Top of the World

The trip to Sabah finally materialised after it was postponed in Feb. Had a good time and tried out new things like white (more like brown) water rafting, climbing a mountain and catching a glimpse of the rafflesia. The climb must be the most memorable part of the trip and it was tough, even though KK is supposed to be an 'easy' mountain to summit....

We started THE DAY at Celyn Resort with a fabulous view of the entire mountain range. I felt in awe of KK but maintained my determination to summit Low's Peak. After breakfast, we met Miki, driver and friend, to head for park HQ to pick up our guide en route to Mesilau. Some shots at the start of the day:




We were blessed with fine weather so the climb up via Mesilau was beautiful. Even though the trail could be difficult at times with steep steps, our spirits were high and the distance was not felt. Nonetheless, I was so looking forward to reaching the 5.5 km intersection with the Timpohon route, the first milestone. At the same time, it was timely for a longer break to consume our packed lunch even though we were not that hungry but it helped to lighten the load for our guide cum porter Yasuan. Along the way, we met 4 other Singaporeans, a group of 11 Koreans and countless number of Malaysians. We later found out through new friends, Y & J that they were climbing to raise funds for charity and one of their group members had summited KK 9 times already!


Pressing on after lunch, the remaining 1.5 km to the Laban Rata guesthouse seemed to take forever. At times, I felt the inner child voice asking "Are we there yet?" and would ask Yasuan for an estimate of our distance to LR. He was ever so patient and encouraging though he spoke little English and our Malay is plain weak! We finally glimpsed LR from the trail and pressed on as it was starting to get chilly. After nearly 8 hours, we reached LR at about 4.30 pm n rested for a while before dinner was served. Sleep was the only post-dinner activity but the bed was cold and for some unknown reason wet =( Tried as I did but sleep was elusive thanks to the fierce howling winds outside.



Despite not feeling rested, I woke with enthusiasm - it is time to summit! =) The remaining 2.5 km up was really the most difficult part of the climb, being steep n dark. Shortly after passing the checkpoint, it started to drizzle and our pace was slowed by a frequent need to stop and catch our breaths... doubts started to creep in but I am proud to say that I tried my hardest and eventually managed to reach Low's Peak! Alas, there was no sunrise to marvel at but it was still worthwhile just to know that I did it...