mountains, I was, in a manner of speaking, remembering childhood in a very good way.

Before long, I was at the campsite just before the peak. Some didn’t want to get up to the rocks, the peak. Mandy and Carmen said they were scared of heights. But after walking for the last few hours, I wasn’t about to let anyone not climb up the metal ladders to get to the top. I sort of forced them up. At the top, it was like how I’ve always remembered it. And perhaps how I’ll always remember it. Some mountain peaks and treks remain so vivid in my mind; I treasure them tremendously and in a way only I know how. I’ve been to Gunung Datuk numerous times, but one trek stands out among others. Just as the jungle had triggered memories, standing on the peak brought back memories of the best moments from that trek. And that is probably why I will always come back to this mountain. The memories will never go away; I won’t let it. So from time to time, a simple and gentle reminder makes me happy.

Don’t Fall! One Group Picture for the Album. ©2007 Leon Varga

I traded places with Leon on the way down. If he was leading on the way up, he was the sweeper now. I ran down, as usual. Except that the long non-trekking period took it’s toll. Midway, I had this blood rush going into my head and I had a terrible headache. I slowed down and Aaron overtook me. I tried to keep up with someone eight years my junior, but couldn’t. Then I came to the steep and rocky section that required a little maneuvering. The headache didn’t help; I felt like an overheated machine just wanting to shut down. I slowed down considerably, and laboured with each step towards the end. Aaron must have slowed down because we got out of the jungle at about the same time. I didn’t beat my own speed record of running down this mountain. Even so, I was one hour ahead of the last person walking out of the mountain.

Anyhow, I will always remember this trek for two reasons. It is the one that made me miss the graduation ceremonies of Quin Jean (at UCSI), Nee On and Amos (both at Monash University Malaysia). And it is the one that hurt my left foot. I’m not sure if running out caused the injury to my left foot; and I guess I’ll never know. While I normally trek Gunung Datuk in my pair of sandals, I was wearing proper trekking boots this time around. I suppose that’s why I can still walk today.

The injury is my own; there’s no one to share it with. I estimate I will have to go two or three months without a mountain. I’ll have to trade all trekking plans for a less strenuous hobby to give my foot a proper rest. It’s only three months; it can’t be as bad as when I laid off for a year when I had a bad knee. Right now, I’m thinking of exercising my jaws with extra heavy meals at midnight daily.

Then again, it’s me. You just might find me on a mountain this weekend.

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Updated September 11, 2007
For the records, I walked to a nearby hospital with the intention of visiting a doctor about my foot yesterday. When I got there, there was this long queue of people waiting to be treated. I figured if I could walk 500m to see a doctor, I wasn’t in that bad a condition. I turned around and walked home. The intention was there, but…

“We don’t mind the work, but the only problem is that the cost of buying the materials for the clean-up. We certainly hope a sponsor will come forward to help in this cause.”

My name is in the newspaper! But then, Nee On and Amos got their faces in there.

The article about our recent Gunung Datuk clean-up appeared in the Star newspaper–Education Section–today. It’s only a short article, but still it’s a matter of getting the few keywords like, Canadian International Matriculation Programme, Trekking Club, and mountains, into the newspaper.

Of course, people will start to question why of all the people who went, why choose a pic of Amos and Nee On? I have no idea. And I will not even try to start guessing why.

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Related Links:
• The Article in The Star Website.

On 1 April 2005, I wrote in my old blog:

I trekked up Gunung Datuk last Saturday (March 26). I proclaimed that that would be the last time I went up there–at least for the next few years. And on this trip, I was to guide at least three car loads of human beings; but only four persons came– Chee Kin, Stephanie, Cindy and Rachel.

But who cares about them? It’s the panorama we all want to see…

Unfortunately, I took the worst set of photos for a panorama ever. Panorama Maker couldn’t stitch it properly. And I had trouble stitching the pics manually–I was left with an overtly curved and distorted panorama. HOW I WISH THE WORLD WAS FLAT!

I suppose God had other plans. One of which must be to irritate me with curved panoramas…

Anyway, here’s the BEST crop possible

Gunung Datuk in 2005

I know. It doesn’t even show half of the 360 degree view from the peak of Gunung Datuk. I know. It’s a boring image. I admit it. But I was trying to hide the ugly graffiti whichever IDIOTS did on the rocks at the peak.

And I know I said I would never go back there again anytime soon.

But I DON’T HAVE A CHOICE if I didn’t get a panoramic image I love. I’m still trying to fix the stitch, but I don’t like the results I’m getting. I’m just not satisfied with it.

So. Despite what I declared to the world earlier on, I may be going up Gunung Datuk again sometime soon. Even the ugly graffiti won’t deter me. Plus, the little exploring into the “caves” under the gigantic rocks has stirred my curiosity. Going to the peak again now offers some little “adventures” into places I’ve been before.

Until then, all of us have to live with this panorama.

It would seem that sometime soon has turned into some 20 months after. On January 26, 2007, I went up the mountain with 17 others–the veterans Nee On, and Amos, the freshly seasoned Amir, Nisita, Kourosh, Judith and Farah, and the new recruits Nancy, Stefhani, Nini, Aloysia, Arie, Dicky, Ikhwan, Edi, Naseem and Joanna–with the intention of erasing the graffiti and cleaning up the mountain. I was not sure how much 5 liters of thinner, 20 gloves, and 60 garbage bags could do before I got up, but I hoped the place will be a much cleaner place.

Graffiti Removal. Images by Amir Rashid

We’ve only managed to make the place a wee bit cleaner–there was just too much garbage for so few of us to collect in the limited time we were there. Still, it was a great effort that we collected as much as we did. The area the peak is quite clean now–we brought down some 26 bags of garbage; and erased some graffiti–but a lot of garbage is still scattered near the camping site. It’s really unbelievable how some campers can be. Among the treasures we found: used soft drink and mineral bottles, wine bottles, potato chips tubes, rusted sardine tin cans, a ring with a diamond/crystal, sports shoe soles, one side of a slipper, gardening glove, cigarette butts, forks and spoons of metal and plastic makes, two buckets, one sports bag, caps, and a lot of wrappers of all kinds big and small for sweets, chocolates, chewing gum, bread, nuts, cigarettes and the sort. There are many more items to be listed here.

The Garbage We Brought Down. Image by Amir Rashid

I was so intent of cleaning up the place, I decided not to bring my camera. That was a good and bad de