Thursday 12th August
Friday 13th August

This was the big physical challenge of my trip - to hike Mt Kinabalu. Leaving my big bag at the hostel's reception, I walked to the National Park's headquarters to register and meet my guide. Collecting my packed lunch, we shared a ride with a couple of Aussies down to the start of the trek, about 10 mins away, and off we started!

The trek to Mt Kinabalu is done over two days. On the first day, you trek 6km up to Laban Rata, where you overnight, before starting the final ascent at 2:30am on the following day (about 2.6km). You then return to Laban Rata for breakfast and to collect your bag, before trekking back to the National Park headquarters. All in all, it's a 17.2km round-trip, with numbers limited to 189 people per day.

The guidebooks state that anyone of average fitness can complete it; however, this is completely wrong!! Unless you are very fit, you will absolutely struggle to get to Laban Rata, let alone the summit.

Anyway, back to the hike. The first 100m or so is downhill, and the first1.5km is in through lush rainforest. It's by no means easy, as you're constantly hiking up steps, but this is the easiest part of the hike. There are constant rest stops with water and toilets along the way too, as well as sign markers every .5km. I'd started off in in pants but by the time I got the first rest stop I decided to change into my running shorts.

From about the 1.5km marker, it starts to get harder. A mixture of breathlessness from the hiking you've already done, the altitude, and the sheer constant upwards movements really test your cardio system and lung capacity. (Interestingly, my guide would have a smoke every time we took a rest! The guides do it 3-4 times a week, and the porters (everything at the resthouse is carried up by a person) will do it several times a day with 30-40kg on their back!) You're also not hiking along a normal rainforest trail -you're hiking up clay rocks or slippery mountains rocks.

By about the 4.5km mark, you're wondering whose dumb idea it was to do this (oh yeah, mine). The last 1.5km is a real struggle, and when you finally see Laban Rata Resthouse you cannot wait to sit down. I made the hike to Laban Rata in 3.5 hours (generally takes 4-6) and was the first one to arrive - not actually a good move because reception wasn't open yet! I was joined by about 10 others before we could check-in to our accommodation. I was in a dorm about 150 north of Laban Rata - not what you want to hear when you've just hiked 6km up. However, my dorm (Panar Laban) was in good condition with only 4 beds (of which only 2 were occupied that night). As there is no heating or hot showers on the mountain, the warmest place to be was in bed so I hopped under the blankets and read until dinnertime at 5pm.

With an early start the next morning, my dormmate (Roy, from KL) and I went to sleep at 7pm. Our alarms woke us at 1:45am Friday morning, and we piled on all our warm clothing in readiness of our trek to the top.

It is very interesting to see the types of people who attempt the hike, and I think they're divided into two groups:
1. Those that thought it sounded like a 'good idea' and they would 'give it a go'. These people are generally in their 20s and of good fitness. They hike wearing runners and old clothes, and are most likely to summit.
2. The Asian crowd (typically Chinese or Taiwanese) who bought a tour package to do it, most likely because the neighbours were doing it. The most strenuous exercise they've done for the past 10 years is a Tai Chi class, and go by the adage, "if you look like a hiker, then you will become a hiker". These people have headed off to their local Kathmandu store and purchased everything in sight - Merrel hiking boots, gaitors, walking poles, fleece jackets (hot pink for the ladies). These people have no hope of actually reaching the top.

Donned in a pair of leggings, running shorts, hiking socks and a soft-shell jacket, with a head-torch lighting the way under my beanie, my guide and I set off at 2:30am for the final 2.6km to the summit. The first 500m was a traffic jam as everyone was leaving at the same time, but the stronger hikers soon took over at a clearing, just when the steps stopped and the rocks began. I am very glad it was pitch-black (save our head-torches) when we ascended, because what we were climbing up was incredible. We were basically climbing up rocks, with water gushing over them, at a 70% incline, using a rope to assist us up. It was a lot more technically difficult than the previous day's hiking, but a lot easier on the cardio system. I shudder to think how the 'less-fit' could attempt this section.

With 500m remaining, the skies opened and it started bucketing! Even adding my rainjacket, hoodie and Gore-tex gloves, I was soon frozen to the bone, and was really starting to question why on earth I'd subjected myself to this. Normally when you reach the top, everyone waits around and watches the sun rise - on a clear day, you can see to the Philipines. However, not today - I reached the peak (barely big enough for 3 people to stand on), had a photo, and then my guide and I quickly started to ascend. About 500m down, the rain stopped, the sun came out, and I started to realise why people do the climb. The landscape of the mountain was gorgeous, looking like the surface of the moon. The sun in the distance was like a paint palette, springing colours of pinks, purples, oranges and yellows, and fluffy clouds danced below us. It was also at this point that I realised the steepness and 'scariness' of the rocks we had ascended - going down wasn't much easier, as we had to 'abseil' in various places.

Making it back to my dorm, Roy was sitting on his bed, swaddled in every blanket he could find, along with a friend of his. Being from KL, I don't think they'd every been this cold before in their lives, and were shivering so badly! They said they'd made it about 1km up when it started raining, so they decided to turn back (my guide later told me that hardly anyone summitted that morning - a lot had actually failed to make Laban Rata the previous day). On the way down from the summit all I could think about was laying under my blankets, but the sun had warmed me on the way down and I was hyped from reaching the summit, so after a quick breakfast my guide and I started the final descent. Going down was a lot easier for the cardio system, but I actually found it harded - you had to concentrate on every step, as you were traversing slippery rocks. The last 100m climbing steps uphill were the cruelest!

Farewelling my guide, I then had to walk back to my hostel to pick up my bag. Sweaty, dirty, showerless, and having being rained on, all I wanted was a hot shower and some 'greasy' Western food. Unfortunately I had to wait another 1.5 hours for a bus back to Kota Kinabalu. I'd booked into a hotel with all the conveniences and had the longest hot shower ever! I then dropped in my laundry (I pity the laundryman) and had a frappuccino and pizza. Food and hygiene fulfilled, it was time for bed ........

The numbers:
Total hours climbing: 12.5
Kms trekked: 17.2 (8.6km each way)
Height reached: 4095.2