Knees thighs and toes
Trip Start
Jun 05, 2007
1
124
131
Trip End
Jun 2009
Mount Kinabalu, Malaysia
Friday, December 19, 2008
It never bodes well when the start of a walk heads downhill! We were starting at 1800 meters and had to get to 3600 meters so to start off with steps downhill was a little soul destroying. It wasn't long though until the path started to head upwards, today we would gain 1800 meters in 6 km so we knew it would be pretty damn steep! Luckily the weather was cool and the mist was down, so it didn't matter that our eyes were firmly fixed on the floor with our heads bowed in concentration and determination. We stopped regularly at the designated shelters and the tame squirrals came to eat nuts out of our hands. The way was marked every km with a board indicating the route and how far along you were as well as how far you had left, these actually acted as encouragement and although it was bloody hard work, it felt as though the km's were just dropping away. Eventually rising from the tree line we could see the roof of Laban Rata, we had made reasonable time, not the fastest by any stretch but certainly not the last and we felt good. It was quite cold here and the wet sweaty clothes didn't help so we took the opportunity of a shower before feasting on the buffet. The difference in altitude certainly didn't go unnoticed and the short walk to our lodge in the dusk was a challenge although it didn't stop us having a quick puff on a cigarette! It was only 7pm when we hit our bunk beds but at 2am our alarms would be alerting us to the task of making the 4 hour, 1.7 km, 500 meter ascent to the summit. We prepared ourselves for the sleepless, oxygen-starved night by having a diamox as well as leaving a paracetamol ready at the side of our bed for the familiar headache. For the first time we both had a pretty good night, apart from waking to need a pee, twice, we never woke at all with the familiar gasping, neither did we need the paracetamol.
By 2.15 we were dressed, ready and raring to go but our guide and Anu were no where to be seen. They had stopped at Laban Rata and we had arranged to meet here. We waited in the cold and dark for another 30 minutes until they finally showed up, our guide didn't have any urgency in her at all. She had slowly begun to infuriate us as we had had no choice but to pay for a guide, these were the park rules but yesterday she hadn't walked with us at all instead choosing to stay to chat to her friends, we were left very unsure of what we were actually paying for, so in the morning we weren't really that shocked when she waved us on saying she would catch us up. So off we went, in the dark silently concentrating on step after step after step. It wasn't long until the vegetation thinned out to nothing and the steps were replaced with almost vertical granite which involved pulling ourselves up on anchored ropes. We made it through the last check point so we knew we weren't far, only 0.7 km left, we were on the home stretch, it was still dark as well so we felt good for the summit in time for sunrise. This last leg was definately the hardest, the air was much thinner, the terrain very uneven with great boulders to clambour over but eventually we touched the summit marker - we felt exhausted and exhilerated and with a tear in my eye, we watched the sun come up over Sabah. The view was extraordinary and we could see all the way to the ocean in one direction and out past the palm plantations to the distant jungle but it wasn't long until the clouds rolled in and it was bloody freezing, so, feeling slightly refreshed we began the descent. It was easier to run on the way down, the granite wasn't yet worn smooth by the hundreds of people making the pilgrimage every day, so the grip was good. At one point we were stopped dead in our tracks as we saw a guide carrying a girl UP the mountain, yes up - flabergasted at the sight, we carried on convinced that whatever the reason was, they surely should be heading down!By this time we had bumped into our guide, who now was right behind us - well, she was on the promise of breakfast!
Back at Laban Rata we devoured a feast whilst stretching and massaging our already aching knees before the last 6km back to park HQ. The steps on the way back were agony, large drops and no sticks didn't do our knees any favours but eventually, 4 hours later we arrived just in time for lunch - not that we were really that hungry but a sit down was certainly appreciated. After queuing for our certificates we exited the park in the hope that a bus wouldn't be too far away.
