I don't know whether I was in my right mind when I first signed my name in that paper my fellow coursemates were passing around, for those who were interested in joining the climb to Mount Kinabalu in Sabah Borneo. But I did, and being someone who is only probably decently fit (I hope?) I don't know how I managed to not pull out the last minute.
2 months before the climb, all I did was go for jogs in the park, Broga Hill (400M), Bukit Gasing (160M) and a 10KM Nike We Run KL. These were my only preps for the 4095M mountain. When I learnt that those who were going actually went for serious training, I died in my mind. Some of the girls trained by running up the stairways of their 22-storey high apartment. *gasp*
It was sooooo fun! AND PAINFUL. But fun, especially because all my fellow meddies were there! We took an AirAsia flight from KL to KK.
Basically this was the whole route. First we went to Kinabalu park, which was at the base of Mt. Kinabalu where we slept for the night before the climb. This was an 8 person bunk bed room but we managed to fit 9 in. It was freezing in the morning!
One last shot of us before we start the hike up to Laban Rata. (no photos left HURHURHUR) The ones taking the Mersilau track left earlier than us. There was a guy from Germany who requested for us to sing a Happy Birthday song for his friend back at home and mention that we're from Malaysia. Awww the sweetest friend ever..
It started raining once we reached the Timpohon gate. Only found out after, that the time we went was the rainy season for hikers. We had to hike in the rain almost THE WHOLE TIME -___- I had a poncho phobia after the hike. The sound of the rain on your body and the soaking wet feeling INSIDE the poncho was so uncomfortable (guess the poncho was too thin), but we just had to keep moving.
We all had hiking sticks to help us up. It was a life saver! Especially when coming downhill. If it weren't for it, I'd think I rather sleep in the jungle than come down. Our knees were so wobbly that by the end of the hike, the stick had to take ALL our body weight. One thing about being in the middle of nowhere, is that you feel like you've walked for your whole life, but it seems like its never ending. We just kept walking and going and going and going, then one look at the distance signboard, our minds exploded. We've only gone a mere 500m!
There were approximately 5 rest stops. When we see one, it was always a celebration. We'd sit for around 10 to 15 minutes, fill our stomachs with all kinds of junks to keep us going, joke around, then continue the journey. The lack of oxygen hit me bad as we approached the Paka cave area. That was an annoying route because we were actually walking on a stream of water. It was so hard to breathe I had to support my ribcage with the hiking stick, and I felt like puking. After taking some ORS from a friend, we both continued up together (thankful for her!)
Tip: I actually found out a few years after, my breathlessness might have been caused by the shower I took the night before at the hostel. I learnt that taking a shower after a change in altitude/weather leads to shortness of breath probably because there is lack of oxygen/blood supply in general, especially when your body is still just adjusting to the new surroundings. I literally had to catch big breaths during my sleep before the hike, and get some oxygen from the O2 can. It costs RM3 each can if I rmb correctly.. but personally, I'm not sure whether it actually helped.
By the time we reached Laban Rata, everyone was tired, shivering and hungry. I was so out of breathe it felt like an asthma attack was developing. (no underlying history of asthma btw) It was so difficult to even shove food down my throat cause all I wanted to do was to breathe. So I sat there and breathed while starving. For quite a long while.
After a few hours sleep in Laban Rata resthouse, we started the deadly journey at 2am. By then I felt like my ears were falling off, and my fingers were numb. We were practically walking on flat rocks WITH water flowing on it. I was so happy with my old buddy Timberland hiking shoes, I rarely slipped. I also lost a precious glove, someone donated me one of her extra pink gloves, so I looked slightly retarded with mismatched fashion but who cares? Gloves were kinda important, even though they were like sponges, soaking up all the rain and increasing the chill, but it was another protection. Someone wore finger-free gloves, and had bleeding fingers after hitting his hands on the granite rocks.
We stopped ANYWHERE and EVERYWHERE we wanted, to rest, because every 20 steps felt like it took away my lungs. By this time most of us were already far separated because it was important to follow your own pace instead of trying to catch up with the ones in front.
The amazing view: At one side, the moon was still visible clearly, and on the other side, the sun was rising! It was just so pretty. (sadly photo is gone too)
FINALLY, WE MADE IT UP TO THE PEAK! (ironically the name is Low's Peak)
And the peak which is in our 1 Ringgit note! :)
After the hike, back in the town of Kota Kinabalu.. our legs were SO weird. The muscles were so tensed up, yet it made us feel jelly at the same time. Walking was a chore, but it made me laugh every single step, really. The pain just felt funny to me, but now I miss it hahahah . More people joined us in KK, because they opted to go without the hike. So we went for a white river rafting session with the rest, with these dysfunctional legs.
We stayed in Rainforest Lounge for the next few nights. The karaoke pub was just in front of our lodge, so there was songs BLASTING every night and we basically partayyed every night. Ahhh the good times.
After the hike, EVERYONE had trouble walking. It was like we were pregnant. Or retarded. Or drunk. Or whatever we don't even care what the pedestrians thought of us, it was just so funny to walk in pain, some of them even brought their hiking sticks out in the streets as support. My legs felt like they broke somewhere. Even taking stuff from my luggage took me 10 years, because it was so painful to squat or bend.
Island hopping was super eggciting! With the broken legs, we still managed to run everywhere! Parasailed for the first time too... Snorkeling was awesome because when we float in the water, the pain seemed to disappear!
I became a shade darker after the entire trip; and most of us had sunburns, but it was all worth it!
If I had a choice, I'd do it all over again! With better training and preparation probably LOL
