THE LONG WAY TO MOUNT KINABALU… AND BACK.
By: Ton Buenviaje

Mount Kinabalu started to fascinate me when I was on my way home from Mount Malinao in Albay with some co-climbers. It was a federation climb that tested our mettle in harsh and severe stormy condition, however, it's nothing compared to our (Mike and me) storm and "getting lost in the dark" experience in Mount Banahaw. That one is still the best, or the worst, that I have been into.

Once in Manila, I started to read a lot and surf the net about and around Kinabalu and we were able to draft a tentative itinerary and very tentative cost estimates which is just a bit higher than in going to Batanes or Palawan. While the two other destinations are as good and promised to be more comfortable and enjoyable, the former is preferred. There is pride in climbing mountains, much more the highest mountain in the place, in this case in the whole Southeast Asia. Eniweys, here' what happened:

Day 1. Sunday. 08 April 2001

Excitedly woke up at 1:30 AM, and in record 30 minutes time, we're (Malou and me) already on the way to the airport which we reached at exactly 2:32 AM another record time, if you're coming from Quezon City. We then realized that our flight is still at 4:50 AM. Start of our long wait (which characterized most of the trip). Reached Zamboanga at 6:40 AM, got some sleep at Sky Park Hotel and took the line to buy boat ticket to Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia.

The trip to Sandakan, Malaysia is on the next day, the ticket says it's at 2:00 PM and cost us P1,000. So we went around Zamboanga City. Nothing much to see there, went to barter trade, the beach and Fort something. We stayed most of the time sleeping or watching TV in our hotel, the Sky Park Hotel, the highest edifice here in Zamboanga. We then took our dinner at the penthouse with a view of the whole City.

Day 2. Monday. 09 April 2001

Checked out of the Hotel at 11:00 AM to get some food for the long trip to Sandakan (14 hours, we were informed) and we are already at the pier by 12:30 PM. We met a group of UP Mountaineers, they will be joining the Sabah Eco-Adventure Challenge 2001. It's an off-road biking, kayaking, rafting and trail running race. Sounds fun! We hang around with them in the boat.

Again we waited long before the boat finally left the Philippine shore at 6:37 PM. We've already eaten our supposedly food for the whole trip before the boat finally move. Earlier, fixers tried to mulct money from us to facilitate our immigration. No way, says me. The fixers are a bit annoying and intimidating until we dropped the name of former Immigration Chief Rufus Rodriguez, who happens to be one of my Law Professor. They left us in peace.

We met few other people in the boat with different intentions in going to Sabah. It's also nice to know people but that is not my primary concern at the moment. I want to climb Kinabalu and be with nature not people!

Day 3. Tuesday. 10 April 2001

Woke up early to catch sunrise. Galing! It's very colorful. I'm beginning to love sunrise too, but it's really rare to see beautiful sunrise. By the way, sunrise from the plane is also good, but nothing compared to this one! The first streak of light brought some surreal glow in the sky. Colors change from gray to violet to blue and all the hues in between. The moon is still visible and the brighter stars are just starting to fade.

No land yet in sight and occasional flying fishes dotted the big blue sea. We saw big splashes of water where the locals said to be school of big fishes, maybe tuna. The Captain announced that we will dock Sabah at about 10:15 AM. And we did. However, we again waited for the immigration to process all the papers and were only able to get through it at 1:30 PM. Ate brunch in the carinderia with Tagalog speaking attendants and hired a toyota hi-ace to kota kinabalu national park with the filipino eco-racers. The road is surprisingly good except in some small areas where improvements are ongoing. We reached the park at about 8:45 PM and checked in at Medang Hostel. The eco-racers proceeded to Kota Kinabalu. We shared our dorm-room with six Bruneians and we had a hearty conversations with them regarding the plans in climbing Kinabalu. Temperature is 14.2 degrees and our elevation is at 1415 meters. I fell asleep at about 10:30 PM after writing something in my travel logbook.

Day 4. Wednesday. 11 April 2001

Woke up with freezing hands. Took a quick freezing bath and then trooped to the information counter for our guide. Prior to that, I took some pictures of the façade of the mountain, we are about to climb. We missed the first group of climbers and we have no choice but to pay for our own mountain guide. That cost us additional RM60, aside from the RM107 for climbing fee, insurance etc. and RM25 bus transfer service. Eniweys, we started trekking to Laban Rata, six kilometers from the headquarters. The trail is good though very steep in some places. But it's really beautiful. Flowers and birds are on the both sides of the trail. We also saw squirrels foraging morsels of food left by trekkers. We arrived at Laban Rata after six hours and thirty minutes. We can go faster… really… but I, for one, wanted to savor the beauty of my surroundings (dami ko nga pictures sa trail e!). Second, mayabang kami e, we're almost full pack in going up, instead of bringing only the essentials for one night, we brought extra for emergencies (di kami tourists! If anything bad happens up there, we will be the one who will most likely to survive). Enough of the excuses, mabagal talaga kami… pero ang ganda nung mountain from Laban Rata, hahaha. While looking at it, I'm thinking the foolishness of my endeavour. It looked very solid, cold, slippery and unconquerable! The chill of fear and excitement is seeping to my bones! I actually looked at it for more than 10 minutes contemplating where the trail is!

Night falls and temperature outside fell to 13 degrees and the elevation is 3273 meters, about 200 meters higher than Philippines's highest mountain. We are fortunate to have a working heater in our room which we shared with a newly wed Singaporeans, buti na lang hindi sila sweet, inggit sana ako. We, I mean I, took a bath before retiring early in the evening considering our very early assault to the peak.

Day 5. Thursday. 12 April 2001 (Maundy Thursday)

Woke up at 2:00 AM, ate light breakfast and started our assault at about 3:00 AM. It's very cold and dark and the wind is wet. We are covered from head to foot or else we will freeze. Learning from our trek yesterday, we started earlier than most of the climbers, kami naman yung nauna, we don't want the peak to be crowded when we're there so we can take better pictures. The start of the trek is quite easy with good trail but after 30 minutes of walking, we start treading the rock surface I was staring the day before. While there are ropes to hang on or to help you climb, still the trek is hard due to darkness and cold and sometimes slippery rock. I miscalculated the weather and brought mittens like the one being sold in Banaue, it was not able to shield my hands from cold, so most of the time, my hands are in my jacket pockets.

We reached the peak before the break of first light, way ahead a lot of trekkers. We waited for the sunrise and then the bulk of the climbers arrived. We started our trek down after some photos and when the peak became too crowded. Near the peak, pools of waters trapped in the rocks are solid ice. I manage to "break some ice" with a Swedish girl in a cute orange jacket and pose for a picture with her.

We reached Laban Rata before 10:00 AM, packed our things and proceeded to Kota Kinabalu.

12 April 2001

I'm in a comfortable hotel in Kota Kinabalu with aircon and TV set. Well deserved after that back breaking trek to the mountain and back. BUT IT'S ALL WORTH IT! I don't know… but there's a gush of (wetness) emotions each time I'm near the summit of a mountain. Iba talaga ang feeling! You might say: "Ano naman ngayon, kung naka-akyat ako ng Kinabalu? Siguro wala lang!

Pero iba talaga ang feeling! Siguro isa ito sa mga kagaguhan ng tao, doing things out of the ordinary… getting a kick out of danger and hardship… siguro ulit, you can compare the feeling with being in-love, kagaguhan din lang naman talagang ma-in-love eh! Parang pag-akyat ng bundok lang yan, pero there's an extraordinary emotion or high in doing or being with these things.

Actually, life could be a lot simpler if we just go to the beach or hire a bitch!

Pero sabi nga: There is an intense but simple thrill in setting off in the morning on a mountain trail, knowing that everything you need is on your back. It is a confidence in having left the inessentials behind and of entering a world of natural beauty that has not been violated, where money has no value, and possessions are a deadweight. The person with the fewest possessions is the freest. - Paul Theroux,

I saw a t-shirt saying: "After climbing Mount Kinabalu, nothing is impossible." I did not believe it at first, but after second or third thoughts, I suddenly realized that with the right tools and ample time, nothing is impossible! They say: "Give me a lever long enough… and I will move the world." Or the saying that: "Give a monkey enough time in a room of computers, and it will write a Shakespeare."

EPILOGUE:

After Kinabalu, we went on a side trip to Brunei via boat. Mahal sa Brunei, di sarap food, hostile bruneians at wala namang masyadong makikita except for the famed Jehrudong Park. I might be wrong kasi we stayed only for a day, but one thing is for sure, kups mga Bruneians. We separated ways in Brunei, Malou went to Singapore and I returned to Sabah to visit the Orangutans in Sepilok and the Poring Hot Springs with three Europeans I met on the road. They invited me to join them to Turtle Island but I'm now short of budget and I might miss the boat to Zamboanga. We parted ways in Sandakan and I took the boat home. I again met the UPMs and we celebrated their second place victory by drinking beer all the way to Zamboanga.

My loggie notes on my trip:

Happiness is not found at the end of the road, it is truly experienced along the path.

To suffer woes which Hope thinks infinite; To forgive wrongs darker than death or night; To defy power which seems omnipotent; To love and bear, to hope till hope creates; From its own wreck, the thing it contemplates.

TIP in going there: If you have the money, never use the back door.