Borneo, Part III: Mount Kinabalu

Mount Kinabalu is the tallest mountain in Southeast Asia. It is located only a couple degrees latitude above the equator. At 4095 meters, Mount Kinabalu's summit is only a couple degrees above freezing. Heading to tropical Borneo, it seems strange to pack long underwear, mittens, and layers of warm clothing. But, we did; we were hiking the beast.

Hiking Mount Kinabalu is a two-day affair. The trail starts in the dense undergrowth of a tropical rainforest with more green than Bill Gates' bank account. There were many birds that made noises which we never actually saw. Oh, and I fulfilled my role in the food chain by having blood-suckng leeches do what they do best to my ankles. Now, I have a pair of socks in my drawer that are pinkish white and could just as well be reusable tourniquets.

About an hour into the first day's hiking it started raining. When I say raining I don't mean sprinkles and contemplation of getting an umbrella. I mean a sort of rain that would make Noah get flashbacks. We persevered and slowly and steeply made our way skyward toward the source of our frustration--the clouds. We passed out of the tropical forests and through many different ecosystems, eventually making it above the tree line. We reached our lodging for the night after 6 hours of hiking. We were cold, tired, and sopping wet. We had no dry clothes except our long underwear, which was perfect for public display and gazing at the best sunset I have ever seen.

We awoke at 2:30 am to start the final ascent of Mount Kinabalu in hopes of seeing a breath-taking sunrise. It turned out the only thing that was breath-taking was the journey itself. With so little oxygen that high, it was hard to go 30 steps without taking a mini-break and contemplating your sanity. It was invigoratingly freezing at the top of Southeast Asia. We waited for about 30 minutes as the sun was taking it's sweet time. Alas, the sun was blanketed over like I wish I was. We basically ran down the entire mountain in 4 hours and were back in Kota Kinabalu for our flight back to Japan later that day. Our knees were jellified, our bodies tenderized, and our lungs at full size. It was an awesome trek, and an even better trip.