Mount Kinabalu 06: Reaching the Low’s Peak

Mount Kinabalu is essentially a huge granite pitch that developed into molten rocks after million of years. Its granite composition and craggy peaks immediately came to view right after we reached the Sayat-Sayat Hut, the last shelter station in the mountain.

So near yet soooo far! Looking at the Low's Peak from below is as exhausting as the actual climb.

From the point were we witnessed the sunrise, we had to climb half kilometer more to reach the Low’s Peak, the summit of Mount Kinabalu. The summit was named after Sir Hugh Low, a British administrator, who according to stories, was the first explorer to climb Mt. Kinabalu in 1851.

I went to check on Charl but she wasn’t feeling any better. She decided not to continue the climb and asked Nani, our guide, to accompany her while she waited for me. I wanted to push and encourage her to go on but I could see that her condition was not good. She said she'll just wait for me until I come back from the summit.

Malapit na...konti na lang...konti na lang...mamatay na ako! I haven't reached the top and some of the climbers are already going down.

I looked up and saw some climbers were already descending from the Low’s Peak. I got discouraged for awhile. (Ano ba yan! Di pa nga ako nakakarating sa tuktok, pababa na sila!) Half kilometer seemed like a long way to go especially if you’ve been climbing for four hours already, hungry and gasping for air. My legs were also starting to wobble as I try to make a few more steps. (Buwiset kasing mga hagdanan yun, ang dami!).

The moon and the mountain

I looked around for something to motivate me-- a fervent reason for me to go on. I saw the moon still visible against the blue sky. Saying the scene was ‘beautiful’ is an understatement. Finally, I decided to climb the remaining distance. Small steps will get me to the top, I said to myself. (Dahan dahan lang. Pasasaan ba’t mararating ko din ang tuktok!)

Donkey Ears' Peak

Just like what I did during the start of the trail, I tried enjoying the view. Mount Kinabalu is a big dome consisting of various jagged rock formations. One of them is the Donkey Ears Peak (4054 m), one of the seven major peaks. Charl was able to immediately identify this peak from afar.

South Peak, one of the most photographed peaks in Mt. Kinabalu.

As I was making my climb to the summit, I try to look back every now and then. I don’t know why but it has been my habit to always look back. Maybe I was hoping Charl would pop-up into the scene and decide to climb with me. Anyway, all I saw when I looked back was the view of the South Peak and its striking granite composition.

NANI, our mountain guide. She climbs Mt. Kinabalu at least twice a week.

Charl did not turn up into the scene, but Nani did. Nani, our mountain guide, joined me as I was heading for the steep, rocky trail. I asked for Charl’s condition and she told me that she asked her son (also a mountain guide) to accompany her while we were making the climb to the summit. I was happy to see Nani. She is a tough lady to beat. At 4’11” and with such small body frame, she can carry a maximum of 20 kg of pack all the way to the summit. She climbs Mount Kinabalu at least twice a week so she had already memorized which specific trail is the easiest to traverse. She was helping me climb the Low’s Peak at a relatively faster phase without tiring myself too much. Her advice was to “climb with small and easy steps.” Sometimes, she would have to keep up with my phase because I had to climb and take photos all at the same time.

St. John's Peak

Nani showed me another peak, St. John’s Peak which is famous for its gorilla-face rock formation. It was named after Spencer St. John who was with Sir Hugh Low during the first Mount Kinabalu exploration.

The most photographed marker at Low's Peak. Climbers are always in a queue here. Aside from the certificate that they issue after the actual climb, a picture with this marker is one great proof that you've reached the summit.

After climbing the ragged cliff, the Low’s Peak marker came to view. I felt like crying! Not because I was feeling sentimental having reached the top, but because I was already feeling my lungs about to burst due to exhaustion. I was already thinking the long way back. (Naisip kong magpagulong-gulong na lang pababa ng summit kaso baka giniling na karne na ako pagkatapos!)

The terrifying mile-deep, Low's Gully which is located at the east side of the summit.

Located at the North side of the summit is the Low’s Gully. According to the story, this massive mountain was covered by huge sheets of ice and glaciers which flowed down its slopes, polishing its surface in the process and creating a terrifying mile-deep narrow valley (1,800 m deep). They say that in 1994, a group of British Army was hopelessly stranded in this gully for a month.

Mountain guides having some sunshine at the bottom of the Low's Peak. Nani (extreme left) is the only woman in the group. Such a tough lady!

After the monumental picture-taking at the Low’s Peak marker, Nani and I waited for awhile. I tried to catch my breath and enjoy the view. I met some nice people from Sarawak who asked me if I am Malaysian. There’s this guy who was kind enough to take our photos at the marker.

Mount Kinabalu 05: Catching the Sunrise

I set my alarm at 2 am. My friend Charl and I were sharing the room with Jasme, a Muslim man who asked us if he could use the space to pray. His hair-raising chant broke the cold silence. Charl barely slept through the night. The night in the mountain was freezing cold. I had three layers of clothes and my hands and feet could not feel a thing. I was already curling like a freezing madman under the low temperature. This is the reason why I can't live in a temperate country, I could not bear such cold.

Around 2:15 am we were having our breakfast at the Laban Rata Resthouse. I had one toast, some mouthful of noodles, and scrambled eggs. Charl woke up with a bad stomach so she barely ate anything.

The hike started at around 2:35 am traversing through the dark, narrow stair trails going through the summit. There was a long traffic of climbers that every now and then we had to stop to wait for those in the lead to move forward. After an hour or so, we reached the granite massif wherein we had to use a rope to climb a steep, rocky mountain. And because it was still dark, we had to rely on our headlights to lead us and pray to the high spirits not to fall on that deep-mile gulley just below us.

After more than an hour, we reached the alpine zone of Mouth Kinabalu. This part is occupied by various jagged, rocky peak formations. The trail all the way to the summit is elevated making it extra exhausting to climb. And because of the high altitude, breathing and recovering was difficult.

Reaching the 3929 m. marker, Charl was extremely exhausted. Due to the lack of enough sleep the night before and the bad stomach, which she has been enduring since early morning, she could not go on. AMS got her.

Half kilometer away from the Low’s Peak, we rested for awhile and watched as sunrise unfolded before our sullen eyes. Slowly, a bright orange light spread through the vast horizon illuminating the dark portions of the alpine zone. I’ve seen so many sunrise in my life. But this one is special. Everything seems special that Tuesday morning. ^_^

I am literally standing above the clouds and witnessing the streaks of that orange light seeps into the vast horizon.

It was still dusk but behind those granite peaks is the sun making its presence felt.

I patiently watch the color subsides as the sun streaks start to perforate.

Slowly, even the little grasses growing along the gaps and slopes of the rocky mountain become more visible to the naked eyes. Light is spreading faster than I had expected.

The ravine is damp because of the rain the night before. From here, you can see them like a fine white line enhancing the texture of the rocky mountain.

Clouds, mountains and more...

Next stop...the Low's Peak!

Mount Kinabalu 04: More Flora!

Excuse such indulgence but I really enjoyed posting this particular series on the flora which I found mostly at the foot of Mount Kinabalu. I specifically prepared two sets of entries just for the various species I found. It’s not a lot but it will do for now. The various zones in the mountain offered some of the richest vegetation and types ranging from the rich lowland dipterocarp zone through the montane oak, and conifer forests to the alpine meadow plants and stunted bushes of the summit zone.

I basically grew up in a forest. Well, it’s basically a garden that almost looks like a forest. My father has been a gardener all his life and my family has been well involved in growing fruit trees, ornamentals and a few flowering plants since as far as I could remember. And somehow, somewhere while traversing in the middle of the vast forest of Mount Kinabalu Park, I felt at home.

I found this particular plant at the start of the summit trail. They come in abundance all through out the route. What is interesting is that the edges of the leaves are specifically aligned with droplets of water. Looks really stunning. The plant has violet flowers too but I guest I was more enamored with the leaves.

This is another variety of the Nepenthes species but this one this smaller. It’s just the size of my thumb and almost inconspicuous among the bushes. But due to its vibrant color, it stood out somehow.

This species, which could belong to the family of the ferns, particularly got my interest because of the texture of the foliage. It looks and feels like plastic. It comes in various shades too. This one is the most common and the most vibrant for me.

This is another wild orchid which our guide specifically found for me. They call this the “Necklace Orchid” which looks like what I have posted yesterday but this one is yellow and a bit finer than yesterday’s white wild orchid.

I don’t know what this is called but like most species I found I try naming them for easy recall. I call this, “White Puffs” for obvious reason. I found them while descending from the summit and after experiencing some heavy rainfall.

I believe this belongs to the Theaceae family. These are buds (or fruits?) that would eventually bloom. They look like berries but I doubt if one can eat them.

This is one of the very few species I found at the granite massif. It grows in various spots of the rocky mountain and can easily be noticed with its colorful foliage.

Little yellow daises or the “Kinabalu Buttercup” which grow abundantly at the Laban Rata Resthouse. They look fresh and vibrant just after the rain.

I found this just below the Gunting Lagadan Hut which was all foggy and cold. They grow from a tree and looks really stunning from afar with all those bounty fruit-like blooms on top.

More Kinabalu Buttercup which I found growing in lush on my way to the Waras Hut. ^_^

Mount Kinabalu 03: The Rich Flora and Fauna

Climbing Mount Kinabalu is never a walk in the park. But definitely, you can make an effort to make it feel like one. Given the taxing effort of reaching the summit, one should never fail to look around and indulge in the beauty of the surrounding. It is amazing what you can see just by looking around.

The forests of Kinabalu Park are rich in flowers and plants, around 5,000 flowering plants had been catalogue to present day and many more new species are waiting to be discovered. I tried to be as observant and as keen as possibly I could and here are some of the species I found along the way. I never saw the layang-layang bird or the ever-famous Rafflesia but I've already seen them in my dreams. That would be enough for now.

From the Layang-layang Station, we could see a peak of the Mount Kinabalu framed in rich vegetations from the moss-covered trees to the wild flowers cosseted in lush green.

Our trek started way passed eight in the morning and early on, I already spotted little flowers growing at the side of the trail. Most of them were easy to miss either because they were too small to notice or they were covered with moss and leaves. Or could be that climbers are just too damn tired to even notice a tiny yellow daisy amongst the bushes.

The pitcher plants of the Nepenthes are perhaps the most popular plants at Kinabalu Park. There are about nine species of pitcher plants and most of them can be found at the altitude of 2,702 m to 3,200 m. A few species of the pitchers plants have the ability to eat small insects alive with its pitcher. These two were particularly found for us by our guide.

On our way to find the helipad, we found an abundance of white wild orchids growing along the muddy rocks. They were small and too simple to immediately notice but seeing them in abundance made a difference. They look better in person, trust me.

These are the theaceaes. They present almost all through out the trek. But the flowers are more abundant at 3,200 m altitude. Their foliages look like flowers too with all the colorful leaves.

Still from the Theaceae family, I found this at 2,702 m altitude hanging solidly along the trail.

This, I found while we were resting at the 5.0 KM mark. It belongs to a stunted tree.

The forest is also rich with wildberries.

I call this the “pinkblush”. I could not exactly remember where and how I chanced upon these but they really look pretty that even though I was exhausted, I had to stop and take photos.

Of course, climbing Mount Kinabalu will not be as fun and as memorable without encountering these squirrels. They hang around in places where there are food to squander. Advise: don’t feed them with your bare hands! They could nibble them too. ^_^

Mount Kinabalu 02: Continuing the trail to Panar Laban

Mountain and mist

At 5.0KM mark, I was already exhausted. I was feeling the thin air as we continued to ascend. Passing the misty part of the forest, we came to a relatively warm zone with all those stunted, scraggly-looking trees which were really fascinating to watch. At this point, we decided to rest for awhile and enjoy the view. Not far behind, we saw this beautiful mountain covered in mist amidst the blue sky.

A trail to the bushes

A helipad at the summit trail

We continued the trek following the marked trails. I was leading the pack when our guide, Nani, motioned me to divert toward another trail. She said she’s going to show us something. Going through a narrow path, we found a helipad which surprised me. So this means, people could actually go to Mount Kinabalu from this point to hike without going through the exhausting part. The helipad was just few kilometers away from the Laban Rata resthouse and most of the supplies are transported there via human strength. They hire people to carry huge packs and boxes of food to the lodges.

My favorite trail

We passed by another type of trail consisting of patches of huge stamped rocks. This was my favorite among the trails because they don’t conjure strains into my feet whenever I walk. They are also not that elevated and would not require that huge of steps unlike the stair trails. The stair trails are torturous that I could not help cursing every time I see them come to view.

Alas, the Laban Rata resthouse

View of the Mount Kinabalu from the Panar Laban

View of the island from Laban Rata

After we passed by the last shelter station to the Laban Rata, a heavy rain poured. This zone is the worst as we encountered a combination of torrential rain and mist. The weather has also become utterly cold. My hands started to get numb and the drops of rain became painful to bear. We found out later that we have experienced droplets of iced rain. No wonder, they were prickly painful.

The Waras Hut

Nice-looking trees covered in moss just in front of the Waras Hut

Watching the sunset before getting our final rest for the day

A few minutes more and the Waras Hut and Laban Rata came into view. It was extremely cold in this zone. Every gasp I made emitted some mist from my mouth. We got inside the Laban Rata to check-in, rest for awhile, and enjoy the view of the Mount Kinabalu which was a just few kilometers away. We waited for our dinner while chatting with the other foreign climbers we met along the way. Tomorrow morning, we will hike again!

Mount Kinabalu 01: The Summit Trail

Quick Facts:
Known in Malay as: Gunung Kinabalu
Location: Sabah, Borneo
Elevation: 4,095 m or 13,435 ft
Type: Granite (batholith)
Prominence: a World Heritage Site, tallest mountain in Malaysia and Borneo Island, 4th tallest mountain in Southeast Asia, and well-known for its rich flora and fauna

I’ve been wanting to climb Mount Kinbalu the first time I heard it. But I was never sure how would I do. Will I make it on top? I am a pessimist by nature and I worry too much. I’ve done a few mountain climbs before (Peak 2--the highest peak in Mt. Makiling; and Mt. Ampacao of Sagada in the North) but I’ve never done Mount Pulag or Mount Apo (highest peak in the Philippines) which to me, are the best preparations before climbing Mt. Kinabalu.

Internet searching tells me that despite its height, Mount Kinabalu “can be climbed easily by a person with good physical condition, and requires no mountaineering training.” I run regularly so I guess that would qualify me somehow. Still, I was doubtful.

Entering the Timpohon Gate, the start of the Summit Trail, which is also the checkpoint for every climber who want to reach the Low's Peak.

After entering the gate is a sketch of the Summit Trail. Every climber is required to have a guide (preferably 1-3 climbers per guide).

There are actually two trails that will lead climbers to the summit of Mt. Kinabalu: the Summit Trail and the Mesilau Trail. Although the first one is more popular, the latter is a more challenging trail with richer collections of flora and fauna. For first timers, I think it would be better to go for the Summit Trail.

Starting the trail

Rocky road

Rocky steps that get all muddy when it rains.

The summit trail to Mount Kinabalu is a mishmash of uneven and seemingly never-ending stair trails and a risky hike to the granite massif which will lead to the Sayat-Sayat Huts, the last shelter on the summit trail. Before reaching the summit, there are shelter stations with toilets, and drinking water.

Pondok Layang-Layang, one of the marked shelter stations where we took our lunch. It has its own toilet at the back and adjacent is a water tank marked "untreated" to replenish drinks.

Never-ending stair trails.

More stair trails

The climb took us two days to complete following an 8-mile stretch from the Timpohon Gate (1866 m) all the way to the Low’s Peak (4,095 m).

Start of the foggy trail

As we moved up to higher altitude, we noticed the changing of climate zones starting from lowland vegetation to the mountain oak (foggy part), coniferous forest to the alpine meadow plants, and all the way to the stunted bushes of the summit zone. The change in climate and altitude could subject climbers to altitude sickness or AMS (acute mountain sickness), ankle and knee injuries, stomach problems (maybe due to the untreated water from the mountain). Lucky for me, I never encountered any of those...except maybe insurmountable exhaustion and breathing problem at the summit zone.