Heng’s Gaming Blog

We were high up in the mountains, if it can be said to be high up. We were shrouded in mists and we had no idea how high we were or how high we still need to go. Our taxi passed by a canyon and the driver pointed out to us where kinabalu mountain would be seen if it wasn’t for the mists. It was a sign of things to come, a mountainous task ahead of us masked by our own naivity and ignorance. The tallest mountain in Southeast Asia and we had no idea how far we need to go. We checked in the base camp resort and its normal casual outlook belied the gruelling trekking ahead - climbing Mount Kinabalu.

God Mountain, the chinese called it. Locals believe Gods reside on the mountain. The briefing the night before by the mountain ranger should have prepared us but it did not. 6 kilometres of uphill trekking, often steep and treacherous, to reach the halfway house. 2.5 kilometres of more climbing by stairs and ropes among rocky outcrops to reach the peak. Finally 8.5 kilometres all the way down on the same day. The fact that we will be doing more trekking than we ever did in a month still didn’t hit us. We were young and energetic, what’s trekking half a day to us?

Morning 8am. The sight of the immense Kinabalu mountain finally greets us. Freed from the mists, she rose majestically, reaching towards the heavens, dwarfing the surroundings. A giant among pgymies, 8.5km to go.

We reach the Timpohon gate, the beginning of our trekking, the point of no return. The guide was surprised:"no porter to help carry your bags?" A warning flag was raised.

First 10 minutes, easy downhill. no biggie. Next 30 minutes, uphill, huffing, puffing, thin air, cramp. A pain shot through the muscle. The cells gasps for oxygen, the lungs gasps for air. We had not made 1km and already the mountain gods conspired to halt our ascent. My ascent. A calf muscle had suddenly gone rigid. My toes pointed downwards and can’t be flexed. 1km and it felt like going up Batu Caves 10 times. And we were still going up. 50 more Batu Caves to go.

2km. Seriously doubting that I’m able to make it. Progress slowed to a trickle. Muscles were sore and wobbly. We can’t stop as the guide warned us that our muscle will cool down - we might be crippled by a cramp. No one is stopping. My brain stops working. The aching body is ignored. We soldiered on.

3km. We actually made good time. We reached the halfway point before lunch time. Keep breathing, that’s the key. What’s that? Rain? Shit.

4km. Hot and sweaty on the inside? Check. Cold and dripping wet on the outside? Check. Mind? Blank.

5km. Left foot up. Breathe in. Right foot up. Breathe out. Repeat ad infinitum… Pain? What pain? It takes all my concentration just to stabilise my wobbling legs.

6km. Halfway lodge in sight. I’m not running, left leg forward, right leg forward, breathe, breathe.

Lodge. I collapsed on chair, I was wet all over, sweat mingle with rain. A dismal spirit matched with a dismal sky. I have 2.5km more to go the next day?!

Next day 2am morning. We woke up refreshed and tackled the rest of the journey. I went at two paces a second and through sheer determination and blanking out of pain, managed to reach the top.

Breathtaking view, though I missed the sunrise by an hour. My final progress was slow and had to clamber over boulders and rock surfaces. My teeth were chattering to the cold biting wind but I was there! Tallest peak!

The rest of the way down was a blur. We made better time going down and there were no more thin air complications. The muscle ache was there and our legs were jelly. But still we soldier on. 8km, 7km, 6km… 2km, 1km, home free!

I’ve never felt so exhausted and relieved that the ordeal is over. I felt that the whole journey was 10% physical fitness and 90% mental determination. My legs were jelly for one week after the climb. It’s a challenge that I’m proud to have met and overcame. I’ve conquered Mount Kinabalu!

Note: Just a footnote, cause this is a gaming blog. I brought Lost Cities to play at Kinabalu. But didn’t get the chance as we were too tired anyway. Nvm, we’ll play it next time!

This entry was posted on Friday, May 12th, 2006 at 3:11 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.