So, it was supposed to be fairly simple: climb three quarters of the way to the resort at the top, rest the night and then do the remaining quarter early the next morning. If only it was as easy as that. It was devastating to be so near and yet be forced to turn back. I cannot tell you how difficult it was to take that first step to the back. Willing the weather to listen for just a bit didn't make a difference.
The Mountain Gods were not at ease; that's what we heard echoing among the guides.
It was the kind of weather that happened maybe once in a few years; that's what our guide said to us with a straight face. Not your time to climb, this is so you will come back.
A black and white certificate is waiting for you at the headquarters, too bad.
It was terribly disappointing. It was ridiculously painful.
It was undeniably exciting and beautiful. It was eye-opening.
It was a shake back to life's cruel sentence on some.
And it revealed the grace with which some work through life’s most difficult stop signs.
I have to say that it was kind of unfair. I have many things to say but all of those will not tell you how grateful I am to have been able to reach the seven kilometer mark. Or to have been given the opportunity to do this at all.
Perhaps we were meant to do a return trip and the only way for that to happen is if Mr. Weather acted up. Perhaps this would be the one mission we’ll need to accomplish together and with each other. This only goes to show that plans will only be that; plans. There’s much more to things than that which we’ve drawn at the drawing board.
Yamin the cheeky leader. Mee suah with homemade spirit. Kitty. ‘Bah!’. Caught rained in at a rest hut. Insects we never knew existed. Warm soup.
Richard the cool guide. Rain showers. Yellow raincoats. Sunsweet raisins. Chocolate power bars. Shoes two sizes too huge. Text messages that make you smile. Double-layered water protection. Monster earthworms. Jumping on the spot to keep warm. Mist. Bathroom squabbles. Hot water taps that embarrass. The lack of familiarity. Passages that fit too well.
Triple layer clothing. Blind climb. Words and shoves of encouragement. The first very difficult step backwards. The disappointment. The devastation. The awe.
Poring is bamboo in Dusun. Skipping along canopy walkways. The beauty of the ache. Good looking people of mixed heritage.
Nabalu market. Ukuleles. Iyan the innkeeper. Six to a room. Jetty talks. Philippines market. Kuih cincin. Dried sea horse =/. Shell fish quest.
Clock tower. Deserted observation deck. Upside down map reading. Yellow soup konlo fish head noodles. Icecream! RM2 Spritzers.
A return is in the works.
minx wrote at3:49 PM
