At around 6am, our van was at the carpark waiting for us. As a popular spot for climbers like us, hotels here are used to having guests being away for a night or 2 for the climb up Mt K before returning to the hotel. Hence, we made an arrangement with the hotel to keep our belongings with the reception while we brought only what we needed in a day bag up Mt K (not forgetting our hiking sticks too).
The journey to the starting point of Mt K took about an hour plus. As our van drove closer, we could see the peak of Mt K amidst the mountain range. Many vans had already arrived. It is compulsory to register before going up the mountain. We signed up for a package with a tour agency which included a night stay at a hut as well as doing the Via Ferrata on our way down after the summit.
With a name tag and a lunch box assigned to us, we began our climb with our guide from the Timpohon Gate (there are 2 gates to the summit trail). There was a Timpohon Shop. Last chance to buy any snacks or things we needed!
The 1st part of the climb was rather easy as it was nicely paved with staircase. Every time we go down slope, there would be a flight of stairs up very soon. As the saying goes ‘when you’ve hit rock bottom, the only way forward will be upwards’. Ironically, this was not motivating in this case at all!
There were 7 huts in the trail altogether. We took a photo with every hut as a way to ‘count down’ to our destination. At hut #4, we stopped for a quick lunch. Squirrels were everywhere, be careful of losing your food to them! And by this time, it was cooling enough for us to feel the need to put on another layer of clothes. The path had also became a little more uneven. That’s where our hiking sticks came into good use. Also, I was thankful that hubby carried everything in his bag (his 2nd trip here) so that I could climb without a load, with only a 1.5l water bottle in the pocket of my track pants!
Hut 1 
Hut 2 
Hut 3 
Hut 4 
Hut 6 
Hut 7
Yes, you are right, there are only photos of 6 huts. I have missed out hut #5 in our push towards the Pendant Hut! Hahaha. If you looked at the photos closely, you would probably realise that I looked the freshest in hut #1 (nicely combed fringe and shirt folded in somemore!) I looked the most tired at hut #4. But by the time we reached hut #7, I was ready to push on more than before!
Along the way, we also saw many porters climbing up with all kinds of load. The most common being bags of other climbers. Yes, you could pay for them to carry your bag up, but we didn’t feel the need to. More amazingly, we saw porters carrying all sorts of other things that included bed frames and another item that looked as big as a washing machine. That made me realise that everything on this mountain is carried up by the locals as there is no road for cars to go up. That made me treasure whatever I had up there.
As we went further up, the surroundings became more barren. There were less trees around, with a path clearly in sight. How far are we from the hut? Hubby would point to the top of the mountain and said ‘there it is’! Although I couldn’t see anything, I knew he was just trying to motivate us. Just take a look at the path. Looks fun isn’t it?!
At last, we saw the wooden hut! However, there was a final challenge up ahead. A very steep flight of staircase! About 6hrs after we started the climb, we’ve finally reached Pendant Hut at 3289m! This is the designated hut for climbers who were going to do the Via Ferrata as they would conduct a brief training for us before the climb the next day!
Stopping for a short break. The hiking sticks were really handy. 
Fun path up ahead! Where is the hut??? 
Finally reached our hut. Time to catch a breather!
Stairway to heaven? No, to Pendant Hut. 
Happy!!!
There were several rooms in the hut, with a few double beds per room. Here, we were assigned a bed each and had to share the room with other climbers. There is no hot water in the hut. So, ermmm, taking a cold shower was definitely out of my consideration in such a cold weather. At night, it would be dark too. So, my hubby who had been here before had prepared lightsticks to hang by the bed to help us identify our own bed! By now, we have cooled down, another layer of jacket was necessary as the interior temperature was only 11degs!
Shared room with bunk beds 
In between our beds 
Via Ferrata briefing
After the briefing in the hut, we had an early dinner at the Laban Raya Resthouse (3272.7m). It was a buffet style dinner (included in package) where we could eat whatever and as much as we wanted. Having seen how the porters carry every single thing up, it made me take only what I wanted as I did not want to waste food, and their effort! Here, we also saw many other climbers of all ages. In particular, I remembered seeing a man who had difficulties breathing. He needed an oxygen tank and several porters to carry him back down using an improvised stretcher. It also made me reflect if we should push ourselves too hard on this mountain, only to be carried back down…
After dinner, we headed back to our hut for an early night. Afterall, there’s nothing much to do after the sky has turned dark. Almost all other climbers have turned in too, to prepare for the climb to summit at 2am!
Perrine Travels 