"KK Expedition Day 6 & 7 ~ The Climb Down & Epilogue!"

The first part of Day 6 was the early morning assault on the peak. After we came down, rest for awhile then pack our stuff, go have breakfast at Laban Rata.

That morning was very misty... a sign of things to come?


Last pose outside Laban Rata...

... against the backdrop of the Mount Kinabalu peaks...

Ok, time to go.


Downhill...





Trees bending down!


Still got chance to snap some flowers up close



Feel fresh looking at this flower :)





Ok, time to keep the camera, becoz....







The rain beats down mercilessly on us! The track turns muddy and slippery! The raincoat barely shields the rain! The 'steps' go missing amid some landslides!

Once in awhile the rain subsides, and the camera snaps some weird plants again...:P




Err, that's about it! The rain continues lashing at us as we take our steps down slowly. Minutes turn into hours. Sometimes we stop at a rest area to have a sip and to take a break from the unrelenting rain. After a an hour or two, I started to feel the pain. Every step we take, the impact hits back at the feet, knees and thighs.... argh.. Progress is slow, occasionally have to look where is the safest place to step. Once, I slipped! And man, when you slip in the rain, you're gonna slide......!

Eventually, somehow, just somehow, the hours passed by, we endured the pain and the sight of Timpohon gate was upon us! Hahah! The trek was over!

We went for our 'lunch' at 4pm beside a fireplace in a classy hotel. Took the van back to our lodge for the night. This time we stayed in Borneo Beach House, a very nice home-styled bungalow. Nice. Except for the blackout when we were having shower!

The next day, 5AM, woke up, took a taxi to airport...



A week of adventure.. all look tired....

I saw a tax free shop with this:

21 years Chivas! Mmm...

But didn't buy la... although tax-free but still expensive!

Take off... bye-bye Sabah......


Touch down.... hello Penang!



That's it, one week no need to work, just lepak everyday :)



No doubt, this is one of the best holidays I ever had! (Err.. although I seldom go for holidays). Gf already addicted to holidaying, ask me when is the next one! Haha..... -_-''

Would like to thank the organizers of this trip, FoongLin, WaiMaie and Ivan, Pang, Mesius, and everyone else who made it so much fun! :)





And... a last pic for memory lane.......








Heh, I'm sure you guys will start to miss seeing this bottle everyday!

"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???