Ledang-ed!
My thighs are still aching and now I know what it feels like to have bad knees. That insecure feeling that the knee may decide not to cooperate and buckle instead. The need to go down steps one at a time in a bid to keep the knee straight.....cos otherwise its just too painful....
The climb was a blast! So glad all of us (11 kids, 9 adults) made it to the summit and back - with little more than some cuts & grazes.....a black toe (not mine!) That was 3 hours up to Checkpoint 4 (to set up camp), 4 hrs up to Checkpoint 8 (the summit) and then 4 hrs down to CK4 again (to eat & sleep). That's 11 hrs of hard labour. Never experienced that before.
The most gruelling part was between CK 5 & CK 6. The gradient - almost vertical. The terrain - big boulders. The method - using all four limbs to haul one's ass up. The equipment - thick ropes with knots to grip on to. The faith - that the hands won't let go and the rope is well secured & won't give way. This part is nicknamed KFC. So deceiving. One thinks instantly of crispy chicken. It stands for 'Killing Fields Climb'.
My fave part. Checkpoint 4. Hot milo & cup noodles never tasted so good. Hot milo....I drank 3 cups. I wanted to drink it all night long. The campsite is right next to these big boulders where the water sits in a natural pool. We all jumped in when we got back. It was cold. My guess is about 20 degrees celsius. But it was so good.
My unfave part. Despite being dead beat. It was impossible to sleep. Too cold. Think it went down to 16 degrees. The ground was hard. The kids were cold. The tent not big enough for all of us.
Now. I'm not touching any more H-2-O (isotonic drink) nor eating any more granola bars. Going to indulge in lots of chocolate. And probably get hold of some deep heat for my aching legs.