Climbing Mt. Kinabalu
July 10, 2008
Climbing Mt. Kinabalu (4,095 meters) was one of the most challenging things I’ve done. On Day 1 we hiked uphill for 7 hours through the jungle and then above the treeline. We camped at the park facilities and woke up at 2AM the next morning for the ascent to the summit. The goal was to arrive by sunrise, so we started uphill in the dark and made our way with headlamps. Climbing this mountain was more than just hiking to the top. There were walls of rock, ropes to climb and no harnesses. All this as we approached the 4000 meters mark and were feeling the effects of high altitude. It began to rain heavily as we headed out and then suddenly it cleared and we could see a sky full of stars. After the most vertical climbs I just started to walk uphill, stop to breath and then continued walking. I could see shooting stars in the sky and it was sheer will power that brought me to the base of the final push to the summit which involved climbing large boulders. Even though we were close to the equator, it was freezing at the top and I couldn’t stay up there very long. After we returned to the camp for breakfast we spent 3 hours walking downhill with sore legs to where we got the bus to our hotel for the night.
Next: Two days at a jungle camp
