XPDC Mt Kinabalu Thru Mesilau : May 2008

On 3rd May 2008, took an AirAsia flight from LCCT to Kota Kinabalu. Upon arrival, we checked-in into Trekkers Lodge in the middle of KK town .. nice, cozy place for budget trekkers n easy access to town area. What more could u ask ?

Next morning : Getting ready to go out for excursion ..

Rented 2 vans with drivers included ..

First stop was Lok Kawi Wildlife Park ..

Then drive up to Monsopiad Cultural Village ..

Cultural performance by the locals .. ramai gak arr tourists kat situ .. ;)

Tengkorak2 lama tergantung kat siling .. ada jugak yg diorg simpan dalam balang / pasu .. Katanya tengkorak ni bukan mak nenek punya, tp kepunyaan 'mangsa' yg ditetak semasa 'peperangan' .. Perghh ganah ! But now they say they r more civilized n xbuat centu lagi .. fuuh legaa .. ;)

Ulat sagu .. yum yum .. ;) Leh kalahkan Bear Grylls of Man Vs Wild .. ;)

Amboiih ! The Semutar Man diapit 3 gadis jelitawan keturunan kaum Monsopiad ! .. tersenyum lebar sampai ke hujung telinga tuu .. huhu ;)

On the way to Kundasang .. one of the vans broke down .. so we decided to perform solat Asar first kat tepi 'highway' .. nasib baik kat situ ada sumber air bersih dari celah2 batu .. Tq Allah kerana memudahkan ;)

Tiba di Zoraini Homestay @ Kundasang .. this is where we spent the nite ..

The next morning ..

Had a simple breakfast n relax2 kat luar rumah bersama geng trekkers dlm kategori "veteran but young at heart" - (from left) : Abd Azmi, yours truly n Che Jan .. sambil menghirup udara bersih di kaki Gunung Kinabalu .. ;)

Keadaan ruang tamu yg cozy dalam rumah Homestay .. felt just like home !

Tu dia .. Gunung Kinabalu as a backdrop ! The white wooden house was where we stayed last nite ..

Time to move on .. after breakfast we continue our excursion .. In the background is Kundasang village .. ;)

Melawat Sabah Tea .. Kat sini lah Che Jan lost his Motorola handphone. Cari punya cari, sampai akhir xjumpa .. Last2 geram punya pasal dia beli set baru kat KK .. huhu ;)

Pastu singgah Poring Hot Spring .. utk celup2 kaki kat dalam air panas semulajadi !

One for the album .. at Poring Hot Spring HQ ..

Late evening : checked-in Bishop Head at Mesilau Resort .. an alternative entrance to Gunung Kinabalu. The main n more popular entrance was thru the Timpohon Gate at the Kinabalu Park HQ (which is abt 15km away from Mesilau by road) ..

Next morning : getting ready to climb Mt Kinabalu !

Pagi tu ada 3 gp panjat Gunung from Mesilau . This one here was Japanese trekkers sedang warming up exercises .. ada yg dah agak berumur, tp masih mantop !

Listening to briefings n climbing tips by our Mountain Guide (the guy with orange T-shirt on the left)  ..

KPTM Trekkers dengan penuh semangat .. KPTM Boleh !

Group photo after reciting doa selamat before the hike .. ;)

Bro Sofian Hashim giving thumbs up .. all systems go !

Baru 1km .. Long way to go bro .. ;)

Trekking trails di peringkat awal kebanyakkannya akar2 kayu n agak licin ..

Pekena apple dulu .. utk basahkan anak tekak !

Pokok2 kat sini mmg colorful ..

Brehat seketika ..

Our Guide (in orange shirt) ..

Breathtaking views ..

Suasana cantek mcm ni hanya dpt dikecapi kalau ikut Mesilau trails .. U won't get this if u take the Timpohon trails to the summit .. ;)

MasyaAllah .. sgt canteq anugerah Allah ! At this altitude, the air is misty, cool n refreshing. Kalau boleh nak terus jer dok kat situ .. ;)

Photographers haven ! Only thru the Mesilau trails .. ;)

4.5km .. at 2,898m ASL (above sea level) .. ;)

Asmah negotiating a sharp corner at the tip of the mountain .. silap haribulan boleh tergolek ke bawah gaung (on the right).. ;)

One of the 'pit stop' .. actually this Pondok Villosa (2963m ASL) is one of the many pondoks they built along the trails to the summit .. there is one pondok for every 500m intervals .. some with water source (clean but untreated) .. ;)

At 5km ..

Alhamdulillah ..walaupun kekadang ada kabus tebal, but clear sky all the way ;)

Tiba jer level above 3000m ASL, mula trasa kesejukan thp luar biasa .. Oxygen level also getting thinner .. Strong winds n poor soil causes the surrounding trees to become stunted. Though small n dwarfed, many of them r already 100 yrs old ! Klu xpcaya, leh tanya Guide tuh .. huhu ;)

Kayuh lagi .. Trek kat level atas byk pokok2 renek yg jenis lasak boleh hidup dlm cuaca sejuk n kering.

Layaaann .. Just a few more steps to go .. c'mon u can do it !

Yeah .. we made it ! This was Azmi's first climb to Kinabalu .. my 3rd ! .. huhu ;)

Above the clouds .. with Azmi in his favorite Lakers windbreaker purple jacket .. ;)

Relax kejap kat Waras Hut .. ada gak geng kami yg 'tahap kewarasannya boleh dipertikaikan' tidur kat sini .. Sbb pondok ni xder heater .. boleh beku weh .. huhu ;)

When we arrived at Laban Rata (3300m ASL), the temperature was 9.8 degrees .. sejuk giler !

The only cafeteria at Laban Rata .. full of trekkers at all times .. mostly foreigners .. ;)

Blasah nasi goreng dgn harga RM12.50 sepinggan .. ;) After dinner we slept early .. esok ada cabaran lebih besar !

The next morning : Woke up as early as 0200hrs to prepare for the big climb to the summit ! After a short briefing n head count by our Guide we started our ascent at 0230 hrs ! Still very dark n cold ! Sunggoh mencabar trekking dalam kegelapan, wajib ada headlights !

After Sayat-Sayat (the last check point) many of us started to experience shortness of breath as the air was getting thinner n thinner. This is normal at that altitude. Dgn udara semakin nipis kita cepat rasa ngantuk n penat. Bagi yg kurang fit, ambil lah regular short break, then continue .. kayuh pelan2 .. slowly but surely !

Kayuh punya kayuh, finally we reached Km 8.0 at 3929m ASL ! dah kira dekat sgt dah tu dgn puncak Kinabalu .. ;) Walaupun puncak nampak dekat tapi mak aii .. Bak kata pepatah - so near yet so far ! From this point onwards, muscle or physical power comes 2nd or 3rd, u need strong fighting spirit n mental power to make it to the summit !

The white rope serves both as safety n guide, very useful when the surface is wet n slippery .. otherwise, climbers seldom use it ;)

Puncak kat belakang tu ialah St John's Peak (4090m ASL) .. ;)

Donkey Ears Peak (at 4054m ASL) at the backdrop ..

Taking a breather at Km 8.5 at 4008m ASL ! Senafas jer lagi utk ke puncak .. ;) Tabik springg kat Liana Alias !

The final last leg .. laluan mencanak atas ketulan batu yg licin ..

Alhamdulillah .. Takbiir - Allahu akbar ! finally reached the Mt Kinabalu summit at 4095m ASL
!

The popular landmark at Low's Peak - the most sough after by trekkers around the world ! Note: Gunting Bin Lagadan was the first local man to set foot at Kinabalu summit .. caiyok !