Tok Nenek, Bubu, Yong Yap (TNBYY) - Day 1
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Simpang Tok Nenek
The trek bore north-west for about 5.9 km, which was covered in just over 2 hours, crossing multiple rivers and a variety of different terrain before reaching 'Simpang Tok Nenek'. The trickiest areas to navigate through before reaching that point were the ones that consisted of bamboo (Tribe : Bambuseae). Tunnels of bamboo with low lying shoots that crossed overhead made it tricky for most as one would have to stoop very low to the point of crawling to get the large backpacks through and would then find that standing back up was tricky due to the slippery terrain. I was very relieved once past those areas as everything that came after just seemed to be really easy.
After a short stop and bathe in the river, we proceeded on a more westerly course for another three kilometres or so before stopping at a small clearing called 'Kem Lengkuas' for lunch. Lunch consisted of nasi impit (a sort of compressed rice) with some delicious beef rendang. We then following the route west and came upon an old guide traveling in the opposite direction. He asked for some food and it turned out that he was injured so was forced to turn back. Funnily enough when we came across him, he seemed to be just slashing away with his parang at some vegetation on the side that did not appear to be causing any obstruction whatsoever. I was very wary at first but he turned out to be harmless.
Later on, Am, Aidan, Lesly and I came upon Hatta who was just sitting by the side of the trail clutching his foot. It turned out that he sprained his ankle by putting pressure on the upward side of his foot (directly below his leg rather than to the side as would occur for lateral and medial ankle sprains). I passed Lesly some wide stretchable tape for an ankle wrap from my first aid kit whilst I had a short chat with Hatta to find out if he had any conditions or allergies before administering an analgesic to him. In the end he decided to stay with Am and rest for a while whilst waiting for the guide, K, who was just behind us. I passed Hatta my trekking pole and I carried Aidan's backpack so that Aidan would in turn be able to carry Hatta's backpack.
The going was slower from that point on due to the extra weight and night fell quickly. We reached 'Kem Belumut' in torch light after a total of eight hours of trekking, covering a distance of 13.9 km and an ascent of 914 metres. I was one of the last few to reach camp as I was carrying two backpacks and found myself very glad to have a Hennessy Explorer Hammock as the only space left to setup a tent or hammock by that time was some very uneven terrain at the back of the camp. Once the hammock had been setup, I went looking for food and found that due to my hunger, the nasi lemak that we had could be described as nothing short of glorious!
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