When my running buddy Jai persuaded me to join his Pinnacle trip for new year's, all I had in mind was a holiday. Basically after coming back from Malakoff and having a good year of runs, all I wanted was a trip. A relaxing one to kill the 3 day holiday.
So I said yes, booked ourselves on a 4D 3N trip to Mulu (thank you Msian footballers; else I would've to beg my supervisor for my annual leave). Two weeks before the trip, I spent alot of time online searching for what the hell these Pinnacles were. Mind you, I have absolutely no idea what they were. Yes. Deprived of facts on our own country. All I knew were Mulu had caves, cos my dad wanted to visit there a long time ago but we diverted our trip to Kuching instead.
The only climb we had was the Bukit Padang 'trail' above.
Anyways, written on the webpages: "To climb the pinnacles, bring your camera, long pants, 3L of water." None would tell you how challenging it is. None would tell you about the sharp rocks and how the crazy steepness would be. All they recommended was that you read the guestbook. (Yeah, couldnt find it btw!)
Reaching Mulu pretty late, we met our guide Richard and were brought to the Mulu National Park to visit the Lang and Deer caves. Both so beautiful and Lang smells like Guano. But hey, the bats live here so whaddaya expect. Check out this pic from Deer Cave. Its Abraham Lincoln!
We were lucky I guess; weather was good and altho reaching late we finished the caves in time to catch the bats looking for food at 5pm sharp. You could just sit there all day and look at their formation. But the bats' performance goes on for about an hour, so cannot la all day.
By 6pm we were brought to Benarat Lodge (cosy & pretty) and were told that we're the only 2 guests. Yeah, who would want to spend their New Year in Mulu of all places right? Creepy! We cleaned up (let me tell you that the caves were a sweaty affair- hot air and lots of walking), rested for awhile and then we met Maria and Richard at dinner. They explained about the following day's program and again, NO MENTION of the DREADED PINNACLE climb. But nevermind, all I could think of was, what are we going to do for New Year's countdown? Surely not spend it in the dark cos the lights at Benarat goes off at 00:00hrs. I mean, that would be 5-4-3-2-1-LIGHTS OFF!
So we pursuaded the guides to let us cross over by boat to Royal Mulu resort, where we heard there's a karaoke lounge and maybe a countdown. We love karaoke. And countdowns.
Two hours later and some great performances by the park guides and guests, we ushered in 2011 with a bang!Literally!!! We had firecrackers. But apparently the orang kampung had their own 'BOOM' which shook the whole Mulu. It was a small affair, but enough to keep everyone company and happy for that short time.
Someone must've had a good time out too, cos the lights at Benarat Lodge went off at 0130hrs. And after Richard dropped us off at the front gate, we trodded in the dark with our torchlights. So dark I took a wrong turn and went up the wrong house hehehe.
After breakfast the next morning, we headed to the Penan village followed by the Wind Cave, Clearwater Cave and the Lady Cave. The Wind Cave was my favourite. Its like a structured architecture, but nature in its own way. Having a guide like Richard really helps, as he could explain the formation and how the cave came about.Every single curve, every scallop has its own tale.
Once we're done with the caves and lunch, we headed towards the afternoon's program-trek to Camp 5. Nienka & Yan from Holland and Ingvar from Germany joined us. So we were the only 5 people who wanted to climb the Pinnacles the New Year weekend. The boat dropped us off at Long Litut, where we trekked 8km to Camp 5. Its not so bad, its pretty muddy from last night's rain, but I slipped twice on those wooden planks and hit my left knee hard on a tree trunk. Although bruises on my knee and a painful ass, I reached Camp 5, ready to jump into the cold river.
That night, after dinner, Bego explained to us about the Pinnacle climb. Its a 2400m trail. At 2000m onwards you will face ropes and ladders to reach the peak. We have to reach there latest by 11 or else it will be shrouded by fog. It sounded pretty simple.
Then I had a chat with Maria. She said no, she's not following as she's on standby in case anything happens. And thats when I started freaking out. Wait, this is just a trail right, I asked her. She said its a climb, different from Mt Kinabalu as there are no steps, no clear trails. You will climb from the beginning and its slippery rocks and branches and your heartbeat will be fast and you have got no time to think. She asked me, first time ke? I said nope. Im referring to the Bukit Padang climb as my first, so this is my second. I bullshit alot.
I couldn't sleep that night. Pretty much in fear. Kept thinking about the slippery sharp rocks and how inexperienced I was about climbing. We slept at 7.45pm. At 5am, I woke up, and suddenly I had no fear at all. We're doing the Pinnacle climb? Yeah, bring it on!
We left the camp at 6.36am, being a regular runner, the stopwatch is a must. It says 8 hrs up and down. I've ran a marathon for 6 hrs. So what's another 2 more hours of heart pounding exercise.
The first climb up Mt Api came barely 7 mins into the trail. And as you ascend, there were no levelling ground, the only way for you to catch the next person is if you look up. Bego was fast, he's like a deer on the rocks, jumping swiftly. I was catching up after Ingvar, cos the minute I lost sight of his hat, I felt practically lonely in the jungle. So I pushed myself to go faster and took 6 second breathers between each long climb. My strategy was this-climb until you reach a dead point. Until you have no where else to put footing on.
Jai, Nienka & Yan were waaaay back. But they were singing all the way so I could hear their voices not too far behind. I was catching up on Ingvar, and I knew they were down there somewhere in a group, so I didn't wait up. At the 900m point, we reached the mini pinnacles. Maria told me this is where you decide whether you want to continue the journey or head back. At that point, I wasn't even exhausted. I had 1 GU Chomps already, and took another as we waited for the rest.
The next point I anticipated was the 2000m mark. I knew this was the point where the ropes and ladders would go crazy. True enough, it was. Bego said go ahead as he wanted to wait up for the three Pinnacle singers. That's when I felt the real challenge.
With these short legs, I was basically stretching myself to the limit to find my footing and grab hold of the rocks. Sometimes the ladders were out of my reach and I had to do some trapeze stunts to get my first leg on the first step. When there were hooks, it was even tougher. The hooks were far apart and from one hook to another, I had to find someplace else to grab and carry myself up. All this on slippery feet. The ladders were slippery, the hooks were slippery. The wooden planks were of course slippery.
At that time, you forget about how high it was, or whether one slip off the ladder could send you down the sharp rocks in an instant. Your life practically depended on the ropes and rocks. But all I could think of was, where is the top?
Ingvar the Pinnacle Yeti was waiting on top halfway through his fried rice when I came up squeezing through the narrow path. The view-so beautiful! There you are on top of Mt Api, overlooking all these Pinnacles, sharp limestones, appearing out of nowhere on the mountains. I think everyone will forget how they even managed to climb up there. And no one spoke about tough the last 400m up was. I forgot it took me 3hrs 40mins to reach there. We were just up there on the rocks, having our picnic and sharing a good laugh.
Bego let us all chill out for a while since we reached there comfortably before 1030hrs. True to its word, at 1100hrs, the fog came, and we got to see how quickly the view went from brightly sunny to cold and foggy. 1200hrs, we got off our asses and braved ourselves for the climb down.
Alot of the people I've met cautioned me about the climb down. They say it is TOUGHER than the climb up. It took me 4hrs 45mins to climb down. So you can imagine. Climbing down the first 400m was ok for me as I was descending backwards. Finishing the 400m, the dreaded climb down began.
Too slippery, nowhere to grab and if I were gifted with long legs, it would be like going downstairs step by step. But no long legs here. To descend rock by rock, I was on my bum all the time. And when I realized my pace was going slower and slower, I got frustrated. Jai was extremely fast on the way down but thank God he waited for me. It wasn't that I was giving up, but it was more of wanting to know you're not alone.
Especially when I raced too fast and slammed my knees right into a sharp rock. Lucky for me, I fell right where Bego and Jai were waiting for me. I felt a little woozy and realized my right knee was bleeding. 2 GU chomps, some Coke and medical aid by the fellas, I braved down on wounded knees (wah, mcm drama plak) practically crying inside from the pain.
Nienka & Yan was waaay behind, the only call sign was the bird call....or "Like a virgin-" replied with an "Auuwww!"
Halfway down, Jai also had problems with his knees, so we were basically on the same pace. The last rock climb down was a breather...the last stretch we were running back to Camp 5, forgot all about knee pain or wounds. Maria must've thought there was an emergency as we came back running to the camp shouting her name. And all the other newcomers to Camp 5 were pretty confused about these 2 Malaysians running out of the jungle screaming.
Next agenda, jump into the river to drown the pain!
That night it was hard to sleep, the adrenaline was still rushing. Everytime I closed my eyes, I was back in the jungle climbing the mountain. At 0300hrs, I fell asleep.
Thank goodness the next day we were headed back to Long Litut on a free and easy trek. Ingvar, Jai & I led the way and reached the river in 2hrs. I guess when you're excited to get out of there, the route becomes too easy.
After one pacat and 2 ankle sprains, we said goodbyes to the other fellas and the boat took us back to Benarat Lodge. Since we had time before our flight, we chilled at the house for abit. I wish I could do that all day long. The breeze could lullaby you to sleep man!
Maria and Abg Mat sent us off to the airport and checked us in. We're very lucky that we had Richard our excellent cave guide, Maria our lovely ultracool guide and great cook and lovely company all along the way.
Right now, the pain has gone away, and my legs are itching for another adventure (Maria's invitation for a headhunter trail is sooo tempting). Dah siap beli adidas Kanadia TR3, rugilah tak pakai. Ask me to run a marathon right now, I would. Pinnacles again, entah la. But the adrenaline rush of a trail, woahhhhh. Shanaz, I get you now.
What I would write on the webpages: "To climb the pinnacles, bring your stamina, loads of bravery and GU chomps and Coke. And when you reach the top, sing your heart out!"
***Credit to my good friend Jai for the lovely shots!
In life, there are times when you have so much to think about that once you reach home, all you want to do is jump into bed and sleep.
