I couldn't contain my love for mountain climbing that I finally grab an adventure tour abroad aiming for Mt. Kinabalu, the grand tourist attraction in Sabah, Malaysia. Since I have completed the top five highest summits in the Philippines, I was more than ready to take it further outside the country to quench my thirst for the great hazards of life. This event was hosted by a fellow Filipino mountaineer, Mr. Miguel Mapalad, known for coordinating international climbs based in Manila with its organization called YABAG Mountaineering.
Afternoon of June 9, 2017, we headed to Manila with our full packs, stimulated hearts and geared up muscles. There were 13 of us to climb Mt. Kinabalu, four of us from Davao and the rest were in Manila, including Mr. Miguel. We fled to Malaysia in the dark of the morning, June 10, 2017 and stayed in Kinabalu Backpackers Lodge. In the daylight, we roamed around the city for breakfast then visited three island beaches namely Pulau Manukan, Pulau Mamutik, and Pulau Sapi.
The next day, we traveled from KK (Kota Kinabalu) for 2 hours to Kinabalu Park, the foot of the mountain, to have a little overview of the place where we will be trekking by tomorrow. From that moment, we took our rest and preparation at Poring Hot Spring with its cold and serene atmosphere.
June 12, 2017, we finally set foot for Mt. Kinabalu. We need to get to Laban Rata, the hotel lodge in the mountain, before 4 PM for safety, and we started the journey at around 10 AM. That's a challenging 6 hours trek uphill but I still managed to make it 5. 😉
Kinabalu Park
Trail Map. (Sorry for the reflection☮lol)
Entrance
Gate Timpohon to start the trek
Brief Orientation by the guide
Up Up all the way!
Bonsai trees😍
Landmark nearer to Laban Rata
Laban Rata Hotel/Lodge
The hostel serves buffet meals for travelers and while dinner is served from 4-7 PM, we ate ours as early to cap off the night ahead since we will be waking up before 2 AM the next day to assault the summit. I also experienced headache that night which made me weak and wanted to rest right after dinner. I drank two pain relievers to take the pain away and sleep soundly.
When we woke up, we wore our coats actively and ate our prebreakfast meal before hitting the rocks. My contacts was torn unexpectedly so I had to wear my glasses to have a clear view from afar, also afraid of being hit by altitude sickness just because of my eyes. It was cold and dark outside, but when we started walking, it eventually gets hotter with our layers of warmers on. I had three layers of clothes, my jacket, fleece and compression undershirt, and I removed one afterwards.
The sky was getting quite brighter and I could see the rock formations to the peak. There were ropes to guide us up but then my headache came back and it made me too weak to advance. I almost wanted to stop right there in that famous spot with a towering slope, but my company pushed me to walk furthermore to the apex. Thankful she did, we were so happy and accomplished after all. I forgot about the pain in my head. I stayed there for a while waiting for my friend, thinking about what matters to me in life, my dreams and many more, and how I've become all through this journey. I guess that's just how mountaineers love to celebrate life simply, and that's how it affects our state of purpose because of the impact we get to see from the world in a beautiful perspective.
Outerspace feels😰
Here comes the sun...
Aiming for the summit
We made it!!!
One force of nature floats above it all... -Rei
Mt. Kinabalu's peak
It's 7 AM and we're going back; the sun is rising up. I took off another cloth, my fleece to make me breathe lighter. It was easier going down, although it was still exhausting but we were all contented. ♥♥♥
Going down...
Kaka, Banban and me
Notice the stairways
We were back in Laban Rata after 9 AM, not to rest the whole day, but to eat our proper breakfast and prepare our bags to resume another long trek to the foot of the mountain. We left the hostel at around 11 AM and I reached the end at 1:30 PM. My friend, Vanessa came late, after 4 PM that I had so much guilt of leaving her to others. I'm sorry again, Ban! I knew you can make it but I couldn't wait too long. ILY😘
