Mount Kinabalu’s name remains shrouded in a mystery. From 1851 when Hugh Low and other climbers attempted the first recorded ascents they observed the local guides were carrying an assortment of charms and performing religious ceremonies upon reaching the summit. Since then there have been several traditional myths and legends recorded that tell the story as to why the guides revered and respected this ancient monolithic giant so much and why it was named as it was. “Aki Nabalu” or “Kina balu”

There are 2 reasons that give suggestion to why Mount Kinabalu was named as it was, the first is from the traditional tribes who believe that the mountain is essentially their version of “Heaven” or “Nirvana” with the original name being “Aki Nabalu” meaning “The revered place of the dead”. This is where their spirits go after death where they get sustenance from a moss that grows at the summit.

The second reason is attributed from the old story of “Kina Balu” where Kina translates as “China” and “Balu” means “Widow”. In one version of this tale there was said to have been a dragon guarding a precious and magical jewel at the summit of the mountain. Many Chinese soldiers had perished while attempting to relieve the dragon of its treasure and therefore many Chinese women became widows, thus the name Chinese Widow came about.

We arrived in Sabah a day before our climb and stayed at Kinabalu Park at 1585m to acclimate  before our hike the next day. After sorting our back packs and the porter bag and after an early dinner we hit the bed hoping to get a good rest before starting our journey the next day.

After going through the routine procedure of signing the indemnity form and getting our packed lunch,  we headed towards the Timpohon gate with our guide who was also our porter. We started from the gate roughly around 9.30 in the morning. There used to be two trails, the Timpohon trail and the Mesilau trail. Mesilau trail was closed after the 2015 earthquake which took 18 lives.

Kinabalu is a World Heritage Site, and you’ll pass through several habitats and ecosystems on the way up the steamy Sabah rainforest, Beautiful grasslands, desolate rock-scapes and the famous alpine meadows. There is said to be over 5,000 types of plants, 326 different birds and over a 100 mammalian species on the mountain.

We walked up at a steady pace making sure not to exhaust ourselves, and taking breaks at the rest points which was at every 1km. At rest points we enjoyed our snacks where the squirrels eagerly joins us.

 The trail up are mostly uneven steps, and rocky path and more and more steps. Though the path is not too steep it becomes tricky at places, and sometimes it’s hard to find an acceptable pace between the lungs and the legs, but once you get a good rhythm, it’s pure delight.

As the climbers who summited in the morning ascends down and as we move up, you feel envy. Knowing that you still have a long way to go. We congratulate them and they wish us all the best. You exchange few sentences, ask about weather, ask about their experience and one woman said “ we could not summit”. I can’t even imagine how that might have felt. But since there is a cut off time to reach Sayath Sayath, which is 5.30am, it seems they were not able to make it on time.

As we move up we saw porters carrying supplies to Pana Laban, the rest house at the base camp. These porters carries the supplies on their back, since it is the only way to transport them. From groceries to gas cylinders they carry it all.

As I reached Pana Laban I can feel the air thinning, and the terrain change. And it was such a relief to reach the base camp, but due to the strong wind we did not stay out for long but rushed into the rest house.

Tired and hungry after the 5hr 30min hike we waited eagerly for the food to be served, and got into the long queue. Though we all knew we had to wake up by 1.00am few seemed to have been able to sleep since we can hear doors closing and opening and people talking through the thin walls of the dorm. We shared the room with two other Dutch girls.

After a hearty breakfast at 1.30 am with our headlamps on and layered up we were all set to walk into the unknown. After walking up and down the steps I started feeling extremely hot and had to shed off a few layers. Till we reached Sayath Sayath around 4.00am it was warm, but after Sayath Sayath we go out  to the open mountain and the cold air hits us immediately. Despite the cold and the dark I felt the excitement of trying to reach a goal.

There is a white rope to guide you along and to haul yourself up if you need the extra support.  The incline is not as steep here but the surface isn’t completely smooth either, so you need to be careful not to trip. One can only imagine how beautiful it would have been if there was a full moon.

The last stretch to the summit of Low’s Peak is an exhausting scramble over huge boulders. By now the thin air had really hit me, and with the peak just few hundred meters away I kept pushing myself. I looked around, and with the sun already out I could see the giant peaks and nearly 45% incline rock that I just climbed.

So here I am at the peak, after climbing 6 kilometres worth of steps, up through the lowland jungle, another 2.7km of steep rock, to around 11,000 feet above sea level exhausted, cold and warm, but in awe of what I was seeing around. The entire mountain peaks got bathed in gorgeous early morning rays in all its glory. No camera can do justice to what lies Infront of your eyes.

What goes up must come down, we took our own sweet time to walk down. Our guide , guided us through a different path rather than following the white rope which may have taken a bit extra time, but hey, why rush when you are on the mountain.

By the time we reached the base camp I was all hot and sweaty, and badly in need of a shower. But with no hot water in the toilets I needed to be creative to wash myself and freshen up under the freezing water.

After breakfast we left the base camp around 10.00 am feeling accomplished. The best part of going down was wishing those coming up “all the best” and hearing them say “congratulations” felt so good. One lady said to me “wah, such a big smile”, I said to her “don’t worry, you will feel the same when you come down tomorrow”

As I continued my journey down, engulfed in my own thoughts listening to the surroundings, and when I heard the waterfall I knew I am just round the corner to the finish line.

As I sat on the bench at the Timpohon gate around 2.30 in the afternoon, waiting for my sister and the guide to come out, all I could do was reflect back on the beautiful journey I just had. I climbed a mountain to celebrate my 50^th birthday, with my sister. As she says, we just did a “normal” thing.