Mount Kinabalu- conquered at 0455h, Saturday, May 14, 2005 by me, the first 2 climbers to reach the top for the day.
Whoever said Mount Kinabalu is an easy climb was bluffing. And its even harder if you haven't done your homework about the equipment you need to bring. I remembered laughing when Kaynis said I needed a tracking pole for Kinabalu - now I know why. Thanks Kaynis, I'll take ur advice more seriously in the future. Walking uphill in the rain, jungle, mud for five hours to Laban Rata is no joke. Vincent and Ahpua had cramps even halfway up the mountain. As for me, I was just glad that I wasn't carrying my backpack too as it was almost 90% all uphill climb all the way.
Lesson 1: Prepare !
Lesson 2: If the going gets tough, just focus on your breath and keep walking- don't stop.You will be surprised that you can go further than you thought you could.
I remember on the way up there was a young lady travelling alone with her porter. I wondered how did she feel travelling up alone without any friends. What drives her to climb Mount Kinabalu?
I reached Laban Rata at 5.45pm before the rest -dishevelled, wet, out of breath and glad to finally, finally be at the rest house. The climb seemed never ending - and there was more to come after this! The rest house was already full of climbers having their food at the restaurant, lounging, talking, laughing. Though I knew no one, I could sense a caramaderie among 'us', the people at the rest house - "Yes, we too have climbed the five hours up the hill to reach here. We know how you feel now do come in and rest". Within the hour, all my other 5 comrades reached the rest house. We were really hungry for dinner by then....By then it was already pouring with rain again outside.
