Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Trip up Mt. Kinabalu Pt.2

This is a continuation of Trip up Mt. Kinabalu.

This post will be mostly photos as there is really nothing much to say about the climb. There were limited amount of climbers a day to help protect the ecosystem and there's a set time when everyone sets off, so there was quite a lot of people at the start. Once we started to reach the front of the pack it thinned out of course, making for a more pleasant climb. : )

I didn't really take a lot of photos of the greenery around us on the way up as it was all the same really, nothing much to see. Of course, the group was separated on the way up as everyone had different stamina. There wasn't really a need for a guide, but it was a requirement, it wasn't that expensive anyways, so it's all good. Another thing about the guide is that, ours wore a t shirt, shorts, and crocs to climb. : |

Half way up. Still feeling good.


The sky wasn't looking so good though.

At the start of the climb, there were nice stairs and they were all even and all that, but once we reached further up there were a variety of different terrain to walk through, it made things interesting, it made it hard. Slightly.

Some were like this, mud and granite.

Some were just plain mud.

Some were just granite.

It was misty.

Uh-oh.

When there was still slightly more 2KM to the rest stop, my shoes started to open up, these were my old running shoes and I didn't intend for them to 'survive' the climb but I was hoping it would last until I reached the bottom again. Ah well... marching onwards.

Some trees.

5KM

I forgot how far the rest stop was. Maybe around 7KM. It started raining heavily after this picture so no more pictures until the final ascend. I didn't even take a picture of the rest house, or whatever it is called.

Sadly, my 'rain-gear' wasn't really waterproof. I blame my dad for this, he said 'it'll do', they were wind breakers. FML

The whole bottom of my shoe fell of at the last KM from the rest house. I didn't notice it as my feet and everything else was numb from the cold, turned back a bit to get them, I hoped they would have something to stick it back on at the rest house. (there weren't) It was miserable, that last 500 meters, I was shivering, and the water was coming down the trail like a waterfall, it was like we were walking up a river really.

I reached the rest house, shivering uncontrollably, I quickly changed out of the wet clothes and just sat there with a dry towel around me for 2 hours, regaining my warmth and strength. Dinner was awesome, they did a buffet style thing, all you can eat, I ate a lot. The lodge we stayed in was kinda like a dorm really, small and 'cozy'. 4 people were in a tiny room with 2 bunk beds, I wasn't complaining, it was quite cold and the more the merrier at that point. 3 layers of blanket was also provided. I went to sleep and didn't feel a thing until the next day when we woke up for breakfast and the final ascend to the peak. One of my friend puked in the middle of the night due to the altitude, I slept through everything, didn't know a thing until the next day.

I'll continue this again in Pt. 3 in the future. This is getting a bit long. : ] Hope you enjoyed this, thinking back to this was really nostalgic to me although it was only a year ago. Fun times.

58 comments:

  1. sounds like a very full,tiring climb. sorry about your shoes. :(

    ReplyDelete
  2. ah mountain climbing can be arduous but the feeling of reaching the summit is definitely worth it ;)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I don't think its a fruit tree... not sure though.

    ReplyDelete
  4. So friggin cool, I want to go travel the world and go hiking so badly. Hopefully I'll hit it big using my blog as a way to get my writing and games out haha. Unfortunately I'm in Florida and have little ability to go hiking.

    ReplyDelete
  5. @joel, well it doesn't have to be anything difficult, just an easy trail can be really satisfying. Good luck with your game!

    ReplyDelete
  6. OMG what an adventure!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. makes me want to go hiking! thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Cool stuff. Love climbing.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Nice adventure, and great part two. :) wish i were there!

    ReplyDelete
  10. in all honesty your blog just made me appreciated nature even more. it was soo refreshing just to look at those picture you have there. im stuck right now in the city but thanks for sharing that motivation to get out there!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Good post. Liked the landscape in the pictures.

    ReplyDelete
  12. :o I am planning a trip near Borneo, and may in fact spend some time on the island. I am going to use your blog as reference :P.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Wow, I'd really like to go on a hike right now. That looks awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Makes me crave adventure.
    Curse you office job.

    ReplyDelete
  15. poor shoes D:. i would love to do this looks like some awesome spots.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I love mountain climbing, I did the Pyrenees last year.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Sounds like fun, I would never have made it...

    ReplyDelete
  18. Perfect landscape for hiking, I'm a bit jealous.

    ReplyDelete
  19. it was gonna rain soon, nothing too weird...it was weird of you to ask actually.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Those mountain pictures were great...wow

    ReplyDelete
  21. What the guy above me said. The one with the mist is awesome.

    ReplyDelete
  22. I've always wanted to visit a place like that. It's just an experience that can't be matched by viewing pictures online. You should consider yourself lucky!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Nice photos and interesing trip!

    ReplyDelete
  24. your pics remind me of my scouting days. east malaysia looks really nice btw although i've never been there... only in the west peninsular have i lived in

    ReplyDelete
  25. life of a bored person? that seemed like an epic trip.

    ReplyDelete
  26. I bet the whole trip was amazing though, makes me want to travel even more now.

    ReplyDelete
  27. great post. looking forward to reading your next one

    ReplyDelete
  28. Nice post, the trip sounded pretty fun until the rain. Keep up the good work.

    ReplyDelete
  29. i wish i could do stuff like this. the tallest mountain near me is like maybe 1500 ft up. maybe. and its not much of a view up there :(

    ReplyDelete
  30. I can't wait to get some hiking done this summer

    ReplyDelete
  31. Your blog name is rather misleading

    I found this to be rather interesting!

    also, climb in crocs? -_-

    ReplyDelete
  32. Awesome post dude, but next time take a rain gear, a real one hahaha following, a boring person's life can be quite interesting.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Oh wow, that looks like it was a fun. It always rains up here in humboldt..

    ReplyDelete
  34. Those are great pictures, it sounds like quite an adventure!

    ReplyDelete
  35. It's breathtaking. Just beautiful. Check out my new blog, puzzledyet.blogspot.com if you haven't already!

    ReplyDelete
  36. Wow, really nice pictures! I havent really ever been on a moutain, the closest we get where i live would weel like a speedbump compared to that! lol

    ReplyDelete
  37. Oh mah life is more boring than that! .__.
    Nice! >W<

    ReplyDelete
  38. I hate when that happens to my shoe.

    ReplyDelete