I was teacher in-charge of a CCA (school interest group) known as the Tahan Trekking Club! Yes there was a club named after the mountain. Apart from other smaller mountains such as Ophir and Stong, summiting Gunung Tahan was seen as the milestone in their club experience, a graduation climb. These young men and women, 17 years old, would scale Gunung Tahan after just 6 months of intense training, the mountain that strikes fear even into seasoned trekkers. And they would only take the Classic Trail, Kuala Tahan to Kuala Tahan, all 110km.
The tradition of the club dates back to 1976. Then, the new Hwa Chong Junior College wanted to set itself apart from the rest and make a name of itself and decided to send a group of 8 boys 2 girls to scale the highest peak in Peninsula Malaysia. Led by its founder Dr Quek Jin Jong, who was Assistant Head of Physical Education, they embarked on a 7-day journey into the unknown. None of them had any trekking experience, they weren't even sure what kind of shoes to use. In an interview with Dr Quek many years later, he recalled a moment when the trek almost didn't happen. As the team camped in the Taman Negara national park, just near the start point of the trek, some of them encountered a man whose upper body was covered in leeches. The blood on his body was enough to stun them into thinking twice about setting foot in the forest. Dr Quek recalled, "At that point, if I had said, 'Let's go back', I think the rest would have readily gone back home." He didn't, so they stayed, to complete the trip and started a legacy.
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| Clockwise from top left: 3rd batch, 1978, 3rd batch crossing log bridge, 29th batch in front of minimart |
