"KK Expedition Day 6 ~ Assault on the Peak!"

The night over in our resthouse, Gunting Ladagan, was definitely the WORST night of the entire trip. The temperature outside was close to 15 degrees C and there's NO heater! :D The floor was icy cold. The water from the tap... man, it's beyond freezing! We had to sleep early at 9PM coz the neighbours were banging the walls, telling us to keep quiet! :P We didn't shower tat day (believe me, you don't want to shower) and I had to dry my wet shoes with tissue paper :-S.

We wore the full 'winter' clothing to bed, complete with gloves. The blanket provided was not much of a help either. I remember shivering all night, slipping in and out of consciousness. Before long, FoongLin woke us up at 1.30AM: It was time to prepare ourselves. A cup of hot milo and some maggie noodles was all we had (no appetite to eat). The whole place was already buzzing with activity. Everyone was preparing to go for the assault on the peak. Rudy came over at 2.30AM, we bid Pang farewell and reluctantly (with my stomach feeling wobbly!), we stepped out into the night...

For this part of the hike, a headlamp is very highly recommended! I didn't have one, so have to make do with a torchlight. The trail is PITCH BLACK, can't see a thing. Just keep walking, try to adjust to the thinning air, follow the guys in front. The steps are almost the same with the ones below, but with handle this time. Because of our different pace, we (gf and me) got split with the rest. Rudy sticked with us. Our pace was slow, but we were holding up well. Breathe in breathe out. Keep the mind focused on the breath. Hey, at this pace, we're sure to make the peak!

After a distance, the steps ended, replaced with a white rope. Rope?? Yes, rope used to pull yourself up (like tarik-tali), coz there's no more steps. Just plain rock. Okaay.... Gf went first. After a few unsteady steps, she slipped. Ok, let the others go first. When the coast is clear, try again. One step, two step. Rudy stood beside her, as usual not needing any support. Step step, slipped. The rocks were very slippery due to the rain before. Worst, her shoes did not have a good grip on the rocks. I went up, grabbed the rope and hauled myself up. Ok, seems good, but you have to be quick, otherwise will slip as well!

Step, step, slipped.

Rudy said,"Try to go down first." At this point it looked really dangerous. Rudy said there have been experienced climbers who slipped and fell down. Once you fall, you fall all the way down.... "I give up, can't climb", Gf said. Oh no, that's what I feared the most. "You go ahead." I looked up. Looked at the watch. 4AM. Rudy said I have to reach the checkpoint at Sayat-sayat by 5.30AM, otherwise I'll never make it to the summit. If I hurry, I can still catch up with the rest. Look at Gf. Look at the peak. I can still make it. Without her, I should be able to move at a much faster pace. Definitely can make it!

Look at Gf....

...

...

Well, you know my decision... we go up together, or we don't go up at all.

After a long while, I told Rudy my decision. He said, "Ok, I'll have to catch up with the rest" and so he left. We sat there in the night. Silence....

...

...

Disappointed? Absolutely. Would I have made that decision again? No doubt. If it happens 100 times again, I'll still choose to stay back. Oh well, the adventure comes to a saaaad end...

Trying to make a brave face, but wrecked with disappointment inside. "Do you blame me?", came the unsaid question. "Nope. But sure is disappointing, isn't it... especially when we feel we still have so much left to give!"

The climb down back to Gunting Ladagan was slow. Occasionally, we stopped and rested, watching the sky. It was still very dark. Knock, knock, "Pang you there?". We woke up Pang, who was surprised to see us back so early. "Mission failed." If we were disappointed, you'd have to feel for him, coz he knew he wouldn't be making the climb at all. "Oh well, there's always a next time!", came the cheerful reply from Pang. Heh, you have to love that guy!

So we spent the time taking pics and enjoying the scenery at Gunting Ladagan...

Meanwhile...

THEY MADE IT!!!

Yeah, that white rope!


This is the backdrop for our RM1 note...





Magnificent, isn't it? Words fail to describe it.........

9AM, Knock, knock! WaiMaie woke us up; they have just arrived back at Gunting Ladagan! Yes, of course I was jealous... ;)

Haha.....

A rest, breakfast, and off we go, making the trek down from Laban Rata....

Next: "I thought the hard part was OVER??!"

"KK Expedition Day 5 ~ The Big Climb (Part 2)!"

Continuing from the intersection between Mesilau and Timpohon trails. Now there is only one path leading to our rest house, Laban Rata... and the road is treacherous indeed....



This path strongly contrasts the 'feel-good' Mesilau trail: it is now rocky, muddy and slippery. Even the scenery takes a more sombre mood...

But there's still the odd-looking plants once in awhile..


Looks like a flower from far, doesn't it? Turns out to be leaves cleverly arranged!


The erratic rain causes the trail to be slippery, and we need to hold on to the side railings to move forward.... well, 'we' excludes the guide, Rudy, who seems to be able to 'stick' to the path effortlessly :-S

Unfortunately for Pang, the soles on his shoes came off during the climb and he had to use strings to pull them together. This means he will not be able to continue the climb to the peak the next day..:(

About 1/2 hour later, we reached a clearing where--

--whoa, whoa, whoa!

We can see the rocky mountain from here!

Time is 5PM... this sight definitely boosts our motivation to climb! We can hear the sound of water rushing down from the mountain peak from the constant rain....

As we continue our trek up, the misty peaks can be seen...

But our resthouse is still quite a distance away......................... :'(

The hike up is relentless... the incessant rain and rapidly dropping temperature hampers our progress. We made many stops to regroup.

This part of the trail is very much in contrast to the earlier hike, the trees here are sparse. Looking upwards, we have the mountain...

and looking downwards we have a magnificent sea of clouds...



The distinctive shapes along the peaks of Mt Kinabalu...

Finally, close to about 7PM, we finally reached Laban Rata... what a sight for sore eyes!



At this point, my mind was almost numb. Physically still ok, but the mental torture of the last few hundred metres or so is unbelievable. It's like you are pushing and pushing onwards, but the damn place never arrives... worse, it's already 7PM, and getting dark and VERY cold (it was about 15 degrees C outside). And one moment of carelessness caused me to step on a pool of muddy water when we were like 100 metres to the resthouse! Oh, what pain..... freezing water in my shoe... Wet and cold and dirty, never a good combination!

We quickly gobbled down whatever Laban Rata's resthouse had to offer. Some buffet dinner, but I could hardly think straight anymore.................


but WaiMaie still seemed pretty fresh though!

After dinner, we had to hike another 15 minutes to our resthouse, Gunting Ladagan........reluctantly we moved out of Laban Rata's heater and into the freezing chills of the night.... brrr.....

Rudy said he'll meet us again at 2.30AM the next morning for....

Assault on the Peak!!!

Did we make it???

"KK Expedition Day 5 ~ The Big Climb (Part 1)!"

Yes, it's day 5 - The climb up Mt Kinabalu via Mesilau trail! There are two paths: the shorter Timpohon trail and this newer Mesilau. The post turned out to be too epic so I broke it into two parts: First will be from the Mesilau starting point to the intersection point between the Mesilau and Timpohon trails.

Woke up early to a beautiful morning. The sky is clear and blue, and we're treated to a grand view of the hilly region from our rooms in Fairy Garden Resort.



Outside of Fairy Garden Resort.

After breakfast, Mesius brought us to Mesilau resort, which is the starting point of our journey.



Ah, the group photo...

Pang, Ivan, WaiMaie, FoongLin, our guide Rudy, Mesius, Gf and Leopard. Everyone has a walking stick (RM3) and some packed lunch (included, but damn heavy :-S).

Ok, time is already 9AM so here we go!


The hike is at a leisurely pace at the start, enjoying the beautiful scenery and conserving energy. It's not long before we reached this nice open clearing to take pics of the wide expanse of hills, mountains and waterfalls!




Continuing the trek... Mesilau trail is not constantly going uphill. There's a whole series of ups and downs. Of course, we'd moan once we see another downhill! It's like wasting the effort we spent climbing up..... :P





Pang: "Aiya, climb mountain also have to answer phone!" :P


Ah, the relaxing sound of a waterfall breaking the monotonous climb....


Weird tree branch formation

A bridge...

with ultra-clear water! Makes you almost want to drink it, eh?



Along the way, we encountered some intriguing vegetation, like this one.... looks like some algae...



Moss covering the huge boulders


Showcasing my camera's Macro capabilities :P Haha... okok.... keep focus...


A change in the weather... it's starting to get misty...

Big ants!

More funky plants!

Sometimes, there are stairs to help along the dangerous slopes

The mist starts to blanket the sky....

Ha.... an insect-eating plant called (I forgot) :P Thanks to Ruby for pointing out to me - they are very easy to miss!




At this stage, we reached a clearing that looks right out of a fairy book tale!!


And it started to rain... :-S

Amazing view... feels like heaven...

Pendekar Pang! :P Haha... sorry, I jz couldn't help putting this pic:P:P:P


Walking with two sticks... :P She's probably the luckier one... I helped carry the food packets while Pang helped carry her bag.......

Can't resist taking more pics of this place....

More plants...


This one even has spider webs on it!


The hike continues.....


and continues....


....


minutes turn to hours......



and we're still nowhere near anywhere.....


....


Tiredness begins to creep in. It has been a long trek. However, coming in handy are some chocolate bars we brought along... they are an absolute must!! One bite and your energy level gets a massive boost! Yeah, just like in the computer game: these are the medkits! ;)





And once in awhile, we reach another clearing....


Whoa, what's this?? From my view, it looks like an ape's arm reaching out to grab something!

More vegetation...




And finally we reached a huge clearing and some sign board there....



Yes! We have reached the intersection point between Timpohon and Mesilau! The time is 3PM.. My goodness... we've trekked for 6 hours..........



Looking upwards....

Fuhh.... a whole lot of good that did to our spirits....



Next: Day 5 Part 2 ~ Towards Laban Rata!!