“Oldies” Conquer Broga Hill

Dawn makes its entrance at Broga Hill.
Taken from Broga Hill’s first peak.
Taken at 6:52 AM.

You all haven’t forgotten about our hiking trip to Broga Hill on the 4th of April (Saturday) right? I’m excited about it, I think some of you are too. For those that aren’t, you have about 10 days to get excited about it! The scenery is going to be awesome and we’re going to be having lots of fun! =)

“Old” people taking a group picture at the Broga Hill’s first peak.
Sorry Jessica Chua
Didn’t notice you were being obstructed.
Taken at 6:56 AM.

One day, a bunch of old people decided that we should go for a hike at a nearby hill. By old, I mean youths that are oldest in the IMPACT group i.e. college going youths. To be more specific, cell group leaders.

We will meet at Sri Melur, USJ 17 @ 4.30 am for light breakfast and then leave for Broga at 5 am SHARP (please be punctual ah). The journey will take 45 minutes to 1 hour and we will begin our hike at approximately 6 am.

Kevin Phang at the top of the first peak.
Taken at 7:03 AM.

We went in two cars. The first was driven by my sister while the other one was driven by Jonathan Loh. We left the mamak slightly after five and quickly made our way towards Semenyih. In case you haven’t got the picture, Broga Hill is located in Semenyih. It’s very near to Nottingham University.

Appreciating God’s creation.
Taken at 7:03 AM.

We arrived at about 6 AM. The entrance to the hill was unmarked and the only landmark we had was the rabbit farm. Our journey to Broga Hill had a hiccup. We accidentally made a wrong left turn into a housing area and made a U-turn after noticing it. We parked at a palm oil plantation. Car engines off, it was pitch black! Thank God we brought torch lights as per recommended.

The road less taken.
Taken at 7:15 AM.

Things to bring:
1. Torchlight – for the first part of the hike when it’s still dark (important!)
2. Bible – for devotion (important!)
3. Insect repellent- if you’re afraid of mozzies
4. Camera
5. Small towel
6. Extra t-shirt
7. Water – 1.5 L should be sufficient
8. Snacks – eg. buns/biscuits/granola bars in case you get hungry

Tian Pei Yi taking a picture of the scenery.
We’re still on the first peak.
Taken at 7:15 AM.

As for me, I brought my Gideon Bible, devotional book, torch light, water bottle and my camera. I wasn’t expecting any real mosquito threat ( which proved to be a fatal mistake later on ). Therefore, I wore shorts and didn’t bring any insect repellent. Maybe I totally forgot about that. My brain doesn’t function if I’m deprived of sleep! Sleeping at 1 AM and waking at 4 AM doesn’t make my brain happy!

Song Ee Leen and Jessica Chua taking a moment.
Still at the first peak.
Taken at 7:23 AM.

We started our hike by walking into the darkness. We had torch lights to light our path. For me, I felt as though I was back in high school. Fellow prefects, remember night walks? Having long legs definitely helped me cross a few obstacles but my height had me bending extra to avoid hitting my head on branches! Had some challenging obstacles but teamwork triumphed over them. Kevin Phang and I were behind as security guards. Hey, it was an important duty!

The XX’s and Broga Hill.
Taken at 7:27 AM.

Light illuminated the sky even before we reached the first peak. But it was alright. The sun hasn’t risen yet, technically. Thanks to the hills, we had extra minutes to make it to the top before the sun was visible in the sky. We spent quite a while at the first peak to take some shots as well as enjoy the sunrise. I just noticed that there isn’t any group shots of the XY’s alone.

Onwards to the second peak.
Taken at 7:31 AM.

We should be able to reach the first peak of Broga Hill in time for the sunrise. After the sunrise, we’ll find a spot to do devotion together and then conquer the subsequent peaks. After doing everything we want to do up there eg. taking pictures, etc

A group picture on the way to the second peak.
Taken at 7:31 AM.

I noticed that my camera’s auto white balance produced different results for each shot. I don’t know whether it was supposed to be like that or rather it’s just me ( not understanding the camera fully ). While taking the picture above, the brushing of my backpack against the tall grass created sounds that sounded like there was an animal behind me! I was freaked out. Looked behind and saw nothing. Thank God.

Our Daily Journey.
Today’s about going the extra mile.
Taken at 7:47 AM.

At the second peak, we found suitable place for us to do our devotions and proceeded with it. We were joined by other loud and joyful hikers too! Figuratively of course. Got some weird looks from passersby too. Guess they haven’t seen a bunch of people sitting together reading the same material. The Gideon Bible really came in handy. Small and compact!

“The hills are alive”.
Tee Tze Mien singing while hiking up the third peak!
Taken at 8:34 AM.

As if having two peaks was enough, there was a third peak! ( I thought I heard that there were five! ) Immediately after devotion, we made our way up the third peak to run away from the crowd.

Up we go.
The hill gets steep after this point!
Taken at 8:35 AM.

Broga Hill presented is final and hardest obstacle to us at its third peak. It was really steep and definitely impossible to climb up without the rope. At the end of the rope was a huge boulder where you had to climb up barehanded. We all made it up alive.

A group picture at 330m above sea level.
Tried some HDR-ing.
Took 5 different exposures.
Forgive me for my sloppy work.
Observe the patches in the sky.
Taken at 9:02 AM.

Broga Hill, conquered on 9:02 AM, 4th of April 2009.

Down we go.
Taken at 9:10 AM.

We were quite brief at the highest peak. The highest peak was quite a let down as the view was blocked by big boulders. I shouted “IMPACT!” at the top of the peak though! I have a certified girl’s scream too. Tze Mien mistook my scream as Pei Yi’s. Ha ha!

At the back of the pack.
Taken at 10:08 AM.

we’ll hike down the hill, have lunch and go home!

Through the rubber plantation.
We were all starting to experience dehydration!
Taken at 10:10 AM.

Remember the advice to bring mosquito repellent and wear longs? Well, that advice was really handy when we were going down hill! Everything was fine as we tread downhill until we entered the forest. Immediately, everyone started feeling itchy! We were swarmed with an epic amount of mosquitoes! Even the repellent didn’t deter the mosquitoes from sucking our blood! Guess the advice was not as useful after all. Oops.

Are we lost?
There were crossroads along the way down.
Taken at 10:10 AM.

The mosquitoes had to be the highlight of the journey down hill. We were spending most of our time slapping ourselves. We slapped each other too. God knows how many mosquitoes Kevin crushed on my back. Even clapping the air randomly would score you some kills! Just imagine the number of bumps each of us had on our skin. Kevin’s mosquito bites were epic. I had my fair share of battle scars too.

Happy to be on our way out!
Taken at 10:12 AM.

The mosquitoes got lesser and lesser as we made our way to the edge of the forest. We were not very sure about the path we took as there were crossroads along the way. Thank God we had great guides and a PDA with a working GPS to guide us! We were going to make it out alive! Oh, it seems that the mosquitoes were attracted to black.

Viva la Oldies!
Taken at 10:26 AM.

As though as a losing army makes a last ditch attempt to inflict as much losses on the enemy, the mosquito just couldn’t let us exit the forest in peace! Even beside the main road, swarms of mosquitoes were attacking us. No wonder it felt itchy while we took the group picture!

Man 1 : Wild 0 – Kevin Phang

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