A Remarkable Hiking Adventure

“A Remarkable Hiking Adventure” is one of the outstanding stories of the first biannual International Short Story Contest 2018 written by Aryan Kumeran, Sri KDU Primary School, Malaysia.

A Remarkable Hiking Adventure

Scaling hills has been my passion for ages, ever since the tender age of six. I spent a lot of my leisure time watching videos of mountain climbers and hikers in amazement. It gave me a sense of achievement and joy as if I myself had actually scaled those peaks. This desire grew in me until I turned nine and finally I got the opportunity to go hiking. A group was rounded up comprising my mother’s workmates and a few relatives of mine.

We started off with the Saga Hill, a forest reserve in the midst of Kuala Lumpur. This is a low elevated hill and a great hike for nature lovers. Mildly challenging trails were along the way. However, we managed quite well as we had two experienced guides, my uncle who has scaled Mount Kinabalu and the other was none other than my dad, who has recently gone on an adventurous saga for fifteen days, to the Everest Base Camp in Kathmandu, Nepal. Having successfully trekked, he could provide some useful tips and motivation.

Armed with my huge water tumbler, we climbed up the terraced slopes. There was undergrowth and varieties of wild plants. Flora and fauna was at its best, giving us a very refreshing sight! The whole place was mushy and a little slippery too. Thankfully we were well geared up with suitable footwear and attire meant for hiking.

Up and up we went, heaving and panting. We had to halt at some spots to inhale more air and regain our composure before toiling on. Soon we passed a small shrine and everyone offered a prayer and asked for blessings to complete our task of hiking without any hitches. An hour passed and we had almost reached the peak. To our delight, we found a recreation area for the hikers to relax after the tedious climb. There were benches and exercise equipment made out of bamboo sticks and plastic pipes. By now we were all famished, waiting to grab some food. What a relief! A food vendor was selling assorted beverages and instant noodles. It all tasted delicious as we were very hungry by then.

Soon after, we decided to descend the hill using a different route that had been tried and tested. The climb down was more tedious as it was steep and slippery. So we had to be extra cautious, using a long rope, tied to some trees. At times we even had to use very thick rope-like tendrils and firm creepers to hang on for dear life!

For me, it was like enacting some scenes from Tarzan episodes that I had watched on television during my younger days. Soon, to our pleasant surprise, we came across a huge waterfall. We hurriedly halted to relax there. Moments later, we were splashing under the gushing sheets of water that cascaded from above the boulders down to the rocks below. There were a few ledges for us to safely perch ourselves. It was totally refreshing! We chatted and joked around enjoying some light moments. Soon, it was time to continue. There were many fallen trees due to the strong wind and rain. Wild boars, while digging up the soil for roots had left gaping holes. So we had to be very cautious to prevent any untoward incidents.

Finally, we negotiated the last steep slope and arrived at the starting point. We had completed our hike and climb to the peak of the Saga Hill! To celebrate, the whole group headed to the nearby Ampang Fish Farm to satisfy our pangs of hunger. Lunch was awesome comprising fresh steamed fish and a variety of farm-grown vegetables. Then we bid goodbye and headed back home.

Was I tired? Yes, very much, but I somehow felt a sense of achievement seeping into me. This was just a humble climb, but I was already preparing myself for the next climb in the month of June 2018 during my school holidays. This time it is going to be a climb up Mount Kinabalu, the highest mountain in my country – Malaysia!