Places to Remember: Mount Kinabalu, A Milestone Challenge

Last week, it was an exciting, tiring and surreal kind of hiking adventure up to Mountain Kinabalu. This trip was planned a year ago with my group of architecture coursemates before we parted after our graduation. The planned hiking trip was 2 days and 1 night with the first day hiking up to the base camp at Laban Rata (around 3,100m above sea level) and the next day was a fully packed trip hiking up to the top, Low’s Peak which is at 4,095.2m above sea level and all the way down to the starting point. Frankly, I was not expecting the descending trip to be so challenging as my thigh and feet were excruciating with pain. This is like a karma for not train well for the hike which I don’t take it seriously.

The easy going first day touring around Gaya Street under our @cklai guidance.

I spent 6 days on this trip whereby I arrived on Wednesday, meeting up with our boss @cklai and friends (Siaw Yen, Zheng Lin, and Hui Wen). Thursday was also spent to tour around KK while waiting for another gang to arrive. Then early in the morning of Friday, about 5 am, we had our breakfast at a mamak restaurant in KK city and departed from our hostel with 2 vans to the Sabah Conservation Park which also linked with the hiking trail up to Mount. Kinabalu. The trip to the park took around 1 hour plus, I was asleep along the trip.

When we arrived, we were welcomed with cooling and clear weather and lots of climbers. Before we started our journey, we needed to get ourselves registered with the park management by filling up an Indemnity Form. Meaning to say, any trouble caused by ourselves will be fully bared by us. After that, we leave some of our stuff to be kept in the lounge whereby the rate was quite cheap. RM12 for around 10kg stuff. Before taking our vans to the starting point (Timpohon Gate), we had some photoshoots at the park office. Just by gazing at the distant mountain, I can feel the pressure was on. Nonetheless, I kept myself in a positive and motivated mood.

Filling up the indemnity form.

View from the registration office.

The route, 6km to rest house, 2km to peak.

Our guide briefing us about the hike.

The team plus some other hikers.

Once we reached the Timpohon Gate, we were briefed by our dedicated guides who were Anthony, Joseph, and Jamie. There were some important points that I remembered:

1. Follow your pace and keep going. The guides will accompany those who were slow (like me).
2. Do not pick up anything (like stones) or pluck any flora and fauna along the way. This is a courtesy of respect to nature.
3. Do not shout and misbehave. This is also a respect for the serenity of nature.

Most importantly, in this hiking journey, there was a time limit for us to reach the destination point. The main reason was to avoid hiking during nighttime with minimal visibility. So, we were urged to keep on moving and be as swift as possible on our movement.

Crossing the first checkpoint and marked the start of the hike.

Pumped up and ready to go, focus shot on my friend, Patrick from Kuching.

Our beloved and dedicated guide, @cklai

The starting trail.

While I was still with the crowd... lol

Cheerful and fresh! Evonne and @cklai.

So, here was my journey. At first, I was still energized and able to hike and captured views along the way. However, when I reached the final 500m before Laban Rata Rest House, it started to drizzle and turned into a pouring rain. I had to hike in the wet and cold weather while thinking when I can reach the rest house. I still vividly remembered the pace of the ascend, 3 steps and stop to catch a breath. While the rain was getting heavier and the temperature dropped until I can visualize my breath, I forced myself to pick up the speed and reach the destination as soon as possible. At that moment, my shoes, socks, and pant were totally soaked, and I could not feel my bottom body. Most of my friends arrived the rest house an hour earlier and they checked in the Lamaing Hostel.

Passing the Carson's Fall.

Done with 4km and counting, 2km more to reach the rest house.

Some random plants shot along the way while taking a rest.

Higher altitude plants shot.

Some floral from a higher altitude.

Another higher altitude plants shot.

Along the way, we met a lot of fat and well fed squirrels. They were not afraid of humans!

2km more to go!

Final km to rest house.

The last 500m to Laban Rata Rest House!

When I reached the Laban Rata rest house, the first thing was to sit and rest. My legs were totally wrecked and unable to move anymore after sitting down. That time was around 4.30pm and the buffet started to serve. Keep in mind that we did not have our proper lunch since our 5 am roti canai breakfast. We were like wolves with an empty stomach, rushed to the queue and grabbed the hot and comfy food. I walked like a penguin at this very moment and I had not much appetite. After I done with the food, I proceeded to the hostel which I found was out of electricity supply. I ended up lending a towel from the management with a RM12 fee. Then, I had to clean myself with the freezing cold water especially my head and feet. The sensation was totally similar to the ice bucket challenge whereby every inch of my muscle contracted, and I quickly dried myself with the warm towel. Luckily, I prepared two sets of heat tech clothes but forget about extra socks. One more thing was about the hostel’s floor which was like ice cold. I had to walk as fast I as I could to reach my bed before getting my feet freezingly pain.

Food after 7 hours of climb!

Ready to the hike for the peak!

Queuing to fill up our tummy.

Without realizing, I slept since 6.30pm until 1am. Fortunately, most my pain were relieved and I could walk normally again. After preparation, we proceeded to the rest house for an early breakfast before departing to the Low’s peak. At around 2am, the buffet started to serve and we had a fulfilling meal. Then, we were briefed by our respective guides about the hike outside of the rest house. Now, we were equipped with headlamp, windbreaker, gloves and also hiking sticks. We were told that we need to pass the checkpoint by 5am and to reach the peak by 7am. If not, we will be asked to turn back. Without hesitate much, I proceeded with the hike. This 2km hike was much difficult than the previous hike with steeper steps and some needed to hike with ropes (like abseiling). Nonetheless, I successfully passed the checkpoint around 4.30am and continued the journey. For this part of hiking, most of the place were not safe for long rest and we needed to keep moving. I understood why it was after I started my descent from the peak as most of the place were just proximate to cliffs.

Near to Low's Peak whereby this was the flattest route. This was the signature shot from our RM100 notes.

Mountain's shadow! So magnificent.

Not much energy left and only able to capture this shot for my friends.

Shot made after I passed KM8, it was around 6am.

Rest until 6.30am and decided to continue for the peak. This was taken at the KM8 checkpoint.

Around 6 am, I reached the KM 8 which was a rather flat surface and there was around 700m left for me to reach the peak. That final 700m was a hellish experience as I felt each and every step I took was so heavy. I was on the verge of giving up after looking at the peak was so steep and needed to climb again. Around 6.45am, I made up my mind and gave my all to accelerate up to the top which by then was 100m short from the top. Finally, I made to the top and enjoyed a brief moment up there by taking videos and photos. We were lucky to get a great weather on that morning and I enjoyed a clear view overlooking the towns and hills below. At this very moment, I felt every pain I felt and every step I took was worthwhile.

The penguin me (Don't laugh)

Tired AF with a smile! Finally I made it to the top!

The reflective pond. We can get 1 to 1 reflection from this!

Making our way down to the Sayat Sayat checkpoint.

On the way down from the peak, and the view was just breathtaking.

Enjoying the view while making my way down.

Only to realize that I can overcome my fear of height and hike up and down from the peak with this!

Around 8 am we started to descend back to the rest house. This was the starting of another torturous journey where I got myself a pain back, powerless thigh and helpless feet. I did not anticipate that the journey down to the rest house and to the starting point was so exhausting. The mere distance of steps and slope killed me and some of my friends. I reached the rest house around 10 am when we need to get our bags ready at 10.30am and depart by 11 am. The gap was so short that I needed to rest more to regain some strength while filling up my tummy with the lunch served in buffet style. I ordered 2 cans of isotonic drink (100 plus) which cost me RM11 each. After some rest, 7 of us who were left behind decided to make our move.

After a 500m descend, I found myself tired of coping with the body movement and also the pain. Thus, the guide offered me a porter service to carry my bag with an RM60 price. I gave in and I did not regret the decision. The descending journey was a rough one for me which took me more than 6 hours to finish. I had to depend a lot on the hiking stick to balance myself and absorb the impact going down every step. If not, I believed that my feet will eventually break, and I could no longer walk and finish the journey. At that moment, I could no longer kneel as my thighs were powerless. There were 2 moments where I fell as I failed to straighten my legs to walk. Fortunately, the guide was very professional and accompanied me the whole time. He even shared some tips like using the heel to descend, step on stones that were flatter and no moss, do not rest too long to prevent the legs for losing too much heat and so on. He also mentioned that we should train for at least 3 months by going to the gym and jogging for this hike.

Steps in woods, the most comfortable ones but slippery some times.

Some flat trail which you will feel grateful when you were damn tired.

Steps with stones and reinforced panels.

Muddy stone steps, challenging ones.

Looking at the inifinite steps, I was like when can I finish this shit.

I had a great time with the guide (his name was Joseph) and he happily shared his experience being a guide for ten years. I was amazed at the stamina that all the guides and porter possessed whereby they could carry triple and even quadruple the weight that we were carrying and climb effortlessly. From his sharing, I knew that most of the porters make their trip daily with every kg charged at RM13. They could reach the peak within 4 hours max with different kind of loadings while I took 7 hours! As for the guide, usually, they will take on 2 to 3 groups of visitors per week as most of the trip were 2 days 1 night. The rate that I paid for the guide was around RM350 and 10 years ago was only RM100.

At about 5.30pm, we made it to the checkpoint and completed our climb while most of my friends were there at 3.30pm! Clearly, I was not ready for this trip, but I made it anyway. I remembered the last 50m where I needed to climb up to the checkpoint, I was so excited but so helpless. I cheered myself up and just proceeded by ignoring all sort of pains from my body. So, that was about it! After the climb, we went for a rewarding seafood dinner by the recommendation of our local guide @cklai.

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I would like to conclude this hiking trip with some of my personal thoughts:

1. In every challenge, every step count. If we keep moving, we will eventually reach the destination.
2. Most of the journey, it is a solo journey. When we get someone who is willing to slow down and accompany us, we shall not take for granted but be grateful.
3. We are uniquely blessed with different strength and weakness, rather than compare with others, try to improve our own weakness and compete with our older self.
4. Getting out of our comfort zone from time to time will make our life feel more refreshing (hiking is part of it as I do not like to hike).

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This is an #archisteem post.

A new tag that is to curate our existing built environment and also future built environment development. Want to know more? Read here.

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Find me at @kimzwarch