Voices from within

Journey to Low’s Peak

I did not manage to capture any photographs while hiking up to Low's Peak as I was too afraid to hold my camera. Yup, fear of heights phobia :D

That's about it!
While having a backpack weighing 8-kilograms, there were things that I wished I had brought and things that I did not really utilize.

• Mask - the VVIP! Without this, I'd be freezing to death..
• Head lamp - you won't have hands to hold a torch light while hiking up in the wee hours.
• Windbreaker - get a super thick one!
• Winter cap - good to cover my ears (and hair, so it would not mess my hair when the wind blew :p)
• Long johns - good to have, else, just put on 4 pieces of clothes like I did.
• Paracetamols - my headache reliever :-)
• Chocolates and energy bars - I was almost always hungry during the whole expedition; ate loads when we were hiking up to Laban Rata; glucose drinks such as Ribena helped too!
• Walking stick - useful for the hike up to Laban Rata only; can be bought there at the cost of RM8.
• Hiking shoes - after the hike, my faithful Timberland hiking shoes were the cleanest pair when compared to the rest haha.
• Poncho - did not use mine as it did not rain; and haven't been raining for the past 2 months.
• Heat packs - first time seeing a heat pack although I've heard about it before; glued 1 heat pack on my first piece of clothe and another in the pocket of my pants.
• Extra batteries for your camera? - used 2 full batteries for my DSLR during the entire 4 days; thought I'd need more but it seems like the cold weather did not really drain my batteries as fast.

Feet on the ground

I am back from the mountain top.. safely!

It was a worthwhile trip, one that I've learnt many things from.

I have always wanted to conquer Mount Kinabalu at least once. Never had the opportunity to do it with my friends back in university days because 99% of them weren't into outdoor activities. Then, when I was working in Merimen (my first company), I had to miss the boat when the gang organised a trip to Kota Kinabalu due to budget constraint. It was also tough for me and Hiew Ming to go on leave at the same time (we were from the same team). Guess what was the joyous thing she said when I left Merimen? She said, we can go on vacation together!

I did not have sufficient and proper training prior to the hike. I had probably been to Bukit Timah (Singapore) thrice and Bukit Gasing (Malaysia) once - all these in the span of 4 to 5 months. Hence, the climb was really tough for me.

There were 15 participants including myself. Six of us departed from Singapore, another five departed from Kuala Lumpur and four more departed from Hong Kong. Yes, it was an international get-together vacation! Haha.

Day 1
The six of us departed from Singapore on March 4^th at 1030 hours and arrived at Kota Kinabalu International Airport at approximately 1300 hours. Upon arrival, we were greeted by our logistics guy (the same guy throughout our trip). From KKIA, we were chauffeured to Kota Kinabalu Park to meet our friends. There, we had to stick around for a short period while our team leader settles the registration/logistics matters. Next, we had to sit on a 2-hour journey to our rest house, Bishop's Head Hostel, at Masilau. I think I snored away during the journey :-) Bishop's Head Hostel was a good rest house. All of us were satisfied with the lodging and food. The rooms were comfortable, the bathrooms were clean and most importantly, the food was excellent (we were probably very, very hungry). After dinner, we went to bed at approximately 10:30PM as we had to be up for breakfast at 7:00AM. Food was so important that we were almost always trying to be on time to catch dining time :D

Day 2
At 8:45AM, we were all ready to begin our climb to Laban Rata via the Mersilau trail (the longer of the two trails available to the summit). For the hike to Laban Rata, we could opt for porter service to carry our bags up at a cost of RM9 per kg. We had to walk a total of 6KM from the hostel to Laban Rata, which took us approximately 8 hours! I could not imagine myself walking for 8 hours, ever. I found it alright in the beginning. However, the more I walk, the more staircases I find, the more I feel like fainting. My legs almost could not take it. They felt so heavy. I had minor headaches along the way, due to the cold wind. Breathing was not easy. But.. thanks to the "parrot", who was chirping non-stop next to my ears. I could not understand why he could talk non-stop during the whole expedition. All of us were too tired to even talk, or pose for photos while climbing up. We stopped to rest in the huts along the way, and munch our energy bars and chocolates. Some brought bananas. Some had Ribena. Some took Apollo layered cakes. We were eating all the way up! Besides clothes, our bags were mostly filled with food.
We were counting down every 500 metres. We were most encouraged when we bumped into those distance signboards as we hike up. As we reached the last few 500 metres signs, we found beautiful sceneries - of magnificient mountains, clouds and trees. We would not be able to find these had we follow the Timpohon trail.
The last few hundred metres was a pain to me. Legs got heavier. KC had to help me carry my bag for a while. When we finally reached the last 300m, I was jumping with joy inside. We completed our hike up to Laban Rata at 4:30PM. We threw our bags aside and hoarded for a place to rest our butts on. We could see the peak from Laban Rata. It was breathtaking. At that time, all that was in my mind was, I want to be up there!. It was getting darker and really foggy. We managed to get a few shots there. We settled down at the Laban Rata rest house and got ready for dinner at 6:00PM. We were already in bed at 7:30PM. I felt like a real pig. Eat, sleep, eat, sleep.

Day 3
1:30AM - Someone's alarm rang. There was no water in the bathrooms. We had to walk down to fill up our bottles with water to wash up.

1:40AM - All of us were already at the canteen, queuing up to collect our breakfast.

2:00AM - All 15, fully geared, prepared to conquer Mount Kinabalu!

2:15AM - Oh no! More staircases =( More rocks =( Breezy, cold wind =(

3:00AM - Steep flat rocks this time! Had to grab the rope tight in order to climb up. Struggled to find the right place to step on. Headache came back but the paracetamol brought all the way from Hong Kong saved me.

4:30AM - Freezing cold. Thanks to a friend for his facial mask, that kept my face from being blown by the cold wind.

5:30AM - I am on top of the world! We spent about an hour at the peak, queuing up for our turns to get a photograph at the "4095m" board. Sat on the rocks to enjoy the sunrise. All the suffering and pain vanished immediately.

7:00AM - Began descending. Walking down was a stroll in the park, except when we've reached the steep part once again. This time descending with our butts facing down with the rope as our only hope.

10:00AM - Arrived at the Laban Rata rest house once again for a second-round breakfast.

11:00AM - Bags all packed onto our backs once again. All prepared to descend down via Timpohon trail this time. We did not need as much rest compared to the day we ascend up via the Mersilau trail. But my knee cap hurts so badly during the journey. I could hardly walk straight when descending stairs.

2:30PM - The expedition was officially completed! Mission accomplished! We were chauffeured to Kota Kinabalu Park to catch our lunch and then to our resting place for the night, Marina Court (in the city).

8:00PM - Went for dinner at a local seafood restaurant. This was our first meal that was not included in the climbing package. We ordered buttered crab, fish, clams soup, two types of veggies, bean curd and chicken. We were all shocked when the bill came. RM 539!

Day 4
It was a free-and-easy day. No need to wake up before the sun rises. No need to rush for breakfast. No need to put up four layers of clothes. Hehe. We went to a nearby mamak for breakfast and then, walked to the crafts market to shop for some souvenirs. We checked out at 12:00PM and bid goodbye to our fellow Malaysian and Hongkie friends. We safely arrived at Changi International Airport at 5:30PM.

It was an unforgettable experience, no regrets, a journey that will test your determination and endurance. Without perseverance, I will definitely not make it to the top.