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Sunday, May 24th
We shared a nice big breakfast with our Dutch friends then went to meet our guide Nordin. At 8:30 we set of by bus (it cost extra of course) for the 4.2km to Timpohon Gate, the start of the route.
Our climb started at 8:50. We only had to hike 6km today. The first 200m is downhill to Carson waterfall (small) but after that it's uphill all the way. After all the rain last night we expected a muddy mess but the trail was mostly steps that drained the water well. We made good progress and it wasn't too hot.
At our first rest spot we spotted a small, jumpy squirrel. Soon there was a whole troop of them running, jumping and climbing trees. They were so cute and came right up to us. People feed them so they weren't really afraid. We sat for a while watching them and taking pictures.
By the time
am turned to
pm we had climbed above the clouds. We saw two poor porters each carrying a Japanese girl on their backs down the mountain. Apparently they couldn't walk anymore but they didn't look tired or sick or injured.
Maybe they're just lazy. The last 500m to camp was the most difficult. By 13:30 we had reached Laban Rata (3272.7m). We were booked to stay in Panar Laban, a non-heated dorm 10mins (and a lot of effort) further up the mountain. However, we were upgraded to the heated Laban Rata dorm. This meant that we were right above the restaurant and didn't have to mission between the buildings.
After a shower we had an early dinner (5pm) then went to bed. We have to be up very early to start for the summit.
Today's highlights:
1. Starting our climb of Mt. Kinabalu.
2. Close encounters with cute squirrels.
3. Upgrade to Laban Rata.
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