Crossing Over
At around 9:00 AM of the 11th of August 2005, nine mountaineers were already starting an adventure, not in the wilderness yet, but right into the heart of the Diosdado Macapagal Airport in Clark, Pampanga. Just getting through the checking section and the immigration officials is already a quest, not to mention the unexpected sum of taxes and fees we have to pull out from our slim financial plans. At this early stage, some heads were already beginning to boil over, but then again, the excitement of the imminent climb up to Low’s Peak of Mt. Kinabalu in Malaysia, simmered down most of us.
The team of ten mountaineers who are about to try to do something for the first time in their mountaineering lives came from four different clubs. Mary Anne, April, Grace, Jonas and Sherwin are from the Aesculapian Alpine Adventure Club (AAAC); Taddy is from the Aghoy Mountaineers; Apol is from the Globe Adventure Club (GAC) and; Gea, Beth and yours truly are from the Mountaineering and Exploration Society of Adamson University (MESAU), likewise, the latter is also a member of the North Wind Outdoor Recreation Club (NWORC).
Flight AK 502 landed at Kota Kinabalu International Airport minutes past the hour of 2:00 PM; from there we took an arranged transport to Trekkers Lodge located within the City. By 4:00 PM, the team was frantically probing the City for restaurants considering that their last full meal was taken at around 6:00 in the morning. Fortunately, we found one inside one of the malls. When evening came, one thought came to mind, a bottle of our local brandy, which I hoped earlier, would be waived out in the airport. And, as Filipino as ever, the single bottle was followed by several more, but this time, with some international brands.
Kota Kinabalu is the state capital of Sabah, and is frequently referred as “KK” in daily speech. Kota means City in the Malay language, and Kinabalu is taken from the famed Mt. Kinabalu, the highest mountain in South East Asia, with an elevation of 4,095.2 meters above sea level. It is located east of KK and is Malaysia’s first World Heritage Site.
To Kinabalu Natural Park
When all provisions were organized, another arranged transport took us to the Kinabalu Natural Park, where we are to spend another night before our trek on the next day. Likewise, the mandatory orientation will be conducted here.
The reserved Kinabalu Lodge was beyond my expectation. I was expecting typical lodges with garrison type beds, but to my delight, it has the amenities of a 3 star hotel, not to mention a fire place, a kitchen and a veranda that offers a vista of the peaks of Mt. Kinabalu.
Alas! Jump Off
Before 5:00 AM of the 13th of August, everybody was already busy fixing breakfast and lunch to be packed, except for me, who relatively slept way later than everybody. It was rather irresponsible for me to be acting this way, so I rose with a heavy head and as much as I can, fought the dizziness brought about by lack of sleep, and joined everybody in whatever it is they were doing.
Everybody was at the Park headquarters minutes after 7:00 AM. The sight outside the office is quite jovial, considering that all climbers coming from different parts of the world are there. You surely can’t miss the excitement and anxieties seen in their eyes as one kept moving constantly. But one thing separates this group of ten Filipinos from the rest of the crowd; we are to take a different trail on our first day of ascent. A trail, way… way… way difficult than that of Timpohon trail, which everybody is going to use. Later on the trail, we found out that a Korean couple shared with us the dreaded Mesilau trail, thus, having 12 gallant climbers in Mt. Kinabalu on that particular day.
Timpohon trail is the easiest route to Laban Rata - the base camp of Mt. Kinabalu. Just how easy it is? Well, even none mountaineers can easily climb up to Laban Rata using this trail. Seventy five percent of the Timpohon trail is made of stairway, accompanied with hand rails. This particular trail turns a would be adventure into a plain “walk in the park” experience, at least for the more serious outdoorsman. Perhaps, for the ordinary tourist, the route offers a different kind of adventure allowing for trekking on stairways to be quite wearing, even for us mountaineers.
The Mesilau trail is pretty similar to the trails of our very own Mt. Halcon. Laborious and precipitous are the precise words to describe it. It is longer than the Timpohon trail. This trail is rich in flora and fauna, not to mention the sum of gasping heard from one another while trekking. Personally, I would describe the trail as the conduit of lactic acid upsurge.
The team was at the Mesilau Nature Resort – the jump off point for the climb at around 9:00 AM. At that time, the jump off point is covered with heavy mist giving way to low temperature and an eerie feeling of the surrounding environment.
At a Snail’s Pace
After the first hour of the trek, the team was already slow as one team member came face to face with the perils of not having sufficient work out for the expedition. The supposed to be one hour per kilometer trek to Laban Rata was now way beyond realization. Tears even broke out during the middle fractions of the trek, simply implying that the Mesilau trail is not something to take too lightly.
One of the great things about this trail is that in every Pondok – the local term for shelter or gazebo, there is a rest room and source for potable water, consequently freeing your self from several kilograms of load for water provision. All you need to use is your averaged sized water canteens for trail water, but it wouldn’t hurt just the same if you still bring with you extra water containers for “what if situations.” Anyway, a mountaineer is always prepared for the worst circumstances.
The team reached “Layang-layang” between the hours of 4:00 and 5:00 PM. Layang-layang is the junction of the two climbing trails of Mt. Kinabalu and is the midpoint to Laban Rata via the Mesilau trail. From hereon, it is a little above four kilometers more to Laban Rata. Bearing in mind that the team is way beyond the itinerary, I decided to send off an advance team to Laban Rata in order to have meals prepared, believing that the tail will be concluding the trek for the day way beyond dinner time. Unfortunately, we learned later that the advance team wasn’t able to advance further.
The Push
The team started out at around 2:30 AM of the14th of August 2005. The atmosphere was unpleasantly cold but the exhilaration felt by every team member was rather adequate to provide them the much needed warmth to get it on.
At 5:00 AM, it was already anticipated that the team wouldn’t make it to the summit, in time for the sunrise. The team was once again trekking at a snail’s pace, brought about by their extreme desire to reach the top altogether and not living anyone behind. Getting yourself up the summit is a quest, but bringing everybody to the top is an immense undertaking for the whole team, especially for the team leader. My team wouldn’t be successful if a team member didn’t make it to the top. Personal achievement can be met easily, but team achievement is the underlying principle of this expedition. This is teamwork at work. This is camaraderie at its supreme degree.
Earlier, a theatrical scene transpired just above the “Sayang-Sayang” checkpoint. A team member was literally in tears. For all I know, the tears are not for the anguish being experienced at that time, but more of guilt for slowing the whole team, subsequently missing the sunrise. The teary eyed team member wanted to retire and sacrifice the opportunity of having achieved a daring feat.
It’s an honorable thing to do. If you feel that you’re already a burden to a group’s success and the reason that it continuously fails to achieve efficiency, then you should quit. Be considerate of others and grant them a favor.
Well, that works for companies or any agencies.
But mountaineers do it differently. Mountaineers are continuously subjected to different kinds of torment and tight situations necessitating swift and smart decisions every time they’re out in the wilderness, making them a cut above the rest, maybe in their offices or even in their neighborhood. What matters as a big quandary for some may be a simple fix to mountaineers. It comes with the training, experience and discipline as a true outdoorsman. Team work is always the spirit of any expedition. Quitting is not an option. The weakness of one should be the strength of the whole team. Pull them weaker ones up and help them.
The case of the teary eyed team member does not even qualify as a tight situation. Perhaps, for laymen it is. As a team leader during that expedition, my response response to her request to retire and head back to base camp didn’t even took a second. It was a whopping "NO." We came there as a team and we’re going to finish the quest as a team. If you must crawl to reach the summit, then I’ll crawl with you. These were the very words heard at that time of silence. The rest of the team couldn’t agree more. They were strong as a team as ever. And to Gohimin the guide, it’s what he admired most about us. Probably, he never ever saw this kind of teamwork in his 12 years of being a guide at the Kinabalu National Park. The team may be physically weak, but the heart is strong. That itself was sufficient enough to give us the necessary push to get everyone on top of Low’s Peak.
And, so we did.
The Agony of the Feet
Reaching the top of any mountain is just half of the pursuit. Getting down safe and sound covers the remaining half. It is the most precarious fraction of the expedition. Utmost precision in every step is vital and a simple blunder in one’s footing might send one rolling like a rock down the mountain into ravines, or if you’re blessed enough, might just end up in crutches or carried down. Letting gravity do the job made the trek down a little quicker and quite easy. The only effort being exerted at that time was controlling your body’s thrust downwards.
At an early stage of the final trek down, the team was already separated. Four team members decided to go on with their pace and pretty much gained a considerable distance between them and the tail. After two hours of being separated, it was decided that I go ahead and catch up with the four climbers, realizing that well experienced climbers were at the tail and none on the front.
Midway down the Timpohon trail, while trekking at a hasty pace; blisters start to build up in my feet, not to mention toenails beginning to pass away. My knees start to wear out as I trudge along to conclude the climb. At around 3:30 in the afternoon, I was able to catch up with the four team members, just below Layang-layang.
We crossed the Timpohon gate just before the hour of 5 in the afternoon. For us, the climb was concluded, but then again, for the team, it’s still a long way to go.
As we were about to rest our exhausted feet from the tiring sprint down, a team member came running to us and with a bad news. Suddenly, trepidations blanketed my sanity.
A team member overworked a knee, thus leading to an injury, further; the climbers at the tail are at a stall near the 3 kilometer mark. That’s the initial information we had, and right away decided to inform the Park officials.
Minutes later, we were able to gain contact with the tail trough our mobile phones. The tail is now in motion but at a very slow pace. With this information at hand, Gea and I geared up to go back for our buddies and attempt to administer extrication procedures. But as we were about to leave, Park Rescuers came running in the Timpohon gate.
Waiting and Praying
The hardest part of the moment was the wait. At moments like that, your senses start to wander. The “what ifs” and “what would you say” questions start to obscure your positive wits. As the second hand goes on with its its "tic-tac-tic-tac," the tenseness of the situation grows bigger and bigger. No words were spoken. No laughs heard. Not even a smirk could be seen. All you can notice are eyes that kept on sweeping the exit of the Timpohon gate. But, being the mountaineer from the suburbs of the Philippines, you struggle to fight those downbeat feelings and maintain your composure. Praying was the best thing do at the moment while one waits in stillness.
Minutes past the hour of 6:00 PM, the whole team was already complete at the Timpohon gate. It was the end of the climb and although a minimal mishap cropped up, everybody was well and safe. That was my sign of relief and an indication of a successful adventure.
Back to our Native Land
We were back in our country at around 4:00 PM of the 16th of August. For the last 6 days, we were filled with great moments in our lives and it sure will linger in our memories as long as we live. It was a brand new experience for all of us and the best thing is; we have scaled the highest peak in South East Asia. That itself is our most rewarding experience.
As for the writer, it is simply the start of another adventure. There are lots of mountains out there, yet so little time to climb. So, while I’m still at it, preparations are already being done for my next adventure. A “Peak Grabber” expedition to the highest peak in North East Asia , Mt. Yushan in Taiwan.
