Km5,Its 3001meters!!!
No sign of altitude sickness yet!
A small slope leads to the top of a mountain.
Top of the trees!
Cold and cloudy.
Best scenic view on this Mesilau track.
Hello.Almost there!(....or so we thought).The top of the mountain!!yahooo!
Aaron eating the herbal plants.
Polen enjoying the view.Cloudy one.
Trees.
Plants.
Flower.
Monkey cup.
Best view here,better take photo(NOT).
Where is this place?Are we on the right track?
Anybody seen our guide/porter??
Skies getting dark!I need my poncho!My cameras!!
Wheres our guide??
And kaboom! We had to make another decend!!This cant be right!who in their right mind would choose this Mesilau??!Obviously by then none of us was in our right minds.
With the rain coming in fast and the winds getting chilly we had to push on.
Siblings power!!
Why make us climb up these and down these so many times???!!
The rain came down as we started our last kilometer to the Timpohon/Mesilau crossroads.I didnt get much photographs here onwards as I had to cover my cameras under my wind breaker to keep them dry.Our guides never appeared so i couldnt retrieve my poncho.I had to rely on the thin windbreaker.
This track onwards I was all alone.The front groups had marched on to keep up with lost time.Sometimes it got rather wet and creepy.The rain made it worst.The tracks became streams of water and my windbreaker bagan to soak through.I pushed on.I found a spot to relief myself not knowing when the next break stop will be.
Its a big relief to know that the XXL's are somewhere behind me.
The track kept going down.
I was getting a little worried because no one was in sight.I called out but no answer came.I feared I might have missed the crossroads and somehow am now going down the other way!!
But there was no choice but to push on.I am sure some strands of my hair turned grey here.
So many 'what if's.....' went through my head.Its pouring rain,I was getting very wet from the cold rain,I had no poncho,no water,no warm clothings,no food,no torch.No one was in sight.
I know we paid way too much to hire our invisible guides cum porter.
"Please please Mr Prime minister,look into the safety of Mount Kinabalu.There is so much you can do to make sure Mount Kinabalu is safe and a happy place.You could start with proper training for your porter guides."
Anyways,my awesome legs marched me on and I did reach the crossroads of Timpohon and Mesilau.The rain turned into a drizzle.I am soaked through but I still could post for a photograph or two.And instead of a 'welcome' or 'congratulation you made it this far' sign I got this:-'You will be prosecuted without a permit!'
boohoo...sob...sob...!They are trying so hard to break my will.
The awful sign that greets you after a gruesome 6km hike from Mesilau.
Further into the crossroad,I set my camera to auto and got a picture with this sign.
*bang my head!-Why didnt we pick the 4km Timpohon way??
Just as I was bitching to myself,she whistles by with that load on her back.
I guess it stroked my injured will and I was ready to move on.
Just me,my cameras,windbreaker,2 walking sticks and my will.........
AAAhahahahaaaa!!!!........look at that!What we just covered was baby steps!!Now the big mamma steps(i mean rocks) shows up!
Mud slide.
.....with mud flowing down steps.The rain started again.There was no way I could have waited for my guides.It was raining,it was cold.The longer I stood stationary the colder i got.I had to keep moving to keep warm.Not many photographs again because it was pouring rain and I still had no poncho.
Slide upwards if you can ...haha.Defy gravity in the pouring rain,seriously.
If your will was weak,it would have broken right here as mine nearly did.I stopped to look up(my head was down most ways when it rains.Didnt want to miss my footing) and I saw her,Mt.Kinabalu-naked,cold and mysterious.She is magnificent!
Its like she speaks to the skies.
A brief moment the cloud parted and there she stood.
Teasing me with her energy,wrapping me in her breast and caressing my soul with her might.
It can heal any broken will.
White veins was flowing down from her cheeks.She weeps when it rains.
She is so beautiful.
She is Beautiful.
Takes my breath(whatever was left of it) away.
As she taketh,she giveth.My will renewed,I push myself to miraculously slide upwards a rock covered in running water.Hahaha the ropes was wet and rough but it keeps me on the rock....Investing in a good pair of shoes and water proof gloves makes all the difference.
Rain started coming down much heavier now.I am afraid to take any photo without my dslr getting wet but I do have some video footage as it was easier to let my video lens peep out of my soaking windbreaker.I was wet to my bones.Temperature maybe around 6'c.Stopping too long would have put my muscles in spasms.I was also a little afraid i was not getting enough rehydration.someone told me to stay hydrated but the damn guide had my water.Rehydration is the key to staying away from altitude sickness.I had a energy bar in my pocket which I had to eat sparingly.It was my only survival tool.For her I will carry on..............
Polen in her butterfly poncho.
ARRIVAL AT WARAS HUT 5.25pm
Waras Hut.My first stop before Laban Rata.This place was to be our accomadation for the evening.The only accomadation in LabanRata with the toilets outside of the building.The Waras Hut is also the first place to 'welcome' exhausted climbers.I thought i had arrived in Laban Rata when I climbed the steps to this hut only to find out its deserted and Laban Rata rest house is a hundred meters upwards.
The deck of The Waras Hut.When the sun sets this deck becomes a pee perch for the guys.The toilet is just below about 2 meters away.If you are female then you have to slosh across in your flip flops over pee and rain water.This hut will forever remain my room for the night,the place where we are suppose to recharge and prepare for the climb at 2am.
Looks too good taken with my dslr.
My 4 bunk beds room.
The Aluminium Waras Hut freezes up after 7pm.If it rains then you will get a igloo.haha.
View from the Waras Hut.Mt Kinabalu must be weeping my tears.
The Waras hut sits 100 m downwards from the checkpoint at Laban Rata Guesthouse.
So if you add up the extra distance we had to cover its an awful 400m!
Thats Laban Rata guesthouse.
Thats about the distance of Waras Hut to Laban Rata Guesthouse.
Why erect a totem pole when you can spend the money elsewhere?eg-better lodgings,toilets.
My first warm welcome to Mount Kinabalu.Finally some loving!
Timing is very very punctual.They actually remove the chairs so you cant sit there.No resting for your legs.Back to your rooms,NOW!
5.45pm-Arriving at Laban Rata guesthouse.This is where dinner is served until 7pm.
Totally soaked through,dehydrated,hungry,cold but never happier to reach this far!
Before I could sit down,I am told to rush for my dinner.All I really wanted to do then was to get dried up,sit with my legs up next to a cosy fire,sip my cocoa(milo cost rm12.00).
No time to dream though,so i rehydrated with water and soup.Gobbled down my dinner.Took some bad photos and ordered a milo.My wet clothes was getting very cold on me but our porter/guide was missing and so i couuldnt get my dry clothings from them.
Before I could sit down,I am told to rush for my dinner.All I really wanted to do then was to get dried up,sit with my legs up next to a cosy fire,sip my cocoa(milo cost rm12.00).
No time to dream though,so i rehydrated with water and soup.Gobbled down my dinner.Took some bad photos and ordered a milo.My wet clothes was getting very cold on me but our porter/guide was missing and so i couuldnt get my dry clothings from them.
Raining on the deck outside the Laban Rata resthouse.
Remember! Avoid booking on weekends!Rush for food because when there is a large group you wont have anything to eat.
Sunset at Laban Rata.When the sun sets its pitch dark.I couldnt get my head lamps because of missing guide/porter who had all our bags but lucky for me my sister had hers.In the cold wet rain,in the dark and in my wet clothes with my guts falling out of my mouth and my whole body shivering to survive,we had to go back down 100m to The Waras Hut(our igloo).At this point my toes and fingers were numb from the cold rain.Finding balance on the slippery rocks was a big challenge in the dark.My sister tripped on her butterfly poncho many times.(tip;-get a poncho with sleeves).This mountain can break you!
I got the full treatment!!!
The Waras Hut-wet,cold,small.
4 bunk beds and all our wet clothes.Rooms have musty blankets,decent clean sheets,pillow,slippers and 2 plug points.
8pm -Rest for the evening.Gotta wake up at 1.30am.
Exited and exhausted at the same time.
Everything is wet and freezing cold!Almost an igloo.
In these conditions,sleeping at 8pm is almost impossible even though physically exhausted.Farting was a common event that night.Close to a hundred machine gun farts.Dont hold it in because it could cause nausea.Something to do with the altitude,gas expanding i think.The best thing that night was the instant heat pads.Stuck some on my toes and legs.Good for defrosting frozen toes and fingers,arming aching muscles.
Tip:-Buy at least 10 instant heat pads.Use sparingly.