Mount Kinabalu II - The Peak and Valley

Second Day

We woke up to the peaceful sound of the nature here. We packed all our belongings before heading to the base camp registration counter to get our guide. We went for our buffet breakfast once again. I can assure you the food was brilliant. But this time, we didn’t stuff ourselves so that we won’t be too lethargic for our hike and also to prevent us from doing big business in the middle of nowhere.

We got our gears and parked our extra luggage at the base camp which we didn’t intend to bring along. Of all the climbing gears you might think of, the one and only lifesaver gear to KK you must not save on is the climbing stick. For a mere RM3, it is the best bargain in the whole trip. Believe me. When it comes to being alive or dead, don’t be cheapskate sparing some loose change. There are vans ready to sell this every morning there. After meeting our guide, we were whisked away to the starting point of Mesilau gate. It was roughly 30 minutes ride and the view along the road reminds me of my driving experience along the rolling moutaineous terrain in Scotland. It was magnificent. A perfect start to a going-to-be gruelling climb. Since moving from the back seat of the car to the front because of backside-seat-car sick, I have all the opportunity to be in a good photo-taking position.

We reached the Mesilau gate we dreaded of. Another round of pre-match team talk by our guide, we were soon off. Without a proper warm up, I found my heart already beaten fast at early stage. I was leading only to give way to Puah eventually. Jay, Derek, and Ren Hooi were behind us enjoying some photography session. Han Ching and I made a pact to walk faster so that we could reach and rest at Laban Rata earlier. But having chosen this Mesilau trail which is longer than the frequently-walked Timpohon, I began to notice that 400 meter of climbing here is not equivalent to one round stadium. The distance you have to walk here is much taxing and tiring of that same distance on flat surface.

Before the climb, I heard that the natives here can run up and down the hill with ease. Tham even told me that some porters can carry luggage or even injured climber. Worst still, they can do it faster than seasoned climber. Along our way, I bumped onto an old lady. Judging from the wrinkles on her face, I’m sure she is 50 ++. We overtook her initially. But still that does not justify our feat because she was carrying one big luggage. Yep. She is a porter. We greeted her and praised her for being so fit. If you think she was by us then you are wrong. Remember the fable of how the tortoise overcame the rabbit in an animal race? Minutes after we overtook her, we decided to take a rest and snap some photos. Within minutes, the old lady was ahead of us. Not long after that, she was not to be seen. Talk about tortoise with high perseverance. Such a shame to two modern Bugs Bunnies.


The first few kilometres are of no difference with any normal jungle trek. However, getting onto different level of altitude, we began to notice a difference in the surrounding around us. We restricted our intake of water as we don’t want to be consuming too much. Instead, we rely on our apples. Trust me. It’s a good source of instant nourishment in term of fluids and some solid chewy food. The weather turned cool and breezy. By noon, we decided to stop and eat our packed lunch which consists of some light snack of fried chickens, spring rolls and sandwiches. All the buffet breakfast has been burnt on this energy sapping walk. We were way too hungry and gobbled it within minutes. Soon, Jay, Derek and Ren Hooi joined us for the lunch. Puah was no longer at sight. After we put on another layer of analgesic cream on our muscle, we began the second half of the walk. It was very cold because our body had warmed down during the rest. We took out our jacket and also the hood to prevent the sudden strong gust of wind from getting us instant headache.

I looked up. The peak is still far beyond our sight. Judging from the distance, my heart began to ask question and my brain began to doubt whether I can reach the top. My body is already sending signal that the old engine might not last long. Therefore, I told Han Ching:

“Well, don’t rush. We do it slow and steady”

I began to remember my philosophy.

“Drain too much at early stage might not
last you long enough to finish it.”

Instead of putting too much pressure of getting up there, I diverted my attention by enjoying the surrounding around me. I was paying more attention to the picturesque view of the changing lush greenery. The main reason I chose to ascend from Mesilau trail rather than Timpohon is because of the beautiful view I will be getting and I was right. I know this word has been mentioned way too many times before by Bear Grylls but I still have to say:

“Awesome!”

That is what I can describe of the situation I’m in. Suddenly, I was thinking I was in the same situation of Man Vs Wild: Kinabalu Expedition. Just that this time I won’t be resorting to insects or dead animals for my source of protein. Not long after the lunch, I reached the intersection of Mesilau and Timpohon trail. I received an sms. I took out my phone from my pocket. The cover was broken from all the batter it received from the rocks brushing against my pant during the climb. It was Puah! It read:

“I already reached Laban Rata. Where are you?”

I was shocked. All the while we were worrying that Puah might have fallen into valley only to receive the news that he had reached Laban Rata. That was really fast. With “giving up” not in our survival dictionary, we continued our climb. We took every steps our leg could carry us. Along the journey, we were playing mouse and cat with one young porter. We overtook this young porter when he was resting. Then, when we were resting, this porter overtook us. At one time while passing by him, we were smiling at each other while all of us are panting heavily. We began to see some of the climbers from yesterday descending with some encouraging words.

“Come on. You can do it.”

“You are almost there”

Words like that give you the confidence and hopes to carry on the treacherous final steep climb. Finally, behind the thick and lush trees, we saw hopes. It was like a ray of light at the end of the tunnel. The dark sky turned bright. We reached our Laban Rata. From far, we could see Puah was watching us from third floor.

“We had made it!”

“We had made it!”

It was just half way at Laban Rata but the feeling was as though we reached the peak. It was around 5PM by the time we reached there. Short of 2 hours from our projected time. It was tough. Puah showed us our room. Luckily, we need not to share room with strangers. Coming to this trip in a group of six was just right. Our room has three double-deckers. We were told by Puah that the buffet dinner had started. After having a sumptuous dinner, Derek and Ren Hooi reached. However, Jay was not with them. That was when I got to know that he had injured his knee. Soon, Jay reached with our guide. It was quite late.

The hot water bath was not working. With my body soaked, I had to withstand the shiver of wiping my body instead of getting good shower. I was surprised when no one lodged a complaint to the front desk when I told them of the bathroom heater problem. I was given one of the lamest excuses. The front desk staff told me:

“Sometimes, it’s like that.
The water heater will turn on/off intermittently in
15 minutes interval between the male and female bathrooms”

I was flabbergasted with that explanation .That means at one moment half way through my hot shower, I will freak out with the heater switches off for the guys and I’ll probably bath under icy cold water. You think this is some of Japanese freak show is it? After vending my frustration, I gave up and went to rest early. Our body was severely battered. Jay was even worse. His knee had swollen. Others were telling him to continue the last hike and see how it goes rather than calling it quit. I was a bit conservative. I knew that the descending part is much more knee-hurting than the hike. I afraid if he continues with the second half of the climb, it might aggravate his injury and can’t even get down. However, I left that decision to him. He gulped down two Ponstans and was praying hard that the pain will subside before the next morning. It is not difficult to sleep at 9PM when your body was at the stage of overused engine.

to be continued....