Mount Kinabalu (Continued) Map Showing Location of Mt. Kinabalu On the first day, you walk 6 km (6-7 hours) from 1,829 m to 3,353 m (6,000 - 10,000 ft). Up to 2,000/2,350 m, you walk through the upper part of the lower montane forest dominated by over 40 species of tropical oaks (Quercus and Lithocarpus sp.), chestnut (Castanopsis sp.), and laurel (Lauraceae) reaching 25-30 m tall. The montane forests have largely escaped commercial logging and fires that devastated the lowland forests. Isolated islands of montane forest in a sea of lowland dipterocarp forest have produced unique and diverse flora and fauna. Seventy-three percent of Borneo's endemic birds are found in the montane forests. More than 150 mammal species live in these forests, mainly smaller species like civets, tree shrews, squirrels, and rats. The Small Mountain Pitcher Plant (Nepenthes tentaculata) with its distinct tentacular bristles on the lid is common on Mt. Kinabalu between 1,200 to 3,000 m where it grows on mounds of wet moss or liverwort. Equally fascinating are the animals that live inside the pitchers or use the enzyme-rich liquids as a hunting ground including land crabs and frogs.   You continue upward from 2000/2,350 m to 2,600/2,800 m through the upper montane forest, a misty cloud forest dominated by gnarled trees covered with clumps of moss and epiphytic ferns and orchids. Epiphytes like ferns, orchids, lichen, liverworts, and moss flourish in the moist temperate climate of the montane zone. Ferns are particularly abundant, with more than 608 species recorded in the park, more than all of Africa. Kinabalu accounts for more than one-fourth of all the orchid species found in Malaysia, many, of which, are rare. Orchids occur between 1,000 and 3,000 m, but are most abundant around 2,000 m. More than 1,000 species of orchids in 121 genera are found in the park. In 1933, Cedric Carr spent seven months on the slopes of Mt. Kinabalu collecting 770 orchid specimens representing 372 species and varieties. But it is the rhododendrons that characterize the upper montane zone. There are 24 rhododendron species found in Kinabalu Park, 4, of which are endemic. In the lower part of the upper montane forest, Nepenthes villosa and N. edwardsiana are found. Around 2,134 m (7,000 ft), one of the commonest pitcher plants in the park, Low's Pitcher Plant (N. lowii), appears. This plant is named after Sir Hugh Low, who made the first recorded attempt to scale the peak in 1851, but was unsuccessful. Low also has a rhododendron species with large peach yellow blooms named after him, Rhododendron lowii, which can be seen at 2,438 m (8,000 ft). From 2,591 - 2,651 m (8,500 - 8,700 ft), you enter a bamboo forest. Here, Miss. Gibb's Bamboo (Bambusa gibbsiae) drapes the trees like moss. Miss. Lilian Gibbs, a botanist from the British Museum, was the first woman to ascend Kinabalu in 1910. She collected many plants new to science, some, of which, are named after her. Those that arrive early will find a reddish-brown bird with a spotted breast, the endemic Kinabalu Friendly Warbler (Bradypterus accentor), hopping about their feet. Yellow-Breasted (Seicercus montis) and Mountain Bush Warblers (Cettia montanus) are also common.   Ultramafic rock (serpentine) rich in nickel and chromium, which are toxic to many plant species, underlies the trail from 2,700 m to 3,000 m and covers about 16% of the park. Surprisingly, there is more floristic diversity per unit area (10 sq km) at 2,500 m to 3,000 m than at lower elevations. Many of Kinabalu's high-elevation endemics originated from lower elevation Bornean species. Three hundred species of orchids have been recorded in an area that is not more than a hundred hectacres. Plants that tolerate the toxic metals include the Leptospermum or Tea Tree (Leptospermum recurvum), 10-m high Southern Pine (Dacrydium gibbsiae), and pitcher plants like the Mossy Pitcher Plant (Nepenthes villosa) and Nepenthes rajah, one of the largest pitcher plants in the world.   Trees are gnarled and stunted in the subalpine zone, up to 3,400 m. Compact shrubs like the endemic Heath Rhododendron (Rhododendron ericoides) with its small red tubular flowers appear around 2,896 m (9,500 ft). The Alpine vegetation occurs above 3,400 m, a treeless zone with small herbs and stunted shrubs. Borneo's only buttercup (Ranunculus lowii) is found here with other small shrubs of the genera Potentilla, Rubus and Gentiana. A night is spent at the Laban Rata hostel at 10,700 feet. At Laban Rata, you can see montane bird species like the Mountain Bush Warbler (Cettia fortipes), Mountain Black-eye (Chlorocharis emiliae) that feeds on nectar from certain rhododendrons, and Island Thrush (Turdus poliocephalus). Porters using their foreheads carry all supplies to the hostel in huge sacks. The second day is more difficult. You get up around 3am to climb the last 3,000 ft (about 2 km) just in time to watch the sunrise. Here, the trail consists of wooden ladders and rope-assisted climbs up rock faces. The Summit Plateau is ringed with 4,000 m peaks; the highest is Low's Peak at 4,101 m. To the right of Low's Peak is Low's Gully, a shear one-mile drop. Only lichens grow at the summit. You return to 6,000 ft the same day. I had the most trouble climbing down because of the stress on the knees. For more information on the flora and fauna of Mt. Kinabalu, see Ants of Borneo, ARBEC, Borneo Lowland Rain Forests, Borneo Montane Rain Forests, CAMS, EcologyAsia, IUCN, Kinabalu Montane Alpine Meadows, Lizards of Borneo, Moths of Borneo, Mt. Kinabalu: A Guide to the Summit Trail, Projek Etnobotani Kinabalu, Pflanzenwelt der Paläotropen, UNEP-WCMC Information Sheet, Sabah's Kinabalu Park, Tree and Shrub Genera of Borneo, and Vascular Plants of Mount Kinabalu.     Borneo     | Africa | Australia | Borneo |