Gunung Yong Yap Perak, G7 Mountain Malaysia

7th July - 9th July 2006

Gunung Yong Yap (7113') is situated in the state of Perak and it is the 6th highest mountain in West Malaysia. Our team (YK, KC, Wong HM and Michael Lim) checked into a resort in Cameron Highland on the 6th of July. The climb will start from Kampong Brooks 2KM after Kampong Raja in Cameron Highland. We had our dinner in Brinchang town, sitting outside in the cool weather and eating hot piping food and chinese tea just feels wonderful. We also get to eat some durians (king of fruits). And staying a night in Cameron Highland is cool and refreshing. I did some research before this climb especially that Gunung Yong Yap is home to the endangered tiger with all the hype we were actually concerned but our goal is to complete the G7 and that is something very important in every climb. That you need positive thinking besides all the training.

Day 1. We had breakfast in one of the many eateries and met up with the rest of the group and proceeded to Kampong Brooks to regroup. Ah Meng and his orang asli porter waited for us beside the road near to a school. The orang asli guided us to park our cars and those with 4WD will be required to carry the rest of the members to the next orang asli settlement for the in-trail. Our team member bought 1 pack of 10kg rice as a gesture for the orang asli. The 4WD ride was more like a 4WD adventure because we had to cross a few rivers and through old logging trail. We were in Ah Meng's Suzuki 4WD and he has to make another trip out to fetch the rest. We started trekking around 10.30am and along the way we passed through some durian orchards and Ah Meng collected some wild durian (jungle variety), it tasted Ummmh! very pungent and gassy, my advice is try to avoid it as along the way when 1 or 2 members started to burp and the smell is unbelievable. As we were crossing some narrow trail KC shouted that she was stung by bees and everyone ran. Three casualties, KC had about 10 bee stings, Wong 3 and another member by the nickname "sour pineapple" who had only 3 bee stings but was the most affected.
We stop to administer first aid, KC and Wong just got off with painful stings but for "sour pineapple" his body started to develop rashes, he jump into a small stream and started scrubbing his body with sand (bad idea). I later gave him some medication 1 for itch and the other (very mild steroid) for infections. He managed to continue and arrived at base camp at around 2.30pm, he felt very uncomfortable probably due to allergic reaction, just drink plenty of water and rest. As the campsite was overgrown with bushes, the orang asli started to clear a larger campsite. There is a small stream just enough to dip for 2-3 person and our source of drinking water. It was still early and we have tea 'tarik' and steamed 'pow' (dumpling). Some of them even brought along newspaper to read. We had fried Hokkien Mee cooked with fish cake for dinner. Imagined famous Hokkien Mee with chilly shrimp paste in the mountains. Mmmm.......Rest early as tomorrows trek is about 4 to 6 hours.

Day 2. After breakfast we packed some light food and proceeded to the peak. All of us except for "sour pineapple" who still felt uncomfortable had to miss the peak, we started trekking at 7.40am and reach the peak at 11.40am (4hours). We have buns from Sg. Pelek and our famous Milo shake at the peak. After group photos we decent all the way down to the campsite which took us less than 3 hours. Tea 'O' and instant noodle first before our bath and started preparing dinner. Tonight dinner is yam rice cooked with fried shrimp and chilly. Supper was tea 'tarik' with 'Tiger' biscuit and groundnuts.

Day 3. After breakfast we left our campsite at 9am and reached the orang asli settlement at 11am. Everyone bathed in the nearby river. We bought bamboo walking stick and blowpipe from the orang asli. The 4WD took us out to Kampong Brooks where we parked our cars. This trail is much easier compare to the entry point through Kuala Mu which is much tougher. Good luck and have fun!