Laban Rata, Kinabalu National Park, Sabah (Day 4)
We met John, our guide, at 7am the next morning. The parking area in front of the Park HQ was full with day tourists and hikers alike. It's Labour Day so it seemed like everyone wants some fresh air. The first thing we had to do was to obtain a porter for our bags. An was carrying her own 10kg bag. So that left VL, S and my bags which weighed 25 kg. The going price for the porter is RM90 for every 10kg.
After breakfast, we gathered again at 8am. John couldn't find an available porter so he will be the guide cum porter during the duration of our hike. We felt sorry for him and tried to remove some of the water to carry on our own.
We took a van from the Park HQ and it drove us 5.5km to Timpohon Gate. During booking, you have to state which gate you prefer to go up by and which gate do you want to return to. We opted for the Timpohon (shorter but steeper) trail for the journey upwards and Mersilau (longer but more gradual) for the trip back.
After the obligatory picture, we suited up for a long 4km walk in store for us.
Just after the gate where you sign off at the ranger station, Carson Falls will greet you. It is a mini waterfall which signals the point of no return.
 |
| Steps going upwards during the hike and how it gets foggy real quick |
 |
| Local wildlife and the 3km mark RTM station |
Shelters are spaced out around 1km from each other but when you are going upwards, it feels like 2km instead. Rain started pouring at the 4km mark, Layang-Layang Hut. We took cover and ate our packed lunch. It was cold and not pleasant at all. At the shelter, we ran into An, who was having her packed lunch. S was somewhere way ahead. Our group scattered out around the 2km mark as I stayed behind with the porter and to pace myself. Over time, the shelter started to get claustrophobic as more and more hikers took refuge against the relentless rain. After her lunch, An decided to head out while VL and I took the decision to wait until the rain has slowed a little for safety reasons.
 |
| Muddy path |
 |
| The view near the 5km mark. The white lines on the surface are rain water pouring off the surface of the mountain. |
We pushed on. The rain started to get heavy at 3pm again. Hiking in the rain, with freezing winds trying to blow your cap off, your freezing hands trying to hold on to it and your body baking from the heat of the poncho. Our breath started to condense but we started from a tropical jungle 4 hours ago. Mind boggling!
Finally around 3.45pm we heard S's voice! She urged us on the last few steps. Luckily she had the foresight to boil hot water because my hands were freezing and I warmed myself up against the kettle. Her hot water also beckoned to other hikers when they saw the steam rising from the spout. Waras Hut is the first any hiker will encounter before reaching Laban Rata so quite many stopped to refill their water and warm up before the last 100 m in the freezing rain to the main building.
 |
| Path to Waras Hut |
 |
| Our hut finally! |
After getting my fingers to work, I quickly went into the dorm room (was too messy to take a picture) and took off all the frozen clothing. An and S were already huddled under their blankets with their hot water bottles. Luckily for the heat packs. I slapped a few on me and immediately felt warmer. No point to wear those pads during the hike as it would get wet anyway.
Here is my description on Waras Hut.It is a building consisting of 2 rooms and each room has 2 bunk beds. Bedroom slippers are given with pretty decent bedding. It is a wooden building so expect it to be horribly cold when night falls. There is no hot water in the shower when we were there. The shower and toilet is in a separate structure just left of the building (if you are standing facing the hut). There is a small pantry where you can boil water to drink and a washing sink at either ends of the building. Because the water was freezing, we used the pantry to boil water to wash our face and brush teeth.
 |
| View before dinner while warming up frozen digits |
 |
| R - Laban Rata guesthouse.L - The restaurant where you will have your breakfast, lunch and dinner. B - scenery around the building |
We headed out for dinner around 5.30pm, loaded with walking sticks and headlamps in case nightfall decides to come early. There is lack of space to put any gear in the cafeteria so we stored it in a corner where it will be out of harm's way. The buffet meal is really decent considering everything has to be carried up by porters including gas. The tom yam soup was godsend when you can't feel your nose.
The estimated meal times for Laban Rata are: (1) Dinner from 5pm-7pm, (2) Supper - 1am- 2.30am, (3) Breakfast 7am-10am. So if you happen to reach after these times, you should call ahead and let them know to keep some food for you. When we were done eating, we managed to catch the sunset.
Although the sun was setting, it seemed like it was giving us energy to face the next day. We went in and got ready to sleep. Sleeping at 8pm in the freezing cabin was no easy task. Slapping on a few more heat packs made things more bearable and we dozed off.
 |
| Sunset from Waras Hut
Update: I find the complaints below silly but will address them anyway :
1) No wifi - of course there is no Wifi at 3,200 m! I'm sure you won't curl into a ball and shrivel away without wifi.
2) Overpriced food - Have you seen the amount of work the porters have to go through to bring up supplies to Laban Rata?! Here's a tip to save money - bring your own food and water. Don't cheat by going to the canteen to get hot water.
|
0 comments