BORNEO (7/14): Setting Off In The Darkness!

This is the first chance I've had to write about today. So much happened today which has given me renewed confidence in the whole trip. Today, we awoke at 02:00 in preparation for ascending to the summit of Mount Kinabalu. After a breakfast of boiled eggs and water melon, we proceeded along the summit trail where we left off yesterday afternoon.

In the darkness, head torches ablaze, the group of seventy-odd participants clambered over stones, rocks and rubble in a bid to witness the sun rise from what is dubbed the 'highest peak in South East Asia'. After about an hour, people had dispersed, each man for himself. As time drew on, the landscape became more barren, the atmosphere very cold, the wind more intense. About 04:00, I found myself alone again as many people had been the day before. Suddenly, the rubbly trails ceased to exist and gave way to the granite surface that adorned the upper reaches of Mount Kinabalu. The air was much cooler, barely above freezing, and the wind was never ending. Nothing could have prepared me for what laid in wait. From within the view granted to me by my head torch, I could make out a number of ropes which one was supposed to used to assist them in their climb. This went on for about an hour, causing me to stop many times to recover from the exertion.

Throughout the early hours of the morning, the majestic outline of the many surrounding peaks were visible in the bright moonlight. Accompanying the barren landscape, which was featurless in the semi-darkness, were an array of stars dotting the sky. I had never seen such brilliance radiate from the sky at night. It made me wonder: how many millions of landscapes like Mount Kinabalu there are floating round the universe, aimlessly orbiting without end? I guessed there were hundreds of thousands, if not millions.
Friday, 1st April 2000. 10:00 SMT