Anyway today's post is dedicated the the most physically challenging 3 days i've ever experienced. The journey up the highest mountain in South East Asia, Mount Kinabalu.
I don't have photos of our journey because it's all with the rest of the team...anyway, i got some pictures from websites i surfed which tell a pretty accurate and aunthentic description of my journey.
As you can see, there are two trails leading to the summit. We took the Mesilau Trail (right side one) for the climb up which was longer and the Timpohon Trail (left one) for the hike down.
Actually the whole deal is like this: Spend a night at the KK National Park. Wake up early around 6 am the next day and leave for the half way point called Laban Rata(blue color wordings) at 8am using the Mesilau Trail. By that time, it should be around 5pm. Eat dinner, Sleep early at the dormitory and wake up early at 1am to continue to the Low's Peak to catch the sunrise at 6am. Then immediately hike down to Laban Rata for a healthy breakfast and then via the Timpohon Trail, climb all the way down to KK National Park to rest for a night.
Sounds easy right? .....right.......
MMU CF Mission Team to Kudat,Sabah...outside the Mesilau Gate.
the poor souls...our happy faces before the hike. Brimming with confidence and the vigour of youth to arrogantly tackle Mt KK. Oh yea, a bunch of us had a real heavy breakfast...which made us huff and puff as we scaled the steps. We all bought the sticks that cost us RM3, the best 3 bucks i spent...we all fooled around as though we were Gandalf and stuff, but it really came in handy to drag our tired bodies step by step at the end of the journey.
We were goin to be led by two mountain guides who were Kadazan Dusun people. Mr Ramin and Mr Japlin.
At first, full of energy and vigour, we tracked fast and furious...wasting no time. Some of us gave the porter(a third guy who sprinted ahead of us) our bags while the rest, including I tried to be macho and carry our own bags. By the time we reachd the first pondok...huffing and puffing...Mark and I decided to pay our guides who also acted as porters to lug our luggage. Rm8 a kg. The best Rm 40 i paid. After that I felt really liberated...carrying only a stick, water bottle and a rain coat.
We had stops like this pondok all along the way to catch a breather, eat our energy bars and refill our water bottles. After a few hours of walking and walking and walking, you begin to feel hungry...famished...that's when I really wished i had brought more energy food. I only carried 3 sneaker bars. Thank God, the rest were kind enough to share whatever extra grub they had.
Raisins never tasted so gooooood!!!...yea, raisins...
(we tried eating raisin when we were travelling in the van after the whole Mt KK Ordeal...nah, it only tasted magical when we were starving up there)
The first part of the hike is all rain forest scenery...We saw a beautiful water fall on the way...it was misty and fresh...we passed through a part of the forest where it looked like a secret chinese garden. We were half hopping to see some kung fu people flying though the mountain trees. (MARK...we need the photos man)
We saw lots of this funky plant which eats insects. We also saw a huge red worm that looked like Otak Otak and could flatten and lengthen itself when we prodded it with our sticks...disgusting...
Then it started to rain...yea. And our legs weren't vigourous anymore. The air was subtlely becoming colder...so we took out out rain coats and began trudging through the rain. Tired, hungry and cold...the elements were slowly affecting my spirit as i kept to myself as we trudged along, hoping we'd reach Laban Rata soon....every bend, was another climb up, another terrain, another knee busting effort. The climbing and the trail was getting tougher as the hours passed. And it was raining...and we were drenched in sweat and water.
The air became thinner also, making it increasingly hard to excert myself. Breathing hard but not getting oxygen, made me feel nauseous and giddy. Soon the physical battle...moved into another level...the mental battle. That's when your mind starts questioning the rational of the climb, our seemingly endless torture. Mark said it was beginning to feel like the land of Mordor from The Lord Of the Rings fame...The group became split as the faster ones moved ahead and the slower ones lagged. So at times, I had to push away the mind tricks and push on, concentrating on every step. The guides looked at ease, smoking and whistling...giving us head starts and then catching up with us. They encouraged us as we neared Laban Rata, the Promised Land...hahaha...
Laban Rata(it was dark and cloudy when we reached and not sunny and cheerful as in the picture)...and the main hall. The sight we were longing for so badly.
We had been hiking from 8 am. We only begin to see the end our our painful hike at 5.30pm. It gets dark fast there. 9 freaking hours of climbing and trekking. Go figure....
We stumbled into the dinning hall, bruised, battered, famished, cold, disillusioned, freezing (it was about 9 degrees). Plopped ourselves down and took whatever food was available at whatever price. How about a buffet that cost RM30?....we took it. and hot wonderful tea. Some of us were overcome with fatigue that we vomitted.
We still had to hike up a bit to our actual lodging...what the heck...
We stumbled into our rooms...our feet and hands were icy cold..Too cold for some of us to bathe. Icy cold water poured out frm the taps. We were to sleep at 8pm and wake up to at 1am.I was misreable. I think a lot of us were...found out later that some of us secretly had second thoughts of continuing up to the peak...and hoped it rained so that everyone didn't have to go, and we'd won't feel like such a failure...hahaha...man, it was a dark dark night...
Woke up freezing...ok, let's finish this once and for all....so by 2am, we were hiking up the steps, on our way to Low's Peak...in the dark, thin air, still feeling traces of fatigue.
Here's where I owe a lot to Justin who was taking it easier than me. Way easier. It was estimated to be a 4 hour hike to the peak. I was beginning to feel bad half way through. By now it was all rocks and ropes and grip...The thin air was beginning to make me feel like giddy. I wasn't getting enough air into my lungs. Each step began to feel like I was goin to faint after a certain amount of exerction. Mentally, I was slowly giving up. That's when i asked Justin to help me. And he literally held my arm like i was some kinda lame man...and he pulled me along.
I was feeling a bit delirious....walking waywardly held straight by Justin's hand...muttering under my breath...saying stuff like, "I feel like giving up...help...." Struggling. At times, falling to my knees in exhaustion...rolled onto my back and took deep breaths. I think i freaked Justin out a couple of times. I felt terrible. And Justin said i looked pale...white...probably ghostly death...
At that time, i realize how weak I am, how i was now pushed to my limit. to my breaking point in terms of my personal mental strength. What a weakling I was. And the worst part was, there was no turning back. It was either i gave up, or i continued. I wanted to sleep...it was pitch dark, it was feezing, my throat was cracked and dry from the chilly air, my hands were icy cold despite wearing thick gloves...and i dropped my bottle half way...accelerating the risk of dehydration.
I kept wondering how far more was the peak only to be met with despair each time the ranger who was with us gave his estimation...when i asked him...
"lebih kurang 2 jam lagi, baru sampai"
or
"ada agak agak 2 km lagi"
later again
"700 meter lagi baru sampai"
I saw the peak... but just fell to my knees in exhaustion. Justin decided to continue and told me to wait if i couldn't make it. I just took shelter under a rock and pondered in the freezing air...as the sun began to rise. Was i gonna die? Arghh....so near, but yet i cannot do it...
Two things made me push on the final sprint.
1) A passing ranger who said, " Cuma lima minit sahaja. Cube sedikit lagi, dah boleh sampai.."...and proceeded to skip up to the peak like a light footed deer.
2) Oh no, they're gonna take pictures without me...HOW CAN??? I feel like i've been through hell and my face's gonna be left out....i'm not gonna be short changed for that...hahaha...i'm not gonna be cheated of my evidence i made it...NOOO!!!
With that two burning thoughts in my mind, i scaled the last few meters...bit by bit...bit by bit...and finally i caught up with them as they were just reaching the peak. (ok, i was the last).
The feeling of SATISFACTION....priceless...
for a moment, i was overwhelmed at the feat I had achieved...and the view was extraordinarily beautiful...we were higher than the clouds and could see the first rays of the sun.
but we were only allowed to lepak there for 5 minutes coz there were a lot of other climbers waiting their turn to stand on the peak. Wasn't really a big place. All the fuss and only 5 minutes at the highest point..."moveo, moveo. we takeo pictureo"...said the impatient Japanese mountain climber...sheesh....
And the climb down wasn't bad on our lungs...but bad on our kneeeeesss....by that time it was around 7-8am, and the clouds were beginning to close in on the peak...so we had to hurry down. There were some Japanese senior climbers as in aunties and uncles fully clad in mountain gear and they just marched past us youngsters...they must have scaled Mt Fiji or something.
Anyway, to cut the long story short, we hiked down to Laban Rata, rejoined with those who were left behind there had breakfast and hiked down to the National Park via Timpohon trail. A hellish trail of endless steps. Nothing could keep us from passing through the beloved gate at the end of the hike some 6 hours later and it was raining really heavily. We reached around 6pm. Overjoyed....and all i wanted was a hot shower, a new set of clothes, a hearty dinner and a gooooood sleep...
I prefered the Mesilau trail more. It was longer but had more scenery and less steps. The Timpohon trail was no doubt shorter but it was endless steps.
All in all...we walked and hiked 22++ hours in two days......gilerrr...
After we reached our lodging to recuperate, even the smallest of steps was excruciating painful on our worn out legs...hahaha...climbing up the double decker top bunk was really tough...
Yea baby.....authentic certs....I made it...hahaha....
I think the most macho job in the whole world is a mountain guide. I asked Ramin how many times have he climbed the mountain…he said this time was his 467th time(If I’m not mistaken). Man, if I introduced myself as a mountain guide, I’d be a chick magnet…hahaha.
We were all struggling to climb down the treacherous rough mountain terrain with the ropes and stuff, Ramin and Japlin just kinda skipped and jumped nimbly from rock to cliff with a grin on their faces...Ramin was getting a bit impatient at our slow pace, so he grabbed Jia Tsing by the arm at one point and ran down the steep slope much to our amusment.
Apart from that, we saw local porters carrying food and groceries up and down frm town to Laban Rata...overtaking us with ease..hahaha....some were wearing japanese slippers.
Would we try this again? Not in the near future says deric....no way....well, maybe next time when we forget the pain....as we drove away in the van, we could see the peak of Mt KK high up in the clouds...man, we couldn't believe we actually walked there...
I think Mark shook his fist at it from afar....
The scenery was great.....but i guess i was too mentally tired to soak in the moment. But it's an experience that humbled me and tested my limits.
We spent the next 6 days in Kudat to minister to the Rungus Christians in their villages but that's another story....
phew...what a long winded post...
1 comment:
Hey...i enjoyed reading this post of yours. really brought back very fond memories of my own experience climbing up Mt. KK via the Mersilau trail. Really have to admitt that we do not know our own limits until we put it to the 'test'.
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