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It was impossible to sleep much in the longhouse, as sounds of snoring, a baby crying, cat meowing and heavy rain in the night conspired to prevent sleep. Some of our group were up at 5.30 to go for a walk to see sunrise over Mount Kinabalu. I figured I would see enough of it the next couple of days, so had a lay in till 7am! The view of the mountain from the washrooms was pretty good anyway (see photo), as it seemed to rise out from the mists swirling around the foothills at it's base.
Today was really about preparing for our gruelling 2 days to come. After breakfast at the Tea House and a tour of the factory, we prepared for our "warm up" hike to a local peak (just a 3 km walk, but the gradient is similar to what we will face tomorrow).
We set off around 9.30 and it took us an hour and a quarter to reach the top. This was in part due to the need to keep stopping while our guide used his machete to clear the path. I don't think the trail had been used in quite some time. We were relieved that the climb was no harder than we've done in training, the only difference is the heat and humidity. We saw some of the famous Rafflesia flower buds along the way (the largest flower in the world), but none in flower - they only bloom after around 8 months in bud for just 5 days, so you would be incredibly lucky to see one.
After a shower, then packing and lunch, we set off for Kinabalu National Park. Stopping en route we bought supplies for our trek and 3litres of water each, which we have to each carry for each day of the climb - I could really do without the extra 3kg on my back! Arriving at our hostel for the night, we were pleasantly surprised by how clean an comfortable it is. We spent some time organising our day packs, trying to squeeze in what we need for our climb, then Henry gave us our briefing of what to expect over the next 2 days. I'm feeling nervous now, as the rest of our group all seem experienced Trekkers - dropping in names like "the inca trail", "Everest" and "killi" (as kilimanjaro seems to be called). Perhaps next week I will be name-dropping about "Kina" - I do hope so!!
After an early dinner, it was an early night for us all - in bed by 8.30. I'm trying to work out at this moment in time why I thought this was a good idea!
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