My Mount Kinabalu Trekking Trip

All right! Its been a really long time since I last posted! Well, almost two weeks! While I was in Kota Kinabalu, I did have Internet access, but I guess it wasn’t too convenient to sit there for hours typing out everything, so I jotted little notes and finally today I have the time to put it up!

As a whole, the trip was awesome!

The great news is… yeah, I managed to get to Mount Kinabalu’s Peak (Low’s Peak – 4095.2m) before sunrise at 5:45am, and although the guide said that the sun is actually blocked by some clouds, I think the sunrise is awesome… simply beautiful! The weather was also wonderful – no rain or bad weather all the way to the summit! It rained on the way down though, but I guess I appreciate the good weather on the trip up, and it think that is all that matters.

Here is a picture I took at the peak!

Beautiful right?

Of course, there are things that I felt could have been better about my trek too. The gloves I bought up were not waterproof – I was in a “want to save money” mode after I got my trekking boots, and I didn’t get another set of gloves. Then, there were several parts of the trek which were kinda wet, and in some parts, I had to use my hands to assist my balance. My gloves got wet. As a result, my fingers were freezing when I got to the summit! It was literally numb, and I could not feel my fingers at times… and it was painful.

The other thing was also that I realise that I get quite bad Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS)… or in layman terms – altitude sickness. When I reached the Laban Rata resthouse at 3000+ meters up, I was having a real splitting headache, so severe that I thought if the pain would not go away after sleep, I will not continue with the trek to summit. Luckily, the pain eased with rest and sufficient water and food intake. I pressed on with a mild headache, and I trekked really slowly, taking care to breathe deeper breaths as I ascended to the summit. It was a nice yet tiring climb up, but the satisfaction is all worth it.

The descent was painful too, on my toes. I was wearing two layers of socks, as advised by many who have been there, and yet, I could not escape from blisters from my first toe. Two of my friends used sandals for the descent, and it was less painful for them. I think there should be a way out for this – and I shall research into it. Could it be that my boots are too small?

The trek was only for the first two days of my entire trip. After the climb, we went for a night at Poring Hotsprings, White Water Rafting, and then for Diving. Sabah is a beautiful place, and I love it there! I feel I will make another trip to the peak again – maybe next year, when I am better prepared – better gloves, better fitness, and better camera!

Tags: sunrise