"It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves." - Sir Edmund Hillary
Having enjoyed many peaks in the Philippines, I set myself to go up a mountain taller than anyone that I had trekked so far. Looking at the blogs and mountaineering reviews, many suggested that Mt. Kinabalu in Sabah Malaysia is a friendly mountain for mountain climbers. Mt. Kinabalu or Gunung Kinabalu, standing at impressive 4095 Meters Above Sea Level (MASL) is a favorite destination of tourists as well. The mountain is listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Trekking Mt. Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia was my first trek outside the Philippines.
Day 01: 13 April 2012
KOTA KINABALU, HERE WE COME!!
Travel from Manila to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.
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| Stayed at Hotel Promenade |
It was an exciting day for me to travel outside the Philippines once again after a while. It was even more exciting to know that I, together a group of fellow climbers will be hiking Mt. Kinabalu, a UNESCO World Heritage site at Malaysia and Southeast Asia's highest peak.
On board Cebu Pacific, we left the City of Manila past 3PM and landed at Kota Kinabalu International airport past 5PM.
We were fetched by a shuttle at the airport going to Promenade Hotel where the other participants including our team leader - Pinoy Mountaineer Gideon Lasco himself were waiting.
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| Inside Promenade |
After settling ourselves inside our hotel room, we went around the vicinity of Promenade Hotel for dinner and to buy supplies that we will be needing for the hike in the following day.
Lights out at 10PM.
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Day 02: 14 April 2013
FUN, RELAXING AND ENJOYABLE TREK TO LABAN RATA!!
According to the Wikipedia, "Mount Kinabalu (Malay: Gunung Kinabalu) is a prominent mountain on the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. It is located in the East Malaysian state of Sabah and is protected as Kinabalu National Park, a World Heritage Site.
Kinabalu is the highest peak in Borneo's Crocker Range and is the highest mountain in the Malay Archipelago. Mount Kinabalu is also the 20th most prominent mountain in the world by topographic prominence."
On the following day, we woke up 5AM early and prepared ourselves for the hike - first day. Breakfast was served at the Hotel at 6:30AM and then we boarded the vans bound for Mt. Kinabalu Park Head Quarter.
We left Promenade Hotel past 7AM. Our travel from Promenade Hotel to Mt. Kinabalu Park Head Quarter took about 1.5Hrs. We arrived at the Park Head Quarter past 8AM. After securing our permit, we had a group photo in front of Mt. Kinabalu Summit Trail map and then a 20 minute orientation followed.
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| Climb Orientation |
The climb orientation was carried out by our local guide "Jalding".
Our trek stretches 6 kilometers from the jump-off point to Laban Rata Rest House.
After the orientation, we boarded a minibus going to Timpohon gate, the jump-off point. It was a very exciting day for us. TV star Rica Peralejo also joined the expedition.
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| Timpohon Gate |
We arrived at the Timpohon gate at around 9Am and started our ascend to Laban Rata Rest House.
Unlike many mountains in the Philippines, the trail of Mt. Kinabalu is very well maintained. There were several steep portions but wooden ladders and ropes were already in placed to make sure that climbers and tourist will have no problem ascending the mountain.
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| Kinabalu Trail |
There was a portion of the trail covered with "Bonsai" like trees and the view was awesome.
The weather was nice. Mostly cloudy which provided a nice cool temperature for most of us as we trail up to Laban Rata.
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| Kilometer Post |
For every half a kilometer, there were distance marking to show how far away a hiker is to Laban Rata. For every kilometer, there is a map showing a climbers location on the trail.
Though the trail may not be as challenging as the pristine trails of most mountains in the Philippines, the climb to Laban Rata Rest House was still challenging.
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| Hut |
There were also huts with clean comfort rooms and resting area along the trail where climbers can rest for a while.
At Kilometer 4, we decided to take our lunch and while resting we noticed several playful "Squirrels" running and jumping around the hut.
At kilometer 5, there was a minor downpour of rain and it turned cloudy near zero visibility. At this point, we also felt the colder temperature. As we go higher, the temperature turned colder and even colder as a result of the rain.
There were few of us who felt dizzy with minor headache right before reaching Laban Rata due to "Altitude Sickness".
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| Laban Rata |
At around 4PM, most of us arrived safely at Laban Rata Rest house. It was so foggy and very cold. Eight of us were assigned at room number 11. Laban Rata Rest House is nice. Comfort Rooms are common - Dormitory Style.
After 6 hour of trekking, we feasted on the buffet dinner at the Rest House.
I enjoyed taking sunset photo at the balcony.
After dinner and rest, we prepared for the summit assault.
Lights out at 10PM.
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Day 03: 15 April 2012
SUMMIT ASSAULT & MT. KINABALU PEAKS!!
Historical background according to Wikipedia:
British colonial administrator Hugh Low made the first recorded ascent of Mount Kinabalu's summit plateau in March 1851. Low did not scale the mountain's highest peak, however, considering it "inaccessible to any but winged animals".In April and July 1858, Low was accompanied on two further ascents by Spenser St. John, the British Consul in Brunei.The highest point of Mount Kinabalu was finally reached in 1888 by zoologist John Whitehead.British botanist Lilian Gibbs became the first woman and the first botanist to summit Mount Kinabalu in February 1910.
Botanist E. J. H. Corner led two important expeditions of the Royal Society of Great Britain to the mountain in 1961 and 1964.Kinabalu National Park was established in 1964. The park was designated a natural World Heritage Site in 2000.
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| Heading to the Summit |
Early 2AM on the third day, we woke up and prepared for the summit assault. It was so cold so everyone was on layered thermal jacket, bonnet, thermal gloves, thermal pants. We were advised not to carry any bag anymore except camera not even a bottle of water.With head lamps on our foreheads, we started the assault to Mt. Kinabalu's peak at around 3AM.
According to our guide, the trek going up the peak of Mt. Kinabalu usually takes 3 to 3.5 hours. Since we started at 3AM, we are hopeful to see sunrise atop the mountain at 6AM.With very cold temperature and passing through several steep trail with ladders, we trekked to the top of the mountain.
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| Walking along the edge of a cliff |
At kilometer 7, we arrived at the Sayat-Sayat checkpoint. We had to show our climbing permit and IDs to the officer at the checkpoint.Right after the checkpoint, the trail gets even steeper. This is the start of rope segment of the trail going up.Unlike the previous trails covered with green grass, nice vines and Bonsai-like trees, the trail going up is open-exposed made of Granite stone.
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| Rope |
At first, I was a little nervous because I though that the Granite stone was slippery. To my surprise, the grip was very good. I just remembered the time when I climbed Mt. Mayon and the solidified lava on the old trail turned out to be very slippery.Guided by the rope, each of us ascended to the summit of Mt. Kinabalu inch by inch and it was still too dark. Only a very small portion of the trail was visible to us with the light of our headlamps and torch.
It was a little tiring but I never get sweat because it was too cold.At around 5:15AM, I reached the summit of Mt. Kinabalu with few other climbers. elevation is at 4,095.2 MASL. The summit is small and can only accommodate a few persons standing beside or at the back of the summit signage.
I sat down in front of the signage waiting for other participants to arrive.There was a sunrise at around 6AM and it was so amazing. I can't help myself but to feast my eye and enjoy every seconds as the sun rises and the surroundings turned golden yellow.As the sun rises above Mt Kinabalu, The stone peaks also started to appear.
The highest of all the peaks is the Low's Peak at 4,095.2 MASL.
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| South Peak |
Other peaks being: South Peak, Victoria's Peak, St. John's Peak, Ugly Sister's Peak and Donkey's Ear Peak to name a few.I enjoyed so much taking picture of the magnificent view of the peak of Mt. Kinabalu.
Past 7AM I decided to start my descent to Laban Rata for the breakfast at 9AM. Along the way, I could not help but to keep shooting and be amazed of the very nice stone sculpture and also the landscape below us.How amazing it was to have seen and conquered Mt. Kinabalu.
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| Standing at Low's Peak |
It was a dream come true for me.Past 9AM, I arrived at the Laban Rata Rest House and then enjoyed the buffet breakfast.At 10:30AM, we were told that we need to check-out.We started our descent to the Jump-off point (Timpohon gate) at around 11AM.
We were informed that it would take us around 3 to 3.5 hours to reach Timpohon gate.While most of us considered descending the mountain as the most challenging part of the trek, I considered it the easiest. From Laban Rata I started descending with four other climbers and as I gained my momentum trekking down, I started to "Jog" along the trail going down.maintaining my "Jogging" pace, I passed by many other hikers going down and amazingly, I reached Timpohon gate at 12:57AM - 1 Hr and 57 mins from Laban Rata.
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| Kinabalu Summit |
After about 30 minutes, Ivan and April arrived at the Timpohon gate with the van.
At 1:30PM, I boarded the van and went straight to the Park Head quarter for lunch at Balsam Restaurant.Most of the other participants arrived at 4PM and we were all taken to our designated rest houses and prepare for the celebratory dinner at night.We had our dinner at a nearby nice restaurant at 7:30PM and we had a simple awarding of certificates and a toast to a successful Kinabalu expedition 2012!!
This hike is indeed worth repeating.
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL!!
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Day 04: 16 April 2012
FREE TIME, SHOPPING & FAREWELL TO KOTA KINABALU!!
It was a very nice early morning at Kota Kinabalu. While waiting for breakfast at the hotel, I decided to roam around the area and took some photos.
We had our breakfast past 7AM, After breakfast, some of the participants decided to go straight to the airport while others with late flight to Manila preferred to go around the city and shop for souvenirs.We decided to checkout from the hotel at around 12PM.
Our first target is to taste the local food of Malaysia somewhere along our way going to the City.The driver of the van suggested that we try "Sala Thai" restaurant for some authentic Malaysian dishes. I ordered beef, squid and a fish. I don't know how to call these menus and I didn't bother myself to ask the waiters but they were quit good and tasty. I also tried a dessert made of thick rice in violet color and I enjoyed the sweet taste. The price of the food was very affordable.
Three menus, one rice, one desert cost me 11RM. Not bad!!Right after lunch, we decided to visit a wet market nearby. I got 3 souvenir t-shirts and 3 Ref Magnets for 40RM.After shopping, we went straight to the airport and finally left Kota Kinabalu at around 8PM.
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