KK Trip - Did I Conquer Mount KK? Finally

I know some of you hv been eagerly awaiting for my final part of the KK trip. I read some of the comments from my unhappy readers as well. This blog is not dead just that I took some time off to settle some personal issue of my own (which I would share in my next update).

Ok, back to my KK trip and yes, I know you still wanting to know if I managed to conquer mount KK, well then read on. From KK, you will need to drive about 1.5 hours to get to Kinabalu Park whereby the mount KK is located. At first, Chee Wee & I wanted to take taxi to get there but then the taxi driver is charging us RM150 for 1 way. OMG! That's RM300 for return trip. So we decided to rent a car & drive there. We have asked around & everyone been telling us that it is quite easy to get there becos there's only 1 way to get there & that's why! So to cut the long story short, we arrived at Kinabalu Park & register ourselves at the counter, pay for insurance RM35 per person, climbing permit RM5 per person and RM70 for a mountain guide.

At 10.50am, we started our journey going up & it is a 6km climb to reach Laban Rata where we would crash for a night before continuing the journey to the peak. We used the Timpohon trail instead of the Mersilau trail. The latter is a longer trail (8km to Laban Rata) compared to the former & knowing that this is my first time, I wouldn't want to test my limit as I think 6km uphill would be tough leave alone 8km. While in KL, I don't even bother to walk/run for 1km & now I need to climb 6km uphill - help me God!



We started well, we reached the 1km checkpoint quite fast and thereafter I started to struggle, I barely walk more than 20 steps before stopping to rest. Chee Wee was still going strong but he waited for me. We kept going & we had a hard stop at 3km checkpoint & started to replenish our energy, I took 1 packet of Power Gel & bread and continued the journey after that. I felt much better after that...I managed to reach 5km checkpoint without too much sweat - I guess the Power Gel is working well for me. We reached Laban Rata at around 3.30pm and it was windy & cold up there. We hung around & took some pics & went for makan. The foods are quite expensive there, nasi goreng cina costs RM12 becos they need to pay some poor Kadazan guys to carry the Gas Cylinder & walk 6km up to Laban Rata. Actually we can pay these people RM6.60 per kg to carry our stuff but we didnt bring much stuff so we just carry our own stuff. 1 Gas Cylinder is about 50kg, I would imagine the restaurant in Laban Rata has to pay RM330 for them to carry the Gas. Well, of cos they could get some discount though but I really respect these Kadazan people who can carry 50kg & yet walk 6km up becos 5kg would be a BIG problem for me oledi :P





After makan, hung around the empty land outside the restaurant, took pics & enjoyed the breeze. It started to get very cold & windy at 6pm and then we finally checked in to our little hut (Waras Hut) which is slightly below the Laban Rata restaurant and it has NO heater!!! F*king BIG mistake by Chee Wee. Never ever book hut/room in Laban rata without heater!!! I was shivering the whole time & hid under the thick blankets & slowly getting tired. I almost felt asleep & then "KNNCCB" betul becos another group of ppl who used the Mersilau trail arrived at our hut & was "cry father, cry mother" (making hell of a noise) there. After that I can't sleep becos there was a fat bastard in my room who snore non-stop the whole night. The best part is that when he woke up, he said, "damn, i can't really sleep yesterday, too cold". WTF!!! Been snoring the whole night & said he can't sleep???


Laban Rata Rest House




I Believe I Can Fly???



Since I cant sleep & it was blardy cold then, I woke Chee Wee up & we both warm ourselves up at the kitchen. We turned on the stove to keep ourselves warm until 1.30am & then we started packing for our uphill climb.

We walked up to the Laban Rata restaurant and reached there at 1.45am & waited until 2.10am to laid our hands on some foods. I can't eat much though, feeling tired, sleepy, weak & moody at that time. All I am thinking was let's do this & get it over. At 2.50am, we started our journey, it's another 2.8km to go. I was thinking I managed 6km so what is 2.8km? There is where I was very wrong, the 2.8km uphill is very steep & there road is very rocky - at times you will need to pull yourself up using the rope provided. I remember most of the parts are about 45 degree steep and few parts are 60 degree steep. I was sneezing, feeling dizzy & sleepy while walking up because it was very cold & I didn't get enuf sleep. After 1km, I felt like giving up, I was telling myself that I should be at home lying on the couch watching my fav movies rather than be here to pay & suffer!!! Then Chee Wee conned me, he told me 500m ahead, the road will be less steep & really easy to walk...I trusted him but deep down I know he is trying to motivate me as I look up I don't think there will be any part of the journey whereby it is not steep. But then for every 5-8 steps I took, I'll have to stop & rest as the air is quite thin & I'm really tired. Long story short, after 2 hrs of cursing & walking, we finally reached the peak. Little wonder why they call the peak of Mount KK the "Low's Peak".

There is nothing at Low's Peak except for a mahjong table size platform with 2 signboards that say it is Low's Peak. Everyone is busy getting on that tiny platform to take pics. There was a big group of Korean there & they are busy posing, changing formation, changing camera, etc. to take pics there while many of us are waiting for them in the cold. It was 2 degree celsius then & with the strong wind blowing, it was really really cold. After waiting for about 15 mins, we finally got the chance to stand on the platform & take pics. At that moment, I just remembered everyone in South East Asia is below my feet...hmm what a great feeling but it is being spoilt by the cold weather & my tireness.


I Got It Made!

Soon after that we rushed down becos it is really cold up there. On the way down, I took the time to enjoy the view there as it was really beautiful & since I wont be going there again (remember the suffering???), I might as well enjoy the breathtaking views there :P







After 2hrs, we reached Laban Rata & rested 1 hour there before continuing our journey downhill this time. We took almost 4 hrs to get back down to Kinabalu Park. I have mentally prepare myself for uphill climb but I totally ignore about downhill. In fact I found downhill is more challenging than uphill as I can't feel my legs half way coming down. Going downhill is more dangerous as it is easily for you to slip/twist your ankles as the rocky road was quite slippery & uneven. Overall, it was a good experience & I managed to prove to myself that I'm quite fit considering the fact that I didn't train up for the climb yet I managed to conquer Mount KK - yeah, that's my bragging right at least until you managed to conquer it then we will talk :P

Proof of My Bragging Right :P