Tough mountain descent in the rain with heavy pack

❗Continued from previous post❗

Final : Part 2️⃣

☀️Day 2:

At 6:30am, we gathered for check-out and waited for the driver. After that, we took about an hour to reach Kinabalu Park, where we deposited our luggage and collected our lunch boxes. We also registered for the climb and handed over our climbing bags to the porter (1kg = RM13). Then, we took a car to Timpohan Gate, where we started our climb.

📍Timpohan Gate - 2km: It was quite tough for me as I had not fully acclimatized to the altitude. I experienced shortness of breath and increased heart rate, and on top of that, I had to carry an 8kg climbing bag which added to the strain. My back was sore and my shoulders were aching. I even threw up twice (note: don't eat too much for breakfast). I felt like I was going to die, but fortunately, a friend swapped bags with me, and I felt much better with his lighter bag.

📍2-4km: I gradually adjusted to the altitude, and the climb became easier. We walked and rested, slowly making our way up the endless yellow muddy trail and stairs until we reached Layang-layang checkpoint (4km), where we rested for 30 minutes and had lunch (lunch box: meat, bread, egg, and vegetables).

📍4-6km: We continued our climb, which was still endless, but it was less tiring this time. There were more rocky paths, and the scenery was truly beautiful 😍. I started climbing around 9:15 am and finally reached halfway (Panalaban Resthouse) at 2:35 pm.

From 4:30 pm to 7:00 pm was dinner time, which was a buffet. I ate a lot and recharged myself during this time (note: they only allow one hour of charging). After dinner, we took some photos and went back to the dorm to rest and chat. ❌There was no hot water at the halfway point, so I do not recommend taking a shower as it was really cold. You can just wipe yourself clean.

☀️Day 3:

📍1:30 am: We woke up and prepared breakfast.

📍2:15 am: We had a briefing, and then we started our final ascent. At the beginning, I felt my heart rate increase, but after 5-10 minutes, I was fine, and my breathing became easier as I climbed slowly.

📍3:50 am: We reached Sayat-sayat checkpoint and rested for 15 minutes before continuing our climb.

📍5:35 am: We successfully reached the summit! We stayed there for over an hour, taking photos, drinking tea, recording the sunrise, and then slowly started to descend.

📍9:10 am: We reached halfway and rested for breakfast, packed our bags, and checked out by 10:30 am.

(For me, the final 2km climb was not as difficult as the 7km climb on the first day. It was quite easy to climb slowly and steadily once I got used to the altitude.)

📍11:45 am: We started to descend. I must say that going down was even harder than climbing up. I carried my own 8kg bag, and as soon as I took a few steps, my back started to ache, and my shoulders were sore. It was raining heavily, and I was slowly walking, experiencing pain in my calves, knees, back, and shoulders, all while getting soaked in the rain. I managed to make it down with sheer willpower that I managed to make it down, as I was the last one in our group and had a guide with me. My guide, on the other hand, played games throughout the descent and found it easy. The contrast between us was striking, as I had a face that looked like I was dying.

📍5:30 pm: Finally, we arrived. We had to pay an extra fee of RM30 per hour to our guide for arriving after 4 pm. We split the cost of two hours (RM60) among five people since we all arrived at almost the same time. After changing clothes, the driver took us back to KK town. They had prepared lunch for us, which we ate in the car.

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