I reached Mt. Kinabalu’s Lowe’s Peak at around quarter to 7am, meeting several of my (fast) team mates who were already going down.
I looked at my watch thinking I need to make the cut-off time at Sayat-sayat for the Ferrata, so I have an hour to get down to km7 or known as the checkpoint.
Can I make it on time considering the steep descent, rope segments and my knees?
Thankfully, I did not suffer headache, a symptom of altitude sickness which meant I was able to cope with altitude.
I asked a fellow hiker who was already going down to take photos of me with the signage, he gladly obliged.
He even asked me if the shots he took were okay, I smiled and said yes, thank you and he left me to catch up with his buddy.
I was left alone at the peak.
Looking at the vast granite floor in front of me was like looking at a dead landscape, stone laid out in a flat fashion smoothed by elements of nature.
No trees in sight, beyond that are mountain ranges that composes the landscape of Kota Kinabalu then the clouds and the bluest sky.
The sky felt so near that in my mind, if I decided to reach out I can touch it.
I looked at the other side and saw a huge caldera and the rising boulders and I wish I could stay a little bit longer, the beauty was so eerily captivating.
I can feel the euphoria taking over my being.
But 10 minutes was gone too soon and I started my descent, meeting several of my friends midway, I congratulated them and said “I need to get down”, I was in a rush that I forgot to take a photo of them, a photo of us, to celebrate with them the joy of reaching the top.
I think I would always regret that, a lesson learned.
Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: Ven Going Places: 2016 In Retrospect - MT. KINABALU
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