1am ish , i was awaken by 2 of my team member chatting saying that they cant sleep anymore. so i wake up as well. since we need to be ready by 2am to standby at restaurant for our food. slowly after all of us woke up and gear up our snacks and hydration. and medicines. while waiting others to get ready, we can actually make clouds with our breath. imagine how cold is that.
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| A short prayer for our following journey and weather |
2am.......and breakfast is not served yet, or should i say supper . around 2.10am smth just start to serve. Most of us cant eat because is way too early and way too cold. but i insist everyone take some food as it will be 4-5 hours hike up and down of 2.5km remaining to the summit.
i had some fried rice, fried meehun and bread because i know i will get hungry fast especially in cold. after fuelling, we met up with our mountain guide for final brief on safety and cut of time to reach Sayat Sayat. according to my watch. we departed around 2:51 am.
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| Summit attack clothing |
We started slow as two of our team member is suffering from breathing and muscle pain issue. so we slow pace to the check point. i keep track of our time. by the time i realise we are not going to make it to the check point by 5.30am, i started increasing my speed. on this i really feel guilty for leaving my team behind, im sorry =[ . i manage to catch the top 4 of our team at sayat sayat check point. when i arrive there is 5am sharp. temperature is around 7-8 degree celsius
actually doesnt feel very cold. im wrapped in 3 layers.(warmer, team T and jacket) after a short rest we departed together. Kim pei(one of our member) headlight went out and is rechargeable. if is battery powered then i got spare. so one of our mountain guide stick with her and 4 of us move on.
The top 4(picture taken before i arrive) left to right(Kim Pei, Christine, Emily and CK)
except kim pei, 4 of us move on with our pace. but i have no idea how and why, when i look back, i have pulled a long distance between them. ck told me he have some difficulty breathing. so i end up keep moving cause the longer you stay still the colder it gets.
By the time i arrive KM8 mark, is already 5:50am ish and sun is rising. starting to get some visibility.
from this KM8 mark you can see the summit. and i looked at my watch, sh!t, i cant make it before sun fully rise. so i took some picture here and started hiking again.
both of these picture are taken after i reach the summit.
by the time i arrived at the signboard there aka the Summit of Mount Kinabalu, 6:30am ish.
MADE IT!! the only thing i keep telling myself while i hike along for 1km plus is that i must reach this sign no matter what! pain, cold , hungry are all our of my mind. FOCUS!!
i had to ask a random stranger help me take picture as my team are still behind.hahaha. slowly and they made it too!!
One of the youtube videos i watch before said one very importing thing which reminds me. reaching the Top is only half of your journey. you still have to come back down. and the downhill part is the HARDEST for me. if your shoe aint right or your grip is loose, GG. i end up stopping two times to re-lace my shoe tighter.
took me 7 hours 26 minutes from Panar Laban to Summit, Summit to Panar Laban. including waiting my team taking picture at the summit. care taking their bags. by the time we arrive back Panar Laban nearly 10am and the latest check out time is 10.30am. extra RM100.00/hour/ room for late check out . and we know we already screwed up. so just pay the RM100 and dont chase the time.
we manage to save some food before the restaurant close for breakfast for our late arriving members. around 10.30am ish started to rain. HEAVY RAIN. after breakfast we rush back to our room and pack all of our stuff and started to head down. the trail we hike up yesterday already become a small river with rain water rushing down! we asked our mountain guide is it safe to hike down now, he said no choice but slow and steady.
Imagine we have to hike down for 2km plus with heavy rain all the way(luckily no strong winds) with wet stone and muddy trail. and this is where waterproofing shoe comes in handy. i'll talk about that in my gear list later.
Before we hike down our mountain guide told us that office close at 5pm which means we need to arrive before 5pm if we want to get our certificates on the same day. what choice do we have? we are not staying at Kundasang for another night. so non stop mode on!
i rest at the KM5 and KM4. at KM4 i can feel my leg muscle starting to failing me. and i know if i rest any longer the pain will kick in and worse case, cramp. so after KM4 i doesnt stop for rest anymore and walk on a steady pace down an average 1 hour per KM. while i reach KM2.3, i met another group. the mountain guide mention that if they continue this pace, they wont make it to the Timpohon gate by 5pm. i check my time again. 3.45ish and sh!t, i cant make it too! so i pee, packed my rain coat as rain stopped. fast pace all the way as i still got 2.3km to gate and with the average pace i seriously wont make it!
i remember when we started this hike, the first KM is easiest as we still can take pictures, chat and joke around. but then hiking down, the last KM is the hardest. you will started to feel like why is it getting longer?? i do slow jog in a few flat area to save a few seconds. every second counts!
by the time i arrive at Timpohon gate, guess what, i made it!! 4:26pm ish.
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| MADE IT!! |
so i check out with the park ranger and asked where can i get the shuttle to Kinabalu park registration. the blue T with a brown vest guy in the picture is actually the shuttle driver. hahaha. and Thank God i manage to get cert for all of us before office close! after paying and i follow this driver back to Timpohon gate again as i said i want to wait for the rest of my team here.
1st group arrive 6:06pm ish(3 person)
2nd group arrive 6:14pm ish(2 person)
3rd group arrive 6:35pm ish(2 person)
final one arrive 6:41pm ish.(2 person)
we all agree that hiking down is the hardest part. not up. hahahaha. group up and head back to KK. rain and fog. uncle drive like a champ. when we arrive at the church where me parked, my gf sister even vomit. hahaha.
we check in at TOOJOU hotel and take a shower, clean our wet clothing and out for food. by the time we head back hotel and sleep is around 12am +. now you still can walk properly.
Day 4 of our trip( 12.12.2019) SALES!!
the night before we male all 4 agree that non of us set alarm and sleep until auto wake. end up auto wake around 7.30am ish,our body already have built in alarm. so we agree to went out for breakfast while wait others to wake up. our check out time is 12pm. after breakfast we come back and pack our things, chill at the 1st floor(called Opis) and check out, send gf sister to airport and the rest of us to imago to stress our leg even more. hahahahaha. 9 penguins shopping in Imago.
3pm and we depart from KK, back to Menumbok to catch 6pm ferry. and thats the end of our trip. nothing scary and dangerous happen during our drive to Menumbok *wink wink*.
Now, all you been waiting for, all of these are what i bring and what i recommended after experienced. im a male, age 27 weight 49kgs as a reference.(i know im under weight. don judge me.hahaha)
Gear list
1. Backpack(with water resistance or rain cover. you are going to hike in a rainforest. keep that in mind)
2.hydration bladder(depends on your water intake. i bring 2L hydration baldder)
3. bottle(750ml to mix with electrolyte or energy drink)
4. Beanie/cap( for second day cold weather )
5. Scarf/ mask( for second day cold weather, helps you breath better and keep your lips from drying )
6. Windbreaker( breathable with light water resistance is good)
7. Fleece/warm jacket(highly recommended water resistance, again, rainforest)
8. Raincoat/ puncho( must! do not try to cut weight by not bringing a rain coat/ puncho. keep in mind, RAINFOREST )
9. Glove( highly recommended waterproof and windproof. cause you will use rope climb the last 2.5km to summit and i can assure you the ropes are going to be wet. once your glove is wet, your hands start to freeze)
10. Hiking pole( one is enough but if you have the budget, invest in carbon fibre or light weight aluminium and bring 2. you will thank me later when hiking down. )
11. warmer ( something like heattech from uniqlo or thermal from campri(im wearing) will keep you warm even with 2 layer)
12. socks ( bring extra. socks aint heavy. again, rainforest)
13. cash ( small change like RM10 or RM20 with a total RM100-150) will be sufficient for extra water/food)
14. ziplock bags( again, rainforest. keep your clothing dry and electronics dry)
15. headlight ( highly recommended those using AAA batteries. so when they runs out, just swap them)
16. extra battery ( 6 will be more than enough if your headlamp use 3 AAA batteries.)
17. Shoes( HIGHLY recommended you invest in some kind of water resistance or waterproof. my shoe is rated a 2hours walk water resistance. which means you walk beyond 2 hours in rain your feet will start to get wet. when i arrive hotel and take off my shoe, only the side of my socks and back are wet, bottom and front are totally dry. another method is water repellent spray)
Food
1. packed lunch(fried rice, get smth high carb)
2. 2 energy gels
3. 2 energy bar
4. 4 snickers
Dont finish all while hiking up. remember, reaching the summit is only half of your journey complete. you still have to hike down.
Hydration
1. 2L of driking water
2. 500ml electrolyte/ energy drink(one bottle up one bottle down.)
electrolyte and energy drink is not a must. personal preference.
Hike time
Day 1, 6km(according to Kinabalu park, Timpohon gate to Panar Laban)
8 hours 33 minutes, 8.54km according to my honor watch
Day 2, 2.5km(according to Kinabalu park, Panar Laban to Summit)(to and back)
7 hours 26 minutes, 8.62km according to my honor watch
Day 2, 6km(according to Kinabalu park, Panar Laban to Timpohon gate)
3 hours 54 minnutes, 8.43km according to my honor watch( this one i have to mention i started recording at 5.5km to Timpohon gate cause i forgot to record from Panar Laban. average additional 30 minutes every 500m)
Duration is confirm accurate. as for distance not so much i think as this watch is run on motion instead of real time GPS if not connect to phone.
Backpack weight
my total backpack weight including hydration, clothing and food is around 7kgs +-. i carry my own bag, not using porter. porter will charge you RM13.00/kg
Lastly, do your research on what you need and try to buy them on sales time to save your cost.try out what suit you the most like energy gel/bar if you are going to bring them. never try something new during your actual hike day. especially food and drinks. might upset your stomach and your trip will be ruin.
as for shoes, buy them as soon as you started plan this trip. train with them on so you know whether it suits you or not and whether you are comfortable wearing it or not.
BONUS
