Sabah trip 2010- Day 7 & 8

Day 07- 22/05/2010


The highlight of the trip finally arrived!

The day began at the park headquarters, where we were issued with the climbing permits...


It was then a short minibus ride to the official starting point- Timpohon Gate!

Set off!



The first part of the Climb was basically trekking along the rainforest trail with man-made steps.


Wilfred, our guide！


Resting at pondok:




The segment after the Layang-Layang pondok was a contrast to the previous rainforest trail. The terrain was replaced scrubby forest and rocky clayish ground, making the climb more taxing with the uneven track. View along the track was often obscured by heavy cloud...



Trees were bare of any leaves...



The Climb continued upwards to the plateau at 3273m where Laban Rata awaited!




It was then a sumptuous buffet dinner at Laban Rata. Slept at one of the huts, all of which were dormitory style, with two bunk beds to each room...

The guys' dorm...
New friend from Turkey~



Turned in at 8pm!

***
Day 08- 23/05/2010

Woke up at 1.30am and set off at around 2 am!

我要一步一步往上爬 等待阳光静静看着它的脸 (from Jay's song- 蜗牛)

The Climb from Laban Rata began with staircases built on the rock inclines...

After clambering up the endless flight of stairs, we emerged onto a small rocky plateau. A white rope that accompanied us to the Low's Peak began here. The rope was used to pull ourselves up parts of the treacherous rockface. A totally exhilarating experience!


We reached the Sayat-Sayat checkpoint, where our permits and registration were checked.

The gradient became steeper from this point. The actual terrain was flat, but climbers have to bend low to keep our balance. There was no defined trail from this point...


Altitude took its toll as rests became more frequent... The Climb became quite frustrating from here, because each time we thought we were near the top after what seemed to be a long climb, another long uphill presented itself... However, the view over the clouds and the valleys below were simply breathtaking and made all the effort worthwhile! :>





The distinct outline of the Low's Peak became apparent! The views in all directions were stunning even before reaching the top of Low's Peak, the South Peak in particular, which was very distinctive. The experience of seeing sunrise at almost 4000m is beyond description. All the effort were worth it. Awe-inspiring!




Us @ the Low's Peak (4095.2m)



The descent


It was harder to walk downhill than it is to climb uphill, totally...


Had a hearty breakfast at Laban Rata and we continued with the descent...

Sore legs were the limiting factors on the way down. The descent was made even more challenging with the rainstorm that hit halfway! And renowned for its flora and fauna, we encountered snake and the longest earthworms I've ever seen in my life on our way back to the starting point...

We reached the Timpohon Gate, registered with the park authorities that we've completed the climb, and took the minibus back to park headquarters... It was then a long ride back to KK Times Square...ZZZ

庆功宴!



The success of the highlight of the Sabah trip really called for a celebration!

The original plan of driving to the Tip of Borneo for day 9 was changed to hiring someone to drive us there because it's quite dangerous for us to drive there ourselves when we couldn't even walk properly...

All of us were zonked out after a long day so everyone turned in early that night...

to be continued- Day 9- Tip of Borneo! :>

photo credits: ah lian, david dumb, kiwi & myself