So the following morning, we were up at 130am… freezing cold. Brushed our teeth and splashed icy cold water on our faces and off we went. It was just pitch black, so that’s why no photos. Plus we were just too busy to take any photos really. It was a lot of steps (surprise, surprise…), and it’s really steep steps and after that, there is like 700m of danger zone where regular folks like us will have to use the ropes to assist us to climb up the slabs of granite, on the side of the mountain. A good pair of waterproof gloves will come in really handy at this point because you’ll be grabbing ropes and will be on your paws. I really don’t remember what or where I was going as it was really that dark, all I saw was the as far as my headlamp’s light. But take that as a blessing in disguise, because if you saw how high and the the path you have to climb you’ll probably turn back. I know I would… Coz coming back down, I really was shocked and scared even… I don’t remember coming this way! After the danger zone, we arrived at the Sayat Sayat check point to take attendance. This is where everybody is counted for and if you fee ill and think you cannot continue, this is your chicken exit! 
After we left Sayat Sayat, that was when I really struggled. The air was thin and temperature quickly dropped, the wind was really strong. I found it hard to breathe and my head started hurting from the altitude (I think). But the guide assured me that that was all ok and it’s normal. The trick is to just keep taking small breaths and keep moving, taking baby steps. But I stopped often and honestly even contemplated on giving up. But my guide was really good, no he didn’t encourage me to go on… infact he kept saying to me, ” Ah..Macam mana moi? Kalau tak boleh, mari kita turn la.” (If you can’t continue anymore, come let’s just make our way back) all the way to the top! All the while standing next to me smoking his Sempoerna A. 
I felt like a tiny snail…crawling up to the summit. I don’t think I’ve ever pushed myself so hard before. The whole time looking at the trail of headlights all the way to the summit. It really can be quite discouraging or encouraging, depends on which you choose (if you know what I mean). I kept wondering which of those is Pat and Justine’s light as they have left me and went ahead for quite some time already.
At this point John (my guide) has quit his reverse psychology on me and just stood at a distance to make sure I was safe. I just kept counting my breaths and baby steps… challenging myself to take more steps in between the breaths… LOL! That’s got me through really!
Although I was not on the summit to watch the sunrise but I think I was just about 100km away from the summit… I stood there alone and had that moment to myself. The feeling is so surreal… a truly humbling moment to witness such beauty, standing on this magnificent mountain. I stood there and smiled to myself, I made it (well almost)… Even John gave me a small smile… 
and he said “Ah mari lah ke atas!! ” (Come! To the top!) He practically dragged me up to the top! I was just too tired already.
When I reached the top, Pat, Justine and Micheal was already there. Jeff joined is a little later. The view from the summit was just so amazing! It was not a clear morning, in fact it was very misty and initially we couldn’t even see South Peak and Donkey’s Ear’s Peak. But it was still So beautiful, with all the mist rolling over and around the mountains… feel like we’re in on top of the clouds, so magical! The guides told us that we were in fact lucky to see this as it’s not very often this happens even for them it’s rare. 
Sigh!!
Here are the photos…
And a little later, the mist started to clear and we got to take more photos of the surrounding mountains.The view on the way back is even more amazing as it bright by then and we could see the view of the town below us. The view is just of breathtaking beauty…
Then we started our decent back to Sayat Sayat Check Point at about 8am so that we can have our breakfast at laban Rata, check out and start our hike down.
Going down was painful… I gave my walking stick to Jeff coz he looks like he needed it more than I do. Age before beauty… LOL! But it was tough. Pat’s knees were hurting too. It started to rain heavily at the final 3km to the end. So we were all soaked through. So it was cold and wet… Not very nice. But we finally made to the Timpohon gate at about 5 or 6pm.
It was really a memorable, drama filled but exciting adventure for me. Many people ask me if I’ll do it again… Well, initially I said NO! But if you ask me now again, I might just say yes… if the company is right. The ext question people will ask me is Tahan or Kinabalu.. which is more difficult. Well, I would say generally Tahan is more challenging… I’ll blog about that in another post though… Another question is… So where next? I don’t know really.. That depends, and also it might be awhile now as the person responsible for all my hiking adventures is about to be a Daddy soon and he will have new challenges ahead of him that does not require his hiking boots.
So it was power bars and dried fruit all the way… I was craving for some carb!!! When I caught a glimpse of Laban Rata… it was such a relief, I actually had to stand on my feet in silence for a moment to gather myself. Somewhere along the last 2 km, I was feeling like… when is this gonna end… Am I ever gonna get there?
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