Who says that climbing a mountain must always equate to "conquering" the Summit Trail ? After all, the important lesson we learnt from our earlier attempts is that experiencing a Mountain is really like experiencing Life itself; there will always be ups & downs and it's enough to enjoy the journey, the scenic views & company along the way, never mind if we don't always summit the top !
My wife & I decided in March 2012 to re-visit Sabah & the Kinabalu National Park in a different fashion from our first 2 "serious" climbs. We wanted to spend a leisurely few days at Kinabalu HQ or basecamp, to enjoy the varied forest trails at a comfortable altitude of 5000 feet, with daily temps of between 15 - 24 degrees C. Our favourite trail was the Liwagu Trail which basically starts from Timpohon Gate, where serious climbers get off the circuit bus to commence the Summit Trail, but instead we trailed the Liwagu River downstream, back towards Kinabalu HQ. It took us longer than the estimated 3 hours unguided because we stopped often to take in the awesome views & dip our toes in the icy cold river waters !
Every morning, we would have a hearty all-you-can-eat breakfast at Balsam Café, and at night we had the option of its la carte dinner menu or a short stroll to a kampong-style restaurant just outside the Park HQ gate. We stayed at the rustic Liwagu Lodge which gave us a spacious split-level apartment with 2 toilets & a wide verandah overlooking the next-door Botanic Centre, populated with interesting plants like the Nepenthes species of pitcher plant as well as the abundant native birdlife.
On our way up to the Park from the city, our personal minibus chauffeur good-naturedly stopped by a local attraction, called the 'Rumah Terbalik' or Upside-Down House for us to visit. And because we had plenty of time on the way back from Kinabalu Park, he knew the best spot (Nabalu Town) for us to pose with a backdrop of Mt Kinabalu, complete with fluffy white clouds !
The last 3 nights of our 1-week Sabahan escapade saw us back in Kota Kinabalu, in a nice hotel by the sea - the Sutera Magellan. This allowed us the liberty of taking the 5-minute hotel shuttle bus into the city centre for a live seafood dinner and a full-day side trip to the southwestern corner of Sabah called the Weston Wetland Park. The highlights of the latter adventure was an evening of proboscis monkey spotting, followed by a romantic dinner & firefly "display" once they switched off the lights completely.
Our hearts go out to the injured and the families affected. Culling from various sources on the Web, the most heart-warming picture is painted of the mountain guides who quietly & heroically saved the 100 over climbers stranded on the mountaintop when familiar trails were wiped out by the landslides. Somehow they managed to carve out new routes down to safety, managing only with limited resources and even ferrying some injured on piggyback down the treacherous slopes.
