Places I've Been

Cold Hike in the Dark to the Summit

At 3 am, the group braved the cold and the dark, and headed up the mountain. It was a very slow process, as there were groups ahead of us, slowly crawling up the mountain. Some of the slower hikers let people pass, but there were plenty who stopped and sat in the middle of the trail while they caught their breath. Some even laid down!

I stayed with the German couple until we reached the ropes section. While on a narrow ledge, I wedged my foot into a crack and couldn't move it. They kept moving for their safety. It took 2 guides to help me dislodge my foot and get moving again. I was probably stuck for less than a minute, but it seemed like an eternity and really shook my confidence. I uneasily finished the rope section, feeling like I was about to fall in a couple of places.

When I finally got off that section, my entire body was shaking and all my energy was drained. I really wanted to turn around and go back, but that wasn't possible until all the climbers going up were off the ropes. So I forged forward, making my way to the Sayat-Sayat check point and registering. I was there plenty early and allowed to continue to the summit.

Slowly, I trudged upward, passing people too exhausted to continue.

I was still about 400 m from the summit as I started to see the sun rise. I continued forward, my fingers frozen in my gloves.

At 200 m before the summit, the sun was above the horizon and climbing. I could see other hikers crowded at the summit and a few were just starting their descent. The last 200 m consisted of scrambling and climbing up boulders. I knew I could make it to the summit - I just wasn't sure how I would get back down!

I decided to worry about one direction at a time, and continued forward. By the time I reached the summit, I could no longer feel my fingers and could barely move them. I pulled off a glove to check for frostbite, but they were just cold.

Smiling happily at the top, before making my way back down. I'm glad I climbed up in the dark, because had I known how scary it would be coming back down, I'm not sure I would have done it!

(All the pictures are from the summit and back down, since it was too dark on the way up to see anything).

Back down to safety

I slowly made my way back from the summit and to Laban Rata guesthouse. The three girls who took the Timpohan Trail to the rest house, hadn't made it to the summit and were just getting ready to head back down when I arrived at the guesthouse. The German couple had made it to the summit and had arrived about 20 minutes before me. They already ate breakfast (again) and were taking a nap. I decided to stick with them and had a warm cup of coffee, a second breakfast, and then took a half hour nap before heading the rest of the way down the mountain. Just as we left the guest house, it started raining (and pretty much rained the whole rest of the way down).

Rest stops were every km on the Timpohan Trail and provided a semi-dry place to rest out of the rain. There were also bathrooms here, but luckily I never had to use one.

I knew when I saw Carson falls, I was only 500m from the end, and my knees would get a break since most of the rest was uphill!

After a warm lunch, we checked into a hotel for the night, where I had my own room, a hot shower, and a warm bed. I survived!!

View of the mountain from my room's patio. The next morning it was time to catch the bus for my next adventure. Hopefully I won't have to run for it, since my legs are really tired!

Jungle Camp

After a few cold days in the mountains, I looked forward to the heat of the jungles.

I decided to stay in the Tungog Rainforest Eco-camp on the Kinebatangan River.

While there, I volunteered a little by clearing paths. They actually trusted me with a machete!! I had a blast!

I also got a river tour where I saw lots of wildlife - birds and various monkeys.

Between walking the paths that I was clearing and taking a few night walks, I also saw lots and lots of my favorite animals - invertebrates! I was in arthropod heaven!

Batu Puteh - Cultural day and home stay

I arrived in the village of Batu Puteh for a day of culture and to spend the night with one of the villagers and their family. I didn't take a picture of the home where I stayed, but it looked quite similar to these.

While in the village, I played with a bunch of kids, plus played volleyball with older kids and some younger adults. It was quite fun.

I also got a cooking lesson on how to make my favorite dessert - Puteri Mandi cakes (they were out of the usual green food coloring, so we made them pink instead).