Mount Kota Kinabalu Hike

Road to Discovery

The Waiting Game

This I have to say is also an important time before any climb. You train your mind and body that you will embark on a journey that requires patience, a lot of willpower, and persistence. Being a non-athletic type of girl, exercise had to be enforced and laziness was always creeping up behind me. If not for my family and friends, I wouldn't have had any motivation to proceed. Let's go!
Tips: 

1. Do climbing exercises 2-3 months before. 20 minutes a day should be enough 3 times a week.

2. Hydrate yourself

The First Climb
The night before the climb, we stayed by the Lodges. The morning when you see the mountain in front of you was just beautiful. It was a beautiful day to climb. We had our quick breakfast and met up with our guide. Roland was very good with the area as he has been doing his job for the past 20 years. He gave us a few tips on how to climb to protect our knees as well as being patient when we rest every 5 minutes along the hike. Our climb to Laban Rata resthouse lasted for roughly 6 hours. The weather was still good and we ate our early dinner. The view from our resthouse was also amazing at night. 

Tips:

1. Bring warm outfits especially for gloves and socks - helps you sleep at the very cold night. 

2. Headlamps very useful

3. It's okay to rest every 5 minutes as long as you keep a steady pace. 

4. Don't give up

The Climb to the Peak

This leg of the journey is where your hard work of exercise and mind games comes to play. It is not an easy task, there were a few times that I wanted to back out. One of the reasons I didn't get to was because there were 10 other people behind you waiting for you to move forward on the rope area. So backing out was not an option. I want to give credit again to our guide, Roland who made sure we reach the checkpoint on time or that we don't lose hope in achieving that morning's goal. Now that I am recalling the event that took place, all I can remember are the last few rock climbs before we stepped on the peak sign - it was the most emotional part of my journey. It wasn't the view that made it emotional, it was the hard work and patience, retracing all the 2-3 months of doing tiring exercises after work which all made the climb worth it all. And of course, you just reached the end of your 4095 metres journey. 

Tip: 1. Don't give up

The Long Way Down

After having an emotional journey down the peak, we started our descent to Laban Rata. The view was beautiful. Amazing. Breathtaking. If only you could stay for a while longer but we had to reach the base camp before 4 pm so, after a quick late breakfast, the climb down began. It felt good going down because every time you come across another person going up, you can't help give them a thumbs up to tell them that they have reached this far. 

Tips: 1. Take Panadol Extra. Makes the climb down faster. Took us 4 hrs. and 2. Wear knee guards.

A few words from my Guest Blogger:

This journey would not have been possible if not for my friends, Tre, and Idel. Thank you for believing in me. Never in my life would I have dreamed that I can achieve something like this.

" My name is Katharina. Nurse by day, Student at night. Loves to write and dance. Eats french fries dipped in a vanilla sundae. Travels often but still afraid of flying ".

Have fun and be safe ^__^

Do you want more adventure?

Go ahead and check out my Backpacking Trip in Cambodia  and see the ruins of Angkor Wat

Where am I going next?

My next adventure is Krabi, Thailand, and swims with hundreds of star-like bioluminescent phytoplankton's under the sea because I just can't get enough of Thailand.