Thor's Outdoors!: January 2014

Klimbing Kinabalu - Dec 26-28

On the morning of the 26th we set out east, leaving Bakun behind for an excursion to the neighbouring state of Sabah. The drive to Miri was rather uneventful although we did pass signs to the Niah caves and to Lambir national park that would have been worth visiting if we had more time. After a short flight we arrived to "KK" (Kota Kinabalu) in the middle of a very heavy rain shower. It was dark already and barely anything was visible through the rain on the transfer to our hotel, but we spent the evening getting last minute supplies for the next days climb, and having a delicious dinner at a seafood restaurant on the shore of the south china sea.

Rainy night in KK

On the map

We got an early start the next morning, meeting our guide Jackz Lee at 5:30 for the trip to Gunung Kinabalu. We had a short briefing on the plan for the next two days, and then went off to pick up another mountaineer and continued southeast up a steep windy road to the park HQ at Gunung Kinabalu national park. At about 1,800m elevation we could already feel that it was a bit chillier at the park headquarters and that the vegetation had changed as well, although it was still a comfortable 20C or so in the early morning sun. The hike started at Timpohon gate with about 6km and 1400m elevation gain to the guest house at Laban Rata. We were hoping to make it there by about 14:00 to try to avoid the afternoon rain, and were inspired by a sign with the record times of the annual Climbathon participants who manage to climb the whole way in 2.5 hours! The scenery up the mountain was amazing, steadily climbing through the forest and occasionally getting a glimpse of the lands below through gaps in the canopy. It was rather steep though and one could definitely notice the elevation especially when getting closer to the 3000m mark, so we made stops every 45min-1hour. There were lots of birds around and we saw indigo flycatchers, scarlet minivets and bulbuls, as well as different types of nepenthes pitcher plants and orchids. The change in rock type underfoot was clearly noticeable as well, affecting the path, the gradient of the climb and also the vegetation around us. We didn't manage to avoid the rain and arrived to Laban Rata at about 15:00 quite soaked and winded, the ascent definitely not to be underestimated but still very manageable. The guesthouse was shrouded in clouds but we still were able to see parts of the cliffs above us, and I was already excited for the summit early the next morning. Dinner this evening came a bit early, and we settled down to eat fried noodles, local steamed vegetables and other treats that had all been carried up the mountain on the backs of the various porters that transport all supplies up the mountain every day. The guest house was full of incredible pictures of porters hauling mattresses, window frames and all sorts up the mountain. It was funny to think that the little plastic christmas tree and the light decorations in the dining hall had all been carried up by a porter to give the climbers a sense of Christmas cheer. We turned in early by about 20:00, everyone eager to get some sleep before getting up at 2 in the morning to continue the climb!

Scarlet Minivets along the climb (The female is actually blue and yellow!)

I never got tired of the spirals formed by uncurling ferns

Amanda above the clouds

Two pale-faced bulbuls admiring the view from about 3000m

As we got up early the next morning, only my sister and I joined the rest of the climbers for the final ascent. There was definitely a buzz amongst the 100 or so climbers who were all setting out at the same time, huddled together in the cool mountain air under incredibly bright stars. The first bit of the climb was not too difficult, mostly going slow because of traffic from other climbers. The rope section was a bit tricky though, scaling smooth granite rock faces of about 15m with only a rope to hang on to. As we got higher and higher breathing did at least for me get more difficult and the key was to keep a slow but steady pace. It was a bit eerie climbing in complete darkness, but amazing to see the stars and moon above, and the string of headlamps from other climbers before and behind us. Before we knew it, Amanda and I were at the summit, ahead of schedule at about 5:30 with still some time to spare before sunrise. It's difficult to describe how beautiful it was, but seeing the other peaks around us, and the rainforest below stretching out to the coast with Kota Kinabalu and islands off the coast clearly visible was just incredible. Low's peak of Kinabalu is at 4,095m right next to Low's Gully almost 2000m straight down so we were careful not to slip when peeking over the edge! As the sun rose in the southeast, we started our way down which was considerably easier. The view of hikers in front of me forming silhouettes against the clouds and rainforest below was something I won't soon forget. Meeting up with my father and his wife at Laban Rata, we had a quick breakfast and then continued down. It rained the entire way and we were sweating under the rain jackets and ponchos, with our quadriceps aching from the thousands of steps down. At last though we made it back to the gate! Picked up our certificates of completing the climb and checked in to the little hostel across from HQ. Spent the rest of the day drying our clothes and shoes, relaxing and reading, getting ready for the continuation of our trip the next day towards Sandakan to look for Orangutans and Proboscis monkeys!

Amanda at the summit just at sunrise

Sunrise from the summit of Gunung Kinabalu

Proof from the top!

The beautiful view to the northwest with the islands visible off the coast

Just below the summit with St. Johns peak behind me

Amanda and our new friend Cleo with the famous South Peak in the background

Descending back down into the jungle

Selamat Detang! Welcome! (to the Jungle) - Dec 20-25

Since I last wrote, I completed my bicycle tour by flying with my bike to the US and cycling from Boston through New York City to Washington DC. I'll have to catch up and write about that some day, but now I'm on the other side of the world visiting my father in the jungles of northern Borneo!

After a long trip over the Pacific via Hong Kong and Singapore, I arrived to the coastal town of Bintulu in the state of Sarawak. Bintulu is growing like crazy, having not long ago been a small fishing village but now expanding because of increased logging, oil & gas exploration, and the building of a new industrial park fed with cheap electricity from the 2400 MW Bakun hydroelectric power plant soon to be completed. More on that power plant in a bit. My father and his wife picked me up at the airport and after a night in Bintulu eating at a Filipino restaurant we headed out into the jungle the next day. My father works at the Bakun power plant mentioned earlier, and lives at the adjoined township about a 3 hour drive from Bintulu along a small highway that used to be an old loggers track. The road goes past lots of oil palm plantations, evidence of deforestation, but fortunately because of the hills in this area being so steep much of the forest has been preserved.

Arriving to Bintulu

Driving into the jungle

Fruit stand along the road, with a can for payment

The first few days in Sarawak are spent adjusting to the time difference, and exploring the local area. I'd wanted to just hike straight into the jungle and hopefully climb to one of the nearby hilltops for a spectacular view, but was advised never to go alone. There are plenty of snakes around and you wouldn't want to be alone in case of getting lost or if anything else were to happen. I did go on some shorter excursions with my father though, down to the boat ramp by the reservoir and up to some smaller hilltops. At the boat ramp we saw several groups of people loading and unloading goods from boats into pickup trucks, and also passengers getting onto boats for transfer into smaller villages in the jungle. The road from the coast ends at the Bakun dam, so the only practical way to get into the interior is by boat along rivers or in this case on the reservoir. It was fascinating watching hunters unload meat onto the dock, and others loading boxes and barrels into the boats to bring home.

Local hunters unloading their catch

The Balui river, downstream of Bakun

My younger sister arrived on Julafton (Christmas eve) so we went to get her from the airport in Bintulu, and on the way home I saw my first hornbills! Unfortunately they were quite far away so I couldn't quite make out which kind they were, but I was excited to see them since the Rhinoceros hornbill is the state bird of Sarawak. My sister had with her plenty of treats from Sweden, including herring, knäckebröd, and of course a box of Paradis chocolate! So our Christmas dinner was an interesting combo of local Malay food with some Swedish highlights, making for a strange but tasty Julbord. The next day we went on a longer excursion and hike mostly along a small dirt track leading straight into the jungle. We saw all kinds of strange and fascinating plants, including orchids, pitcher plants, and giant mengaris trees. I saw another hornbill, this time definitely an oriental pied hornbill. It was great being with family again, definitely bringing back memories of being a kid growing up on construction sites like this one in differing fascinating countries. It was also exciting being in the forests of Borneo, but really we were just warming up as the next day we were set to head east to Sabah to climb the legendary Mt. Kinabalu, and search for Proboscis monkeys!