First time hiking

Irau, Cameron

It was my first time hiking, and as my hubby puts it: I got the package. Meaning: I got to go on the toughest hiking trip you can imagine (don't count the fact that I'm exaggerating). The tracks were not that easy, you had to go on all four -knees and elbows- climbing up and down the steep tracks. PLUS, (now thats a big plus) it was during the rainy season, the tracks were all muddy -you have to watch your step or else your shoe will get stuck in the sticky mud). PLUS, (another big plus) we were still somewhere in the deep jungle when the sun said goodbye for the day. It was dark, we could hardly see anything. We ran out of food. There was no energy left in my body, not even a teeny weeny bit, but I still managed to go on pushing my body forward. It was the semangat mental that was driving us on and nothing else. We were hiking for 9 hours whereas it would normally take only a few hours. I was EXHAUSTED and I reaallly mean it!!!!! We started off in the morning but only around 9 pm did we reach the camp site and only God knows how relieved I felt. The moment I reached there I stumbled down on the ground and could not get up anymore. I felt like a person who had been lost at sea for weeks and had just been rescued.

It was really cold even at the campsite -of course, we were in Cameron Highlands. I could barely eat dinner but forced myself to swallow a few spoonfuls of rice although I did throw up sometime in the middle of the night. My hubby and I slept in the car, it was so cold we had to cuddle up to each other.

Although I vowed never to experience that again, surprisingly, it was one of the sweetest moments in my life. I was lost in a jungle with an empty stomach, every inch of my body hurt, I had to sleep in the car with not enough blankets to keep me warm. But I did all that with my hubby. I knew he was tired, hungry and cold too. But he had put all that aside just to ensure that my needs came first. He had showed so much concern for me. It was at times like these that I realise how lucky I am to have him by my side.