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Mount
Tambuyukon - Sabah's hidden gem (Part 2)
by K
Ravi Mandalam
 After a restful sleep
we were up in the morning to start the
second
day's climb at 7.30am. The trails follows the narrow top of the ridge.
Because of the abundance of vegetation one does not feel the narrowness
of the path, with sheer drops on both sides.
Certain sections of the ascent are steep, but most of the
climb is
quite easy. The first two days are spent in passing through lowland
Dipterocarp rain forest, dominated by tall trees with thick undulating
buttress roots. The forest is virgin primary jungle with little or no
undergrowth, making the passage quite easy.
A number of rotan trees with thorns, interrupt your climb
somewhat
painfully, and slow down your progress. The biggest menace to the
climbers, however are leeches, which are abundance in this part of the
trail. Despite all precautions such as protective socks, trousers and
full sleeve shirts and spraying insecticide on your footwear they can
wriggle their way in and hook themselves to your skin. Leech bites
leaves raw wound that may take days to heal, but they are not poisonous.
 Cam
II at 5000ft is located on a hillside overlooking steep
valleys on
both sides. Here we spent the second night. Another mountain stream in
the valley served as source of crystal clear water. The second night it
rained heavily, the clouds clearing later to reveal a star-studded sky.
We broke camp at 8am next day to commence our final day's climb to the
summit.
Cam
II marks a transition from the lowland forest to the cloud mossy
forest. There is an abrupt change in vegetation beyond this altitude,
the tall trees giving way to shorter trees covered with thick layers of
moss. This part of the mountain also has an abundance of ultrabasic
rocks containing iron and magnesium providing the substrate for special
vegetation like pitcher plants (Nephentes).
 As many
as six or seven varieties of Nephentes can be seen in this summit zone
of the mountain, namely, Nephentes
burbidgeae, N. tentaculata, N.
rajah, N. loweii and N. villosa.
While these pitcher plants can be found on Kinabalu and Trusmadi,
nowhere else are they seen in such abundance, festooned from tree
branches and lining up on either side of the trail.
Equally
abundant are orchids of the Coelogyne and Dendrochilum genera,
rhododendrons
and variety of other flora such as Vaccinia,
mistletoes
and lichens. We ascended through this veritable Garden of Eden steadily
making our way towards the summit where we arrived at 3pm. It started
drizzling steadily. The guides found a convenient flat area on a ridge
just below the summit of the mountain, facing southwards and pitched
the
tents for our last camp.
 Towards
4pm the
clouds
parted to give
us breathtaking ringside view of Mount Kinabalu
from the summit of
Tambuyukon a view from an entirely different perspective, not to be
seen in picture postcards and posters on sale in gift shops and tourist
outlets! This is the north side of Kinabalu showing the North and East
ridges, Mekado valley and Low's Gully. We looked in wonder as the
mountain changed colors with every phase of the setting sun until it
was bathed in the golden twilight. I finished two rolls of film in just
one hour! Even my normally quiet and phlegmatic friend broke into
raptures upon seeing this view.
 Darkness
descended
and we
settled in a cold night. I opted to sleep close to the entrance, which
afforded me the pleasure of gazing at Kinabalu's colossal form
silhouetted against the starlit sky. The next morning we woke up to a
brilliant day with clear blue skies. After another session of
photography, we broke camp to start our long descent to the base. We
followed the new trail cut by the parks, descending into valleys and
crossing several streams. We finally reached the Park substation at 8pm
after gruelling 12-hour marathon descent. A great sense of fullfilment
upon us, i seeing nature's bounty in this remote mountain crowned by
the compelling view of Sabah's magnificent Kinabalu. The thorn pricks,
leech bites and blistered feet were quickly forgotten as we reminisced
that night on our four day experience on the slopes of Tambuyukon.
(George
Ng, a building
contractor, and Liaw Yun Haw and Ravi Mandalam, both medical
specialists, are a regular trekkers in the wilds and mountains of Sabah)
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