Mount Trusmadi standing at 2642 meters.
Distance - 11.3km one way (22.6km return)
Duration - 2 days 1 night
Pre Amble
Normally, the standard package will be 3 days 2 nights - day 1 in base camp one (sinua village), then day 2 in base camp two for another night. Day 3 is the climbing to the peak and return back to base camp one.
For me, it's 2 days 1 night - day 1 from base camp 1 to base camp 2 straight, then the next day is summit attack then descend back to base camp 1.
Mount Trusmadi can be done in 1 day if you really fit enough.
Climbing Package
RM1,000-00 per pax which include :
1) permit, guide, cert, insurance
2) transport from kk town to sinua village
3) transport from sinua village to kk town
4) meals day 1 (packed breakfast & served dinner)
5) meals day 2 (packed breakfast before hike and served lunch)
Rest stop here from kk town to Tambunan
Pre climbing Day
Arrival at the airport in the morning. The tour guide brought us to Tambunan town around 2 hours 30 minutes journey. Stayed 1 night here.
Justification:
The journey to sinua village is 4 hours plus from kk town. If i arrived in the morning at the airport then straight to sinua vilage, by then its noon time and need to spend the night at sinua village (climb the next day). They may not allowed you to hike at noon as their std hiking time is around 8am from base camp 1 to base camp 2, 8 - 9km away.
So, the best option is to spend the night at tambunan, with plenty of food, restaurants and shops, then continue journey to sinua village the next day. Saved travelling time, plenty of rest time
On the way to Sinua Village from Tambunan town. Cow road blocks
Climbing Day
Day 1 - Tambunan town to sinua village
The journey took around 2 hours plus by pick up truck. Arrived at our destination around 7am plus. Prepare our gear.
Tips : you may left not needed items here at base camp 1.
There is network line just available here (celcom, maxis, digi)...yay!
I carried around 5 kilo of weight behind my back to camp 2.
Started the hike around 8am.
Distance from base camp 1 to base camp 2 : 9km
Trail condition : mostly soft trail
Trail difficulty : mostly hard inclination
Caution : leech!..river crossing
Duration taken : 3 hours 30 minutes.
Water Point
There are 3 water points along base camp 1 to base camp 2. No need to bring excessive drinks, bring empty bottle instead to reduce weight.
River crossing area
Also first water point
This is at the river crossing section, 3km from starting point
Next water point is here
At km 4.8, water station
Our guide asked us to take this photo - which appeared to be a transformer's head/face...can you spot them?
Suddenly we saw this! Finally we reached base camp 2
Arrived at base camp 2 around 11.30am. enjoying the scenery, exploring the surrounding.
Nothing much to do except wait for our summit attack at 1.00am.
Facilities at base camp 2 :
- no electricity
- got 2 toilets
- clean water
- zink roof, wood plank wall, sleeping dorm
- male & female separated sleeping area
- elevated sleeping platform made with some sort of tarpaulin material
- pantry - plate, mug and cutlery, Kettle, cooking stove burner.
- coffee and milo 3 in 1
- hot water for drinks (and bath)
- intermittent telecommunications coverage (yes, you are saved)
At base camp 2 - 9.3km from base camp 1 in 3 hours 32 minutes
Opinion & Suggession;
It's still early when we arrived at base camp 2 (11.32am), we have 7 hours before dark, why not we just proceed climbing to the peak?
We are unsure of the trail conditions at that point of time whether we could do it or not. We can try but we will complete around 7pm and still need to spend the night at base camp 2. Or maybe we under estimate the trail difficulty compared to our strength and might end up much more later.
If we can finish it within 7 hours and it is still not dark yet, yes, we might have a chance.
But, after reconsideration, our hike to view the sun rise was the best decision that we've ever made!
The spectacular view of mountain range
It's in the evening and started to get cold
Biscuits, hot water
The leftovers are put here to feed the elusive squirrel
The pantry - everything that u need. Stove, plate, spoon, fork
The dorm
The pantry
Me having a lunch break once we arrived here
Wok and kettle
Coffee and milo 3 in one
The bed
The whole camp
The lavatory
What to do at base camp 2 to kill time :
1) take a bath..the water is cold but bearable
Tips : bring face towel, wet it and use it for bath
2) admire the mountain scenery
3) dry your clothes to the sun
4) eat, eat and eat
5) talking nonsense with your friends, guide
6) try the wild berries
7) looking for squirrel
8) explore the surrounding, u shall complete in 5 minutes
9) taking lots of photos...take photo of peak 2 and 3
10) prepare your gear for next day
11) sleep 2 times
Tasting the wild berries...nice
Day 2 - Summit Attack
Woke up at 11.30pm.
By 12am, our packed meal is ready. White rice with fried egg with black soy sauce. Packed in hard case Tupperware.
10 minutes before 1am, briefing done by the guide. Safety, trail condition, what to expect, what to bring, etc
By 1am, we disappeared into the forest darkness.
The packed breakfast before summit attack.
I ate all before the hike...haha
From base camp 2 to Trusmadi peak
Distance : 4.9km in 3 hours 49 minutes
Actually the guide divided the hike into few section - peak 1, peak 2 and peak 3 (where trusmadi is) which i think is insignificant...hihi
Trail condition : muddy, slippery, low branches
Trail difficulty : hard...forced to make huge steps to avoid the mud, climbing series of ladders, 4 core muscles used
Reached peak of Trusmadi in 3 hours 49 minutes, 4.9km from base camp 2. The time is 4.42am.
It's a long process of climbing
Finally....i got u
This is actually on our way back from the tower. It's clearer now to take nice photo
From peak Trusmadi to View Tower
Distance : 300 meters down you go and up again in 20 to 30 minutes.
Trail condition : muddy, slippery
Trail difficulty : hard climbing, huge steps
Reached the tower at 5.01am, 5.2km from base camp 2 in 4 hours 9 minutes.
Another 30 minutes it will be sun rise...oh yeah!
Waiting for sunrise in this shed
We arrived at view tower at 5am. The sun hasn't rise yet, so we waited around 30 minutes in a small shed located nearby to shelter from the freezing temperature.
At 5.30am, we climbed the tower...and the view on top of the mountain is mesmerising! The morning sun is up and we could see the sea of clouds and mountain range surrounding us.
Wow! Look at that!
The view from the tower
The sea of clouds
Mount Kinabalu at the background.
Kinabalu is easy climb.
(Please excuse my look..Yes, I'm miserable)
The mountain range
Beautiful!
We make our way back to base camp 2 shortly after. The way back was rather easy as mostly the trail were heading down.
We completed the summit attack in 7 hours 23 minutes, 10.2km total. The trail was hard climb, muddy and mean...
Pitcher plant species
Unique
Rare!
I dont always find this type of species in Peninsular Malaysia
A "skull-shaped" formation. Unique!
Reached base camp 2 at 8.15am, after a gruelling 7 hours 23 minutes in 10.2km.
How Can I Improved Better on Summit Attack;
1) Bring down-jacket but its bulky and required space
2) Bring emergency blanket - that's more like it
3) Winter glove while waiting for the sunrise (but if you have emergency blanket, the glove is insignificant)
The served lunch after returning from the peak
By 9am, we headed down to base camp 1.
It's a long descending trail and dangerous too as certain part of the trail are too steep and slippery.
We reached the starting point in 2 hours. Then wait for pick up truck (less than 5 minutes) that took us to base camp 1.
From right - peak 2 and peak 3 (trusmadi). I'm on the way from peak one to base camp 2. I'm still baffled how did i get up there.
At base camp 1, took a shower and lunch is ready.
We took home with us thousands of memories and experiences. Mount Trusmadi was one of the toughest mountain I've ever climbed (via sinua that is).
Don't forget to tips your guide and your chef ya, without them you could never made it to the top.
My personal views on Trusmadi vs kinabalu
1) temperature - kinabalu is colder than trusmadi. Kinabalu's freezing wind in an open space, trusmadi have only a breeze as most of its trail are covered
2) trail difficulty - trusmadi is much tougher than kinabalu. Climbing is hard
3) trail condition - trusmadi is full of black, watery mud which i always try to avoid making your hike slower, whereas kinabalu is dry, hard rock
4) amenities - kinabalu has most of hiker's need whereas in trusmadi, lack of many things
5) weather & hiking - kinabalu will deny climb if it is raining while in trusmadi, if it's rain, you can still climb
Those who wish to scale mount Trusmadi, please train hard.
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