Quite possibly one of the most physically demanding things I have ever done is what I did in the last two days. I climbed Mt. Kinabalu, highest peak in SE Asia on the island of Borneo in the Malaysian state of Sabah. 4092m or 13 425.1969 feet
Yesterday, we arrived at the Mt. Kinabalu Park at 10am. After a short bus ride from the gate, we started an arduous hike through tropical jungle for about 6.5km or 3000m elevation gain. The trail is mostly granite and clay rocks and boulders, with vegetation types changing twice on our way up to the Laban Rata Guest House at the 6.5km mark. Orchids of purple, white, and yellow hid among plants like rhododendrons, and then the trail made way to misty mountains covered by twisted cypress and scrappy evergreens.
Nothing looked so good as our rest house at 3pm. Basically stuffing myself with a burger, hot tea, and noodle soup, I chatted with Scott, my fellow American who just left a biology research project in Brunei because his professor claimed to his face he was trying to kill her - he'll be reporting her to National Geographic shortly for paranoid schizophrenia - and Ellie, a 21 year old woman from Leeds with a lip ring and more earrings than I could count. We bedded at 8pm to get ready for our 3am wake up. A quick snack and hot tea, then we started the last part of the climb. It was pitch black with several stars out but no moon. At points we had to climb using ropes, at others the wind whipped so hard I lost my hat, all the time I tried to avoid little puddles caused by rain days old that hid in the cracks in the raw black and white granite. And it was a true joy when my headlamp batteries decided to die. So I climbed in pitch dark, trying to stay near others with torches. I felt at many times like quitting, because my feet hurt, I had no lamp, my guide was way behind helping Ellie who has admitted "My fitness is for shite," and there were no plants or trees to brace your fall if you did so, as we were above the tree line, but just as I did, the sun's early light started to brighten my path, and I could see the summit just above me with a trail of headlamps heading up. I decided to push onward to the top, and once I stopped, a tomato red disk peeked from behind roiling clouds as they scratched their way over the peaks to the east of the summit, Low's Peak. Rock formations like the Donkey's Ears and the Gorilla's Face shone as ever more golden light hit them with each minute passing. Luckily I brought my guesthouse blanket so I could huddle behind a boulder to avoid the wind, and just bask in the sunrise. I took several photos, but my camera handling abilities were hindered by my gloves, and I was loathe to take them off. Judging by the ponds of water, it must have been above freezing, but not by much, especially with windchill.
Not more than 30 minutes later I headed back down with Scott, a former forest ranger and I am sure he is half-goat because he could hop and skip down that mountain face as if it were made of rubber. I was more cautious, so he often waited for me. We got to our guesthouse at 8am, took an hour nap, and scarfed some nuts, granola bars, and raisins. Then back down through the 3 levels of vegetation. This time I got to observe a brown and black frog climbing up a wet and mossy rock, some pitcher plants with pools of water and dead bugs, and fat squirrels clearly happy with hikers' leftovers. Of course, my ankles and knees were screaming, and occasionally they'd just go wobbly so I'd have to stop and rest. But finally at 1pm, we were back at the gate, and waited for our bus back to town. Nothing felt so good as that hot shower and Hainan chicken and rice I devoured in the afternoon back in Kota Kinabalu, the city I used as my arrival point in Sabah, Borneo.
And why the title of my posting? Thanks to Leigh Ann, she told me about a rasta guy she sat next to on a plane and he quoth "Oh, me feet need creamin'!" after removing his shoes and socks and rubbing his feet in his hands on the airplane seat. I now know exactly how that man felt.
Tomorrow, off to Pulau Sipadan for supposedly one of the top 5 scuba dive sites in the world. Pics to follow soon...
Nothing looked so good as our rest house at 3pm. Basically stuffing myself with a burger, hot tea, and noodle soup, I chatted with Scott, my fellow American who just left a biology research project in Brunei because his professor claimed to his face he was trying to kill her - he'll be reporting her to National Geographic shortly for paranoid schizophrenia - and Ellie, a 21 year old woman from Leeds with a lip ring and more earrings than I could count. We bedded at 8pm to get ready for our 3am wake up. A quick snack and hot tea, then we started the last part of the climb. It was pitch black with several stars out but no moon. At points we had to climb using ropes, at others the wind whipped so hard I lost my hat, all the time I tried to avoid little puddles caused by rain days old that hid in the cracks in the raw black and white granite. And it was a true joy when my headlamp batteries decided to die. So I climbed in pitch dark, trying to stay near others with torches. I felt at many times like quitting, because my feet hurt, I had no lamp, my guide was way behind helping Ellie who has admitted "My fitness is for shite," and there were no plants or trees to brace your fall if you did so, as we were above the tree line, but just as I did, the sun's early light started to brighten my path, and I could see the summit just above me with a trail of headlamps heading up. I decided to push onward to the top, and once I stopped, a tomato red disk peeked from behind roiling clouds as they scratched their way over the peaks to the east of the summit, Low's Peak. Rock formations like the Donkey's Ears and the Gorilla's Face shone as ever more golden light hit them with each minute passing. Luckily I brought my guesthouse blanket so I could huddle behind a boulder to avoid the wind, and just bask in the sunrise. I took several photos, but my camera handling abilities were hindered by my gloves, and I was loathe to take them off. Judging by the ponds of water, it must have been above freezing, but not by much, especially with windchill.
Not more than 30 minutes later I headed back down with Scott, a former forest ranger and I am sure he is half-goat because he could hop and skip down that mountain face as if it were made of rubber. I was more cautious, so he often waited for me. We got to our guesthouse at 8am, took an hour nap, and scarfed some nuts, granola bars, and raisins. Then back down through the 3 levels of vegetation. This time I got to observe a brown and black frog climbing up a wet and mossy rock, some pitcher plants with pools of water and dead bugs, and fat squirrels clearly happy with hikers' leftovers. Of course, my ankles and knees were screaming, and occasionally they'd just go wobbly so I'd have to stop and rest. But finally at 1pm, we were back at the gate, and waited for our bus back to town. Nothing felt so good as that hot shower and Hainan chicken and rice I devoured in the afternoon back in Kota Kinabalu, the city I used as my arrival point in Sabah, Borneo.
And why the title of my posting? Thanks to Leigh Ann, she told me about a rasta guy she sat next to on a plane and he quoth "Oh, me feet need creamin'!" after removing his shoes and socks and rubbing his feet in his hands on the airplane seat. I now know exactly how that man felt.
Tomorrow, off to Pulau Sipadan for supposedly one of the top 5 scuba dive sites in the world. Pics to follow soon...
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