25 MAY 2006 TO 28 MAY 2006 (UNFULFILLED WISH, SO NEAR YET SO FAR)
25 MAY 2006
Departed from Low Cost Carriage Terminal (LCCT), Sepang to Terminal 2, Kota Kinabalu International Airport at time 0700. Arived at Kota Kinabalu after 2.25 hours flight. Travelled around Kota Kinabalu for some shopping before departed to Kinabalu National Park. Arrived at Nabalu, a small town before the Kinabalu National Park at time 1300. Had lunch at a restaurant near the Kinabalu National Park. At time 1445, we departed to Mesilau Resort. Stayed for a night at Mesilau Resort.
26 MAY 2006
Date: 26/5/2006
Time: 0826
Activity: Mountain climbing, Mt. Kinabalu
Distance: 10.72 km from Mesilau Resort to the summit, if you are using the Timpohon gate, the distance is 8.72 km. From Mesilau Resort to Laban Rata resthouse = 8 km, From Timpohon gate to Laban Rata resthouse = 6 km
Departed from Low Cost Carriage Terminal (LCCT), Sepang to Terminal 2, Kota Kinabalu International Airport at time 0700. Arived at Kota Kinabalu after 2.25 hours flight. Travelled around Kota Kinabalu for some shopping before departed to Kinabalu National Park. Arrived at Nabalu, a small town before the Kinabalu National Park at time 1300. Had lunch at a restaurant near the Kinabalu National Park. At time 1445, we departed to Mesilau Resort. Stayed for a night at Mesilau Resort.
26 MAY 2006
Date: 26/5/2006
Time: 0826
Activity: Mountain climbing, Mt. Kinabalu
Distance: 10.72 km from Mesilau Resort to the summit, if you are using the Timpohon gate, the distance is 8.72 km. From Mesilau Resort to Laban Rata resthouse = 8 km, From Timpohon gate to Laban Rata resthouse = 6 km
Height: 4,095.2 metres (13,435 feet)
Location: Mesilau trail, Mesilau Resort
Mission: To reach the summit the next day before the sun rises
Who: Fang Hau, Tony Quay, Francis Toh, Kelvin Lee, Toh Saw Gin, Michael Siow, Elyna Tan, Lim Ho Ming, Lee Li Li, Agnes Chong, Ong Yong Sen and Yong Kar Leong
Equipment: Hiking boots, knapsack, windbreaker, poncho, sweater, torchlight and digital camera
It has been my wish to witness the sunrise from Low’s peak since my first attempt in 1995. This was my third time attempting this mountain. In 1995 and 1996, I managed to reach the summit but missed the sun rise as my pace was too slow and at that time I was not physically fit.
This time, we were allowed to hike at our own pace (we need not go in one group) as everyone has different level of fitness. The journey from Mesilau trail started at time 0826. The first 1.5 km was an uphill and followed by downhill after the distance. After 1 km, there was a shelter, Pondok Schima. Stopped there to have breakfast and snap some photos. Later, the journey continued to the next shelter, Pondok Bambu located after the 2 km mark. Arrived at Pondok Bambu at time 0933. Stopped there to have early lunch and snap some photos.
The journey continued to the next shelter, Pondok Nepenthes, located after 2.5 km mark. Arrived at Pondok Nephentes at time 1014. Stopped there for some food and snap photos. Later, continued the journey to the next shelter, Pondok Tikalod located after 3.5 km mark. Arrived at Pondok Tikalod at time 1044. Stopped there for some food and snap photos.
After the fourth stop, I decided to increase my hiking pace from a relax pace to average pace. Arrived at Pondok Lompoyou, located after the 4.5 km mark, at time 1156. Stopped there to snap photos and later continued the journey to the next shelter, Pondok Magnolia, located after 5.5 km mark. Stopped there to nap photos and later continued the journey to the T-junction. In 1995 and 1996, the T-junction did not exist and the Mesilau route was opened after year 2000.
At the T-junction, if you turn left, you will come down to Timpohon Gate. If you turn right, you will reach Laban Rata rest house. After reaching the T-junction, I felt bored with the hike to Laban Rata as the view was not that nice as compared to the Mesilau route. I felt bored and decided to listen to my MP3 player while hiking. The songs really motivated me to keep on going at a faster pace. I won’t listen to MP3 player if going for hiking at other mountain as it is too risky to do so. Arrived at the next shelter, Pondok Villosa, located after the T-junction and 4.5 km mark of the Timpohon trail, at time 1337. Decided to snap some photos before continuing to the next shelter.
Later, I continued my journey to the next shelter, Pondok Paka, located after 5 km mark of the Timpohon trail. Arrived at Pondok Paka at time 1400. Decided to snap some photos before continuing the journey. Fifty metres before reaching Laban Rata rest house, there was a sudden heavy rain. I did not have sufficient time to retrieve my poncho. When I retrieved my poncho from my knapsack, my body was already wet due to exposure to the rain. At that time, the weather was cold and I was sweating. Arrived at Laban Rata rest house at time 1438. Had my second lunch and then slept for a few hours. Later in the evening, I woke up to witness the sun set and had my dinner. I slept at time 2000.
27 MAY 2006
When I woke up, I had headache. I still remember in 1995 and 1996 when I reach Laban Rata rest house, I had headache and I took Panadol. The next day, I was fine and I managed to continue up to Low’s peak. This time early in the morning, I had headache. I guess it could be due to the cold I caught as a result of body exposure to heavy rain before reaching Laban Rata rest house yesterday. I really wanted to climb up to Low’s peak to witness the sunrise. I could still remember clearly what my teacher cum outdoor instructor, Mr. Zolkifly Abdul Majid, mentioned to the students in 1995. “If you have fever or headache, never ever attempt to climb this mountain as it may cause you further complications.” I decided not to take the risk in hiking up beyond Laban Rata as it I did not want to cause any further complication to myself and Tony (the team leader and organiser). After having my breakfast, I was even advised by one of the guide to rest and not to proceed when I was seeing other team members departing from Laban Rata rest house to the summit. At that time, I told myself that the question of reaching the summit was not so important. What was important was my own safety. I guess I made the right choice of not going up the summit when I had headache.
After resting for a few hours, I woke up at time 0500 and prepared myself to witness the sunrise from Laban Rata. The sun began to rise at time 0545. The view was magnificent. The weather in the morning was quite cold around 9 degree celcious. At time 0745, I was in the rest house to wait for the rest of the members to arrive. Had my lunch at time 1045. With the permission from Tony, at time 1059, I departed from Laban Rata rest house to Timpohon gate. I just wanted to reach Timpohon gate as fast as possible. So I decided to run instead of walking down. On the way down from Laban Rata rest house to the T-junction, the trail was slippery (due to rain) and steep. I could not run but only descend at a fast pace. It took me almost an hour from Laban Rata rest house to reach the T-junction. After that, I ran all the way down to Timpohon gate. Arrived at Timpohon gate at time 1252. Had to wait for a few hours (I guess three to four hours) for the rest of the members to reach Timpohon gate.
Later departed to Poring Hot Spring (my third time coming to this place) to stay overnight at the hostel.
28 MAY 2006
Woke up in the morning at time 0745 went to the hot spring to soak my legs inside. Later had breakfast. The next activity was hiking to the canopy walk. Departed from Poring Hot Spring at time 1120. Arrived at Kota Kinabalu at time 1330 to have seafood lunch. Later went to Filipino market to shop around. Left Terminal 2 of Kota Kinabalu International Airport at time 1850 for Kuala Lumpur. Arrived at LCCT, KLIA at time 2103.
Notes:
I managed to recall some of my experience in climbing Mt. Kinabalu (first mountain climbing trip) in 1995 from my log book. Here is the summary of my experience.
Date: 29/11/1995
Location: Timpohon gate
Start time: 0820
Distance: 8.72 km from Timpohon gate to the summit
Location: Mesilau trail, Mesilau Resort
Mission: To reach the summit the next day before the sun rises
Who: Fang Hau, Tony Quay, Francis Toh, Kelvin Lee, Toh Saw Gin, Michael Siow, Elyna Tan, Lim Ho Ming, Lee Li Li, Agnes Chong, Ong Yong Sen and Yong Kar Leong
Equipment: Hiking boots, knapsack, windbreaker, poncho, sweater, torchlight and digital camera
It has been my wish to witness the sunrise from Low’s peak since my first attempt in 1995. This was my third time attempting this mountain. In 1995 and 1996, I managed to reach the summit but missed the sun rise as my pace was too slow and at that time I was not physically fit.
This time, we were allowed to hike at our own pace (we need not go in one group) as everyone has different level of fitness. The journey from Mesilau trail started at time 0826. The first 1.5 km was an uphill and followed by downhill after the distance. After 1 km, there was a shelter, Pondok Schima. Stopped there to have breakfast and snap some photos. Later, the journey continued to the next shelter, Pondok Bambu located after the 2 km mark. Arrived at Pondok Bambu at time 0933. Stopped there to have early lunch and snap some photos.
The journey continued to the next shelter, Pondok Nepenthes, located after 2.5 km mark. Arrived at Pondok Nephentes at time 1014. Stopped there for some food and snap photos. Later, continued the journey to the next shelter, Pondok Tikalod located after 3.5 km mark. Arrived at Pondok Tikalod at time 1044. Stopped there for some food and snap photos.
After the fourth stop, I decided to increase my hiking pace from a relax pace to average pace. Arrived at Pondok Lompoyou, located after the 4.5 km mark, at time 1156. Stopped there to snap photos and later continued the journey to the next shelter, Pondok Magnolia, located after 5.5 km mark. Stopped there to nap photos and later continued the journey to the T-junction. In 1995 and 1996, the T-junction did not exist and the Mesilau route was opened after year 2000.
At the T-junction, if you turn left, you will come down to Timpohon Gate. If you turn right, you will reach Laban Rata rest house. After reaching the T-junction, I felt bored with the hike to Laban Rata as the view was not that nice as compared to the Mesilau route. I felt bored and decided to listen to my MP3 player while hiking. The songs really motivated me to keep on going at a faster pace. I won’t listen to MP3 player if going for hiking at other mountain as it is too risky to do so. Arrived at the next shelter, Pondok Villosa, located after the T-junction and 4.5 km mark of the Timpohon trail, at time 1337. Decided to snap some photos before continuing to the next shelter.
Later, I continued my journey to the next shelter, Pondok Paka, located after 5 km mark of the Timpohon trail. Arrived at Pondok Paka at time 1400. Decided to snap some photos before continuing the journey. Fifty metres before reaching Laban Rata rest house, there was a sudden heavy rain. I did not have sufficient time to retrieve my poncho. When I retrieved my poncho from my knapsack, my body was already wet due to exposure to the rain. At that time, the weather was cold and I was sweating. Arrived at Laban Rata rest house at time 1438. Had my second lunch and then slept for a few hours. Later in the evening, I woke up to witness the sun set and had my dinner. I slept at time 2000.
27 MAY 2006
When I woke up, I had headache. I still remember in 1995 and 1996 when I reach Laban Rata rest house, I had headache and I took Panadol. The next day, I was fine and I managed to continue up to Low’s peak. This time early in the morning, I had headache. I guess it could be due to the cold I caught as a result of body exposure to heavy rain before reaching Laban Rata rest house yesterday. I really wanted to climb up to Low’s peak to witness the sunrise. I could still remember clearly what my teacher cum outdoor instructor, Mr. Zolkifly Abdul Majid, mentioned to the students in 1995. “If you have fever or headache, never ever attempt to climb this mountain as it may cause you further complications.” I decided not to take the risk in hiking up beyond Laban Rata as it I did not want to cause any further complication to myself and Tony (the team leader and organiser). After having my breakfast, I was even advised by one of the guide to rest and not to proceed when I was seeing other team members departing from Laban Rata rest house to the summit. At that time, I told myself that the question of reaching the summit was not so important. What was important was my own safety. I guess I made the right choice of not going up the summit when I had headache.
After resting for a few hours, I woke up at time 0500 and prepared myself to witness the sunrise from Laban Rata. The sun began to rise at time 0545. The view was magnificent. The weather in the morning was quite cold around 9 degree celcious. At time 0745, I was in the rest house to wait for the rest of the members to arrive. Had my lunch at time 1045. With the permission from Tony, at time 1059, I departed from Laban Rata rest house to Timpohon gate. I just wanted to reach Timpohon gate as fast as possible. So I decided to run instead of walking down. On the way down from Laban Rata rest house to the T-junction, the trail was slippery (due to rain) and steep. I could not run but only descend at a fast pace. It took me almost an hour from Laban Rata rest house to reach the T-junction. After that, I ran all the way down to Timpohon gate. Arrived at Timpohon gate at time 1252. Had to wait for a few hours (I guess three to four hours) for the rest of the members to reach Timpohon gate.
Later departed to Poring Hot Spring (my third time coming to this place) to stay overnight at the hostel.
28 MAY 2006
Woke up in the morning at time 0745 went to the hot spring to soak my legs inside. Later had breakfast. The next activity was hiking to the canopy walk. Departed from Poring Hot Spring at time 1120. Arrived at Kota Kinabalu at time 1330 to have seafood lunch. Later went to Filipino market to shop around. Left Terminal 2 of Kota Kinabalu International Airport at time 1850 for Kuala Lumpur. Arrived at LCCT, KLIA at time 2103.
Notes:
I managed to recall some of my experience in climbing Mt. Kinabalu (first mountain climbing trip) in 1995 from my log book. Here is the summary of my experience.
Date: 29/11/1995
Location: Timpohon gate
Start time: 0820
Distance: 8.72 km from Timpohon gate to the summit
Height: 4,101 metres (13,455 feet) (at that time that was the height of the recognised height of the mountain before it was measured using sophisticated equipment a few years later)
Timpohon gate to First Trail Shelter (Kandis Shelter) (15 minutes) (time 0820 to 0835) passing through Carson Falls and rested for a minute.
First Trail Shelter (Kandis Shelter) to Second Trail Shelter (Ubah Shelter) (12 minutes) (time 0836 to 0848).
Second Trail Shelter (Ubah Shelter) to Third Trail Shelter (Lowii Shelter) Arrived at time 0917.
Third Trail Shelter (Lowii Shelter) to Fourth Trail Shelter (Carson Camp, now called Mempening Shelter) Arrived at time 1002. After the third shelter onwards, had to use walking stick provided by the guide as my legs were too tired.
Fourth Trail Shelter (Carson Camp) to Fifth Trail Shelter (Villosa Shelter) Arrived at time 1047. Rested for five minutes.
Fifth Trail Shelter (Villosa Shelter) to Sixth Trail Shelter (Paka Cave Shelter) (50 minutes) (time 1052 to 1142)
Sixth Trail Shelter (Paka Cave Shelter) to Laban Rata rest house Arrived at time 1300.
Total time taken: 4 hr 40 min
Temperature: 15 degree celcius
Date: 30/11/1995
Location: Laban Rata rest house
Start time: 0300
Arrive time at Low’s peak: 0617
Time taken: 3 hr 17 min
Temperature: 3 degree celcius
Low’s Peak to Laban Rata rest house (2 hr 10 min) (Time 0700 to 0910)
Laban Rata rest house to Timpohon gate (2 hr 20 min) (Time 1020 to 1240)
I lost my log book for the 1996 expedition. What I could remember was I took almost 6 hours from Timpohon gate to Laban Rata rest house on 28/12/1996. The next day, the journey started at time 0300 and I arrived at the summit at time 0700. From Laban Rata rest house, I took 2 hr 9 min to reach Timpohon gate. I only walked down at a faster pace.
This time I took 1 hr 53 min from Laban Rata rest house to Timpohon gate. I ran down most of the time.
Although the Mesilau route was 2 km extra, the view from the Mesilau route was magnificent as compared with the Timpohon trail.
It has been almost 11 years since my first attempt and this was my first time I did not reach the summit due to conditions beyond my control. I have yet to witness the sunrise from Low’s peak. I don’t know when I will be able to do so in the future.
To me the question of witnessing the sunrise from the summit is not important as the safety aspect is the most important consideration. If you are not feeling well, do not take the risk in climbing. There is still another chance in the future.
I’ll be back to this mountain again one day. I’ll keep on trying until I manage to fulfil my wish of witnessing the sun rise from Low’s peak.
Timpohon gate to First Trail Shelter (Kandis Shelter) (15 minutes) (time 0820 to 0835) passing through Carson Falls and rested for a minute.
First Trail Shelter (Kandis Shelter) to Second Trail Shelter (Ubah Shelter) (12 minutes) (time 0836 to 0848).
Second Trail Shelter (Ubah Shelter) to Third Trail Shelter (Lowii Shelter) Arrived at time 0917.
Third Trail Shelter (Lowii Shelter) to Fourth Trail Shelter (Carson Camp, now called Mempening Shelter) Arrived at time 1002. After the third shelter onwards, had to use walking stick provided by the guide as my legs were too tired.
Fourth Trail Shelter (Carson Camp) to Fifth Trail Shelter (Villosa Shelter) Arrived at time 1047. Rested for five minutes.
Fifth Trail Shelter (Villosa Shelter) to Sixth Trail Shelter (Paka Cave Shelter) (50 minutes) (time 1052 to 1142)
Sixth Trail Shelter (Paka Cave Shelter) to Laban Rata rest house Arrived at time 1300.
Total time taken: 4 hr 40 min
Temperature: 15 degree celcius
Date: 30/11/1995
Location: Laban Rata rest house
Start time: 0300
Arrive time at Low’s peak: 0617
Time taken: 3 hr 17 min
Temperature: 3 degree celcius
Low’s Peak to Laban Rata rest house (2 hr 10 min) (Time 0700 to 0910)
Laban Rata rest house to Timpohon gate (2 hr 20 min) (Time 1020 to 1240)
I lost my log book for the 1996 expedition. What I could remember was I took almost 6 hours from Timpohon gate to Laban Rata rest house on 28/12/1996. The next day, the journey started at time 0300 and I arrived at the summit at time 0700. From Laban Rata rest house, I took 2 hr 9 min to reach Timpohon gate. I only walked down at a faster pace.
This time I took 1 hr 53 min from Laban Rata rest house to Timpohon gate. I ran down most of the time.
Although the Mesilau route was 2 km extra, the view from the Mesilau route was magnificent as compared with the Timpohon trail.
It has been almost 11 years since my first attempt and this was my first time I did not reach the summit due to conditions beyond my control. I have yet to witness the sunrise from Low’s peak. I don’t know when I will be able to do so in the future.
To me the question of witnessing the sunrise from the summit is not important as the safety aspect is the most important consideration. If you are not feeling well, do not take the risk in climbing. There is still another chance in the future.
I’ll be back to this mountain again one day. I’ll keep on trying until I manage to fulfil my wish of witnessing the sun rise from Low’s peak.
posted by fhlim at 4:13 am
1 Comments:
Hmm I love the idea behind this website, very unique.
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