So before I begin let me introduce myself. My name is Kenneth, but Ken is fine too. I'm 22 years old and I live in Malaysia. Besides my newfound interest in Steemit I like to read, hike, and sometimes philately (believe it or not).
I like to tell stories which I find interesting and perhaps put some short stories me and my cousins create up here as well. Besides that I sometimes like write up on experiences and daily life here in my home country or elsewhere. Anyway here's my first post!
My first trip up on Mount Kinabalu. Just two hours outside of Kota Kinabalu, it's the highest mountain in Malaysia at 4095 m. As a kid who had just finished high school, it was an exciting opportunity for me. Everyone who has climbed Mount Kinabalu talked about mists and seeing pitcher plants and Rhododendrons along the main summit trail, and not to mention the fresh air. But most of all, was the sunrise at 6 a.m.
The trail starts at 1800 m at Timpohon gate, the starting point at the summit trail. From there we (I went on this trip with family members and close relatives) hiked up along the trail up to see the diverse life around us. Soon after the terrain changed from tall tropical rainforest trees to the stunted bonzai-like growth with their gnarled trunks and branches. The view along the way was of course, magnificent.
Not long, as the terrain changed, so did the weather. Rain during the late mornings right till late afternoon is normal on a Mount Kinabalu climb. Though if you're lucky, your trip might be blessed with sunshine throughout the day.
A climb could take four to six hours depending on how fit you are. Because of the weather we took around eight hours to reach the Laban Rata lodging at 3270 m (we started the climb around just after 8 in the morning). Speaking of being fit, also beware of altitude sickness. They can be quite life-threatening if ignored for too long. We reached Laban Rata around after 4 p.m. and guess what, the weather finally cleared!
Once at Laban Rata we had the chance to sit at the restaurant and talk about the nature we saw along the trail. We had light snacks before retiring for the evening at around 7 p.m. At midnight we woke and freshen up for the summit climb. At this time supper would be served at the restaurant. Very important to keep yourself nourished for this last leg.
2 a.m. And about -1 degrees celsius outside. We started the final climb in the dark, with everyone having bringing their headlamps for lighting. Before the earthquake in 2015 we still used only thick ropes to climb the steep rock face sections of the mountain. Now as a safety measure stairs were built along the rocky slope instead.
After sometime (maybe two to three hours) we finally reached the rocky plateau. This was 5 a.m. Already signs of dawn were showing on the horizon. I took this opportunity to appreciate how clear the night sky was. You could see the milky way clearly above and the lights of Kota Kinabalu glimmering in the distance (westward)
Some more walking, and dawn came just as we reached the summit. I took this opportunity for a picture (sorry for the low quality)
Low's Gully :
They weren't lying, I was left breathless (and it wasn't just the low air pressure). Suddenly the different peaks on the plateau started to show from the morning sunshine. We got back down to the plateau to give the other climbers a chance for the view, and I took this panorama.
The peaks peeking out on the far left are the Donkey Ear's peak, now damaged from the earthquake. The one in the middle is the South Peak, then the one next to it in the photo is St. Johns peak and the summit on the far right, known as Low's Peak. This panorama by far remains to be my favourite one.
Another photo of Low's Peak :
The descend back to Laban Rata began as soon as we got down from the peak. We were advised to get off the plateau quickly as the risk of strong winds are high at that altitude. On the way back to Laban Rata we got to see what the rope ascent last night actually looked like during the day (It's steeper than it looks).
We set off back to Timpohon gate around noon. Thankfully it didn't rain for the rest of the day, and after about five hours we arrived at Kinabalu National Park just in time for an early dinner.
It's now been almost five years and a lot of changes have been made since then, particularly after the earthquake in 2015. I hope to get a chance for a second trip so I could tell you more about it. In the meantime I shall relish the memories I had with my family during this first climb.
Thank you by the way to everyone who took the time to read this experience of mine. It's my first post here and I am using this story as an introduction of myself on Steemit, so I'm pretty excited! And thank you Steemit for letting me be a part of the community!
Some additional photos:
That's me crossing my arms: