So we did it, climbed a mountain… I didn’t think in my wildest dreams that I would do this but I did and it was great. Tough but felt so good.

Mount Kinabalu is commonly known as the highest peak in Southeast Asia at over 4000 m. happytreefrenz and I started off at 9am on Friday and slowly made our way upward along with our uber experienced and trusty ranger Bungin. The trek up was ok, ie it was tiring but I didn’t find it overly exhausting. There were tricky parts along the way either from overly high steps or very rocky paths but I had seen this in Penang last year and was prepared. Due to the sheer numbers of people who climb it everyday the path in general is also very wide and well structured. There were also rest stops after every 500 meters.

Our goal for the day was to get up 6km to the lodge halfway up the mountain at Laban Rata. It took us over 4 hours, pretty good time.

We had the whole afternoon to rest, shower and chill out while waiting for an early dinner.

The next morning it was a very very early start.  I am looking all tired (and yellow) at 2.30am. Because it’s so high up and it was drizzling and cold out, we were all prepared with multiple layers.

It was another 2.7km up to the summit to try and catch the rising sun by 6am. It was very challenging. Firstly it was pitch black outside, and we only had tiny head torches to guide us. But everyone else was setting off around the same time so we weren’t alone. The first 700 meters of this stretch consisted of pretty much the same type of path as the day before, plenty of steps and rocks but with more water streaming down. Then our guide informed us that the next 2km would be mostly rock. I looked up and it was frightening. It was a sheer cliff angled at about 70 to 80 degrees with only a single rope hanging down. I was thankful it was so dark I didn’t have to see how high and how dangerous it was. Somehow we managed to hang on to the rope for dear life, get past that and beyond and the last 1.5km or so seemed relatively easier, with gentler slopes. Toward the end  I was worried about getting altitude sickness, constantly watching for signs of nausea or headache, so I made sure to go slow and easy. Finally a few minutes before the sun swept in, we reached the top. It had take us a little over three hours.

And then when the light appeared, we suddenly understood why this was all worth it. My crappy pictures don’t do any of it justice.

We stayed up top for no more than 15 minutes because it was soon time to go back down again. On the way up when we passed really challenging steps I kept thinking to myself how I was ever going to manage the descent. There was a lot of teeth gritting and a lot of slow, measured steps because I was so scared I would lose my footing and trip and fall off the mountain. We made it back in two and a half hours. By this time I could already feel my thighs burning from all that strain in my muscles.

We only had half an hour to refuel and pack our gear before we had to set off all the way down again.  The first two kilometers were relatively ok but after that I could feel my knees randomly buckle and I found I had difficulty bending. Every step going down was painful and quite torturous and we still had another 4km to go. For most of the rest of the way I had to hold on to our ranger or the handrails when they were available. And then we would be passed at random by people who seemed so agile and had no problems at all. And here I was like a total invalid. I felt so weak and humbled. But on we pushed because there was no other way but down. At this point I was in no mood for photos so there aren’t any. During the final 500 meters it dawned on me that we had been walking since 2.30am and we finally arrived at our start point at Timpohon Gate at 1.45pm after covering 11.4km. For me, that was quite a feat.

I just need to be more confident going down so I don’t put so much strain on my quads and knees. Overall it was a great experience. When it got really tough I took deep breaths and tackled it one step at a time. I went in mentally prepared, perhaps just not that physically prepared. But I didn’t cry, I didn’t despair and I enjoyed myself. I would definitely do it again.