Kinabalu - World Heritage Site

After a gruelling two-hour bus ride from Kota Kinabalu to Kundasang only 80 km away I finally arrive. The views are gorgeous all the way, mountain tops appearing from behind the clouds, lush rainforests and valleys are a constant sight.




 Whose stupidly moronic freaking idea is it to pay a ton to walk up some stupid rocks, up to some stupid peak, continuously panting for air, eating power bars all day and finally getting a horribly sting in your knee? I paid for this so I'm doing it!

But it is still morning and I am all happy. I show up exactly at 8:00 at the Mesilau park entrance. The trail starts at around 1890m, and goes on for 8 km to Laban Rata at 2370m. Another 2.7 km on is Low's Peak at 4095m. These first 8 km are pretty uneventful, boring jungle-trek, clouds constantly moving up with me so the magnificent view is always obscured.

 On the way up I greet the people coming down from yesterdays' climb and they hell horrid stories for numbing coldness, pitch black and strong, mind-freezing winds. Sounds good.  

After 6 hours I finish the 8 km to Laban Rata. Time to rest till the second part of the climb. At  2 am, after putting on some warmer clothes - now at above 3200m - we continue our trek. Trees have given way to rocks; and all that marks the way now are the ropes to cling on to. Each sign marking another 0.5km is a picture worth taking.

Even though the climb is much easier now, a bit akin to the Frodo tour in Lord of the Rings, it is very tough. The air is thin, it is hard to breathe and I have to stop a bit every 100 or so meters. The only upside is that my guide is panting, wheezing as hard as I am. Or perhaps he's just faking it to make me happy? We'll never know.

6.15 am There, made it. Exhausted. Happy. Exalted at 4095.2m. Awesome.

I marvel at the astonishing beauty of this corner of Borneo, take a deep breath and think, I made it.

There isn't really anything else to do. The sun comes in and out of the clouds as they're constantly pushed up against the rocks.

After about half an hour we headed down.

 Going down is like hell itself. It is cold, the rocks slippery. It is cold. I said that already, but I must stress it again. It is cold. The gloves I bought come in handy to cling onto the ropes in case I slip - which I did.

At Laban Rata it's the stairs. Stairs made of wood, I hate them. I hate them so much I cannot even describe it in words how much I hate them. I really hate them. My left knee is hurting again. It is now sheer willpower that keeps me going. Every step down is horror on my knees, going up is like putting my quads in a furnace, yet as I put one foot down, the other follows. Don't really know what kept me going though, honestly. How much of a stupid idea I thought this on the way up, it is now much, much worse on the way down. Only stupidly idiotic crazies do this, not me. Why?

Finally, at 18:05 we reach the gate. I will walk no further. I am cold, hungry, thirsty, tired and just beaten to death. No one should do this, especially not pay for it. Honesly. I will testify if needed.