My Sabah Adventure Part 2

Dear Diary,

I have told you about the backpack that was lost. It was found and returned to the rightful owner merely hours before we started our climb. I am sure it was probably the best news for the owner. So there we were all packed up and ready to go. We were told to get ready by 530am which all of us did. However, the drivers did not wake up on time and we had to wait for more than an hour. I was pissed. There I was, already sleep deprived the days before and when I was punctual, I had to wait for people who did not take punctuality seriously.

We had no choice but to wait. He was the one to drive us to Kinabalu Park. There was no taxi in Kundasang. Furthermore, we had hired them to drive us. Apparently, I was not the only one who was pissed. We finally left the hostel at 7am. The registration for the climb took forever. Forms which we could fill up earlier should have been given to us the night before to speed up the registration process. I was somewhat disappointed with the organiser. He has done it so many times and I wonder why he is still not efficient. There were many things I saw he did not handle well and I do not think I will ever follow him again.

The climb was as usual. I had done it 21 years ago when I was 19. I did not remember much about the climb. It was so long ago I could not recall. I climbed at my own pace. Everybody has their own pace. I did not try to follow anybody’s pace. I was always alone. Sarah and Nad were far behind I did not even saw them. I felt different during the climb. I really did not think it was AMS but I think I had been attacked with AMS. I felt nausea and always felt like throwing up. That feeling slowed me down. I was not tired and I knew I had trained enough for this trip, there were no reasons for me to get tired. But there was something that held me back. I did not have to struggle but I always felt uncomfortable, like there was something in my throat waiting to come out. It made me sick. Nevertheless, I made it to Laban Rata. I was in the first group to arrive out of 25 people.

I was the only foreigner in the group so I had to sleep in a different hostel. I shared the room with another hiker from the Philippines. She was pretty and sweet, easy to communicate. She minded her own business while I did the same. We woke up at 1am and prepared for the second part of the climb. It was cold. I felt better when I moved as my body produces heat. Nad and Sarah were nowhere to be seen. They were far behind me but I could not wait for them as I had to hike at my own pace.    

  

The terrain was easy in this second part of the climb but the strong wind and cold made it difficult. Again I was attacked by AMS and that made it even worst. While I was walking I was seeing double and I felt so dizzy. I felt like throwing up but I was afraid to do so as Kinabalu does not have any trees or grass. It is a very clean mountain. We were told that we are not allowed to pee or poo anywhere on the mountain. I held back my urge to vomit and continued the climb. I walked slowly as I really felt uncomfortable with everything. The wind was too strong for me I felt the chill on my face. I did not have any face mask with me but my fleece jacket had this long neck warmer that I could pull up to my face. It really helped me a lot. My legs were not tired at all but the AMS was slowing me down.

I did not remember feeling like this 21 years ago. I was not told about AMS when I climbed it 21 years ago. The world climate has definitely changed and I could feel the vast differences between now and then. I was not prepared for this. I had prepared myself physically for this climb but not AMS. I had to admit defeat to it but I was determined to complete my task. I dropped myself to my knees, I covered my face with my palms and I kneeled down blocking the wind from blowing into my face. I was about to go to sleep when I heard someone calling out to me. It was a stranger about 3 meters away from me. He checked on me and that woke me up. I got up to my feet and asked him if we were still far. He said no and I knew that was a lie. I nodded to him and I told myself, I have come this far and I am not going to give up. I had to finish this climb. If I could do it 21 years ago, I could still do it now. I dragged my feet, how slow I was, I did not stop anymore. I just kept on going and going.

While I was walking, I visualized myself at the summit by the signboards. I carried on with whatever there was left in me to complete. I knew I still had so much strength but my perseverance was dampening. I did not know AMS had to be taken seriously. I kept telling myself I did take precautions. I hiked slowly, I did not rush myself, I took panadol before the climb but I still got it. I continued walking and I ignored all the negative thoughts I had. The last 20 meters was challenging. I did not remember having to climb vertically like this to the summit. I think they have changed the summit of Kinabalu since the earthquake. I honestly do not remember this part of the climb.

I paused a while, I took my time climbing to reach the peak. I was not panting but I was simply nausea. I had to throw up. I knew I had to. I reached the summit eventually at 610am. I waited until the peak was clear to take some pictures. I hated it. It was crowded with climbers and space was small. Taking pictures was difficult especially when climbers refused to get down from the summit. They hung around there as though there was so much space! I had only 3 pictures of mine with the signboard. I figured that was enough. There surely must be one picture that would turn out good, I said to myself.

I made my way back down after taking the pictures. I met Sarah with one of our guides and I told the guide I wanted to vomit. He told me to go ahead and not to hold it back. Upon hearing that, I looked for a suitable place and I threw up. I felt such relief after that. I made it Diary. It was difficult compared to 21 years ago. We lose energy as we aged and I am honestly proud of myself. I am proud because I beat many others who were younger than I am. I would not say I was the fastest but I was always in the first group. My physical training paid off and I have never been so proud of my achievements. Alhamdulillah, I still have the strength and can carry on hiking at this age. Nothing is greater than Allah’s will. I am grateful and thankful. The struggle ends when the gratitude begins.

PS: I do not rush things anymore.

Love, Me