Tinggi-tinggi Gunung Kinabalu

It was all started with one quick and random decision made last year in less than 5 minutes. RM50+ for return ticket and kaki to hike and water raft together. It was quite a good catch so why think twice right. A year has passed so incredibly fast that here we are in Sabah already and in hope to to conquer Mt. Kinabalu and leave our footsteps at the peak. Woots!

Yeah I was the one and only girl that taking up this challenge with this bunch of dudes. So it was not hard to imagine how far I was left behind by them. One single step taken by them was equal to two and a half steps by me.

It was funny how we were all wrapped up in layers of clothes before the hike while the other climbers were only wearing their normal hiking attire. It was about 14-15C but we were already freezing! This shows bad health? Ha I don't know. But then after a few metres up, we begun to sweat and feel suffocated. All extra shirts were taken off and packed into the bag again. Oh, I was actually carrying my 9kg ruck sack in the beginning. But it was too much for me to carry up the high staircases so I decided not to go against my limits and surrendered. I rather pay Rm100 to hire a porter than to gamble my chance to reach the peak. It was actually quite disappointing because I thought I could handle it and take up the challenge for myself. Never mind, saving the energy to reach the top was my top priority!

For every 500m there's a mark. For every 1km there's a pondok for us to rest and have our toilet break. But we couldn't afford to have a long rest as it would slow the momentum and it would get us lazier. So after catching a few breath, we continued unwillingly.

We went up through Mesilau Trail which was longer but with more beautiful views. Mount K trails were all staircases, big and small, high and low. All sorts. It took us almost 10 hours to reach Laban Rata - the rest stop at midhill. Going up wasn't really a big problem to me because I carried only light bag and the fascinating views had kept me going happily.

When we reached Laban Rata, it was about sunset. The view from the balcony was really beyond words and almost near heaven! All the tiredness had just gone immediately when clouds were just at your eye level and the colors of the sky were worth to die for. There, we had our dinner and we ate like we were starved for days! Then we rested for a night before we continue our journey to the peak early in the morning. The room we stayed in was already so cold that we had to wear layers of clothes to sleep in. It was about 7-8C.

We woke up at about 1am to have our breakfast before we proceed to the peak at 2am. It was still pitch dark and the queue to the peak was pretty long. There were about 100+ hikers that day. People stop and pant. Some quit not long after. Some struggle to carry on. Some hesitate. It was really quite mental. The air was getting thinner. The pressure was getting higher. Luckily I have a very good guide that helped me alot througout. He held my hand and we hiked up step by step together. We talked we laughed all the way. If it wasn't for him I wouldn't be able to reach the peak just before the sunrise. And his name is Kasree! I just adore him! Oh did I mention that he's really a good photographer? All these nice pictures of me were taken by him.

The peak was freezing cold at about 5C. But I came well prepared with everything i had, 5 tops ( 2 jackets) , 3 pants, 2 socks, 2 gloves, 2 warm pads in each hand & 1 shawl. So i was pretty kept warm with all these and that allowed me to enjoy my stay at the peak comfortably. However, we must descend from the peak at 7am the latest so that we would be able to reach the foothill before the sky turns dark. I wish we could stay longer at the peak!

We made it! The Low's Peak at 4095.2M above sea level.

The sense of achievement was so great when you're on top of Mount K. The scenery was so unbelievable that for a second you thought you were in some other country instead of Malaysia. And for that moment I was so proud to be a Malaysian! Lol. Crap! After about 45min at the top we had to descent where the nightmare begun again. Going down was alot more torturing. My legs don't belong to me anymore that time and every steps was so hard that you thought they would break just at anytime! I had to depend all my steps on the stick I bought at Rm10. Without it I would have fallen down umpteen of times and make the process worsen. It took me almost 8 hours to reach the foothill where it took the rest only about 5 hours. I know I suck but I've tried to go faster but the both legs just wouldn't listen to any orders. Still, I was glad that I made it down safely and just when you thought the whole world had forgotten your existence and the rain came pouring down, you found your teammate was waiting for you at the exit gate, that was enough to bring down all the tears but I hold it! Stay strong and cool! Ha.

It was really an awesome hike and I have no regret of going though it was really tiring ( and we had to go white water rafting the next day! Shall blog about this next time). It was a once in a life time experience that I'm proud with. And it was another striped off to-do! Yay! Don't ask me when will I go again. But I will tell you, YOU MUST DO IT at least for one time so you don't die regretting. Love it! =)

P/s : MUST bring along your music player to keep you sane.