My experience climbing Mount Kinabalu

Before we started to climb Mount Kinabalu, we went to the Kinabalu National Park and stayed at one of their hostels for one night only.

I got the chance to photograph the living room when we got back from dinner.

Here is how the kitchen looks like.

I asked my husband to accompany me when I took this shot (see below). You go up the staircase to another balcony and a few bedrooms.

When we arrived in the afternoon, we could not see the height of Mount Kinabalu from the driveway to the Rock Hostel. The height was covered by thick clouds.

Below is a shot that I took in the morning before we went for our breakfast. We were told to take shots of the mountain earlier in the morning so we could see the height.

After we were done with breakfast, we gathered all of our bags to be carried by porters. The porters charge RM8 per kilo and for each of us, we were only allowed to have a maximum weight of 12Kg per bag. After the bags sorted out, we were driven to the base of the Mount Kinabalu by 2 shuttle buses.

We arrived at Timpohon Gate and we started to go into the woods at around 8.30am. I used Endomondo for our hiking trail but somehow it did not work. So I have no record of our hiking going up from Timpohon Gate to Laban Rata.

I was fine going up until my husband and I reached 3 Km. There was a hut so we stopped by to eat our lunch since it was almost noon. I did not finish the lunch pack that was prepared. The lunch pack consisted of 1 fried chicken, a few sets of sandwiches and 2 boiled eggs. It was after 3.5 Km that I was tired and I got a headache. I did not bother to eat and I drank water only. I dreaded the whole journey going up to Laban Rata. My husband mentioned to me that we stopped for every 50-100 meters so I could recuperate. Everyone in my group already reached Laban Rata by 1pm.

We were still in the trail experiencing clouds passed us by, it was misty, the weather was getting cold and it rained. I put on my jacket and a thin raincoat that I purchased earlier at a pharmacy shop. There was no time for me to appreciate the beauty of god’s creation surrounding us. My focus was to reach Laban rata as soon as possible. We finally reached the first hut after 5.5 Km and there was still long way up to go to Laban Rata.

I was already tired, my head was hurting, I was no longer thinking straight, I did not want to listen to any logic and I was frustrated. By the time we reached Laban Rata, we were told that we had to walk further up to our accommodation, the Gunting Lagadan hut. One of our group spotted us when we were looking for Gunting Lagadan. He led us the way. My face was already wet from tears and rain, I was so glad that we finally reached the hut.

(Here is how the hut looks like.

I managed to photograph this hut in the early morning before my group came back from the summit.)

I was brought inside to one of the rooms which I shared with 2 of my friends. I was asked to change as soon as possible and kept myself warm. I did change after both of my friends insisted that I changed in the room instead of toilet. I still felt cold. I laid on my bed, I pulled the cover,blanket and I still felt cold.

My husband came after I asked for him a lot of times. I wanted him to massage my head. I brought a balm with me that I always use whenever I got headache. As soon as he rubbed the balm at the back of my neck, I felt the rush of cold air. It did not relief my head as I expected. It got worse instead. Luckily I managed to sleep with the darn headache. I probably slept at 7-8pm.

My sleep was disturbed when I felt it was difficult for me to breath. My chest felt compressed. I felt hot at the same time. I sat down slowly and I unzip and took off my sweater. Then I felt better. I still had a slight headache. It was after 12am when my husband woke up and decided to boiled water for pop mee. One of my roommates got sick in the middle night. I feel for her but I could not offer much help.

Everyone was pretty much up and about at 1 pm. I ate panadol, biscuits and pop mee, I was hoping that my slight headache went away but that did not happen. My husband and I discussed if I wanted to continue climbing to the summit. I told him I won’t because my head was still not clear of the pain.

Everyone was ready with their layered clothes, rain coats, gloves and hats. Some went back to catch up on their sleep. I was still sitting on my bed eating biscuits when everyone was ready to go outside. I knew that I needed to get better so I could climbed down the mountain later in the morning. So I resumed my sleep after 2am.

Here is my husband’s hiking trail going to the summit.

I woke up again half an hour before my previously sick roommate got back. She did not reached the summit but she only arrived at the check point and returned back to the hut. She felt sick when she went up there.

After I was done helping my friend, I went to toilet. The water was ice-cold. I washed my hands and my fingers became pale and wrinkled right away. The cold water made it super difficult to wash anything.

The view outside the hut was amazing. I was tempted to go outside but it was so cold just being in the hallway outside the room! But I kept on going back and fro from the bedroom to the balcony outside. I was hesitated at first to bring my camera outside. When I saw how beautiful the scenery was, I just had to go outside. I saw some people were up there taking pictures.

Here is trail when my husband went back from the summit to Gunting Lagadan Hut.

When everyone got back from the summit, we were asked to pack our stuff for the porters to carry down to the Kinabalu National Park. We had breakfast first at Laban Rata. I filled my stomach just so I have enough energy for me to go down the 6 Km trail to Timpohon Gate without mishap. Turns out I was wrong.

My husband and I started to go down at 11am. We were going fast. I was consistent going down at 2 Km/hr. You can check the hiking trail here. My husband left my point and shoot camera with me so I was constantly taking shots on my way going down the trail. It was raining at first and misty, it was difficult to take pictures. Right after 4 Km, after I put away my camera, I stepped on a rock. I thought it was a steady rock, that was when I slipped and sprained my right ankle. I was shocked and I cursed. There was no one with me at that time. The lady porter that accompanied me took her rest at a hut before the 4 Km. I had no choice but to go on walking. I was concerned about the timing. All of us were told to reach Timpohon Gate at 1pm.

I caught up with the rest of my group at a hut at 1 Km. The pain in my foot slowly got to me. I slowed down my pace as I was approaching the gate. Got into a bus and that was the end of my experience.

I was disappointed that I did not reach to the summit. At that time, I made the right decision for not continuing. I was taking responsibility of my own health and I would not want to jeopardise that. My right ankle was already swollen in the afternoon. It hurt a lot and that made it difficult for me to walk.

The next morning, when I woke up, my whole body screamed in pain. My legs were sore and still are until today. I brought it to hospital on Sunday and doctor gave me Naproxene Sodium. After 24hrs consuming the pills, I swear now both of my feet are swollen.

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