Ever since the last post on my first 10k race, I have become rather obsessed with fitness. I have managed to finish two races this year, namely the Twincity Marathon 12k challenge (1:25:41) and the KK City Borneo Half Marathon (2:14:52). My consistent training was paying off. I was really looking forward to improve my time in the next races. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic brought all of these into a halt. Literally, the whole world went into lockdown. We were not even allowed to go out for a run. It was then I tried Zumba, Yoga, Strength-Flexibility-Mobility exercises, all done virtually. I found them really fun. More than anything else, amidst the social isolation, I looked forward to seeing the familiar faces in the virtual class working out together. However, the virtual classes were discontinued after the lockdown ended. And I went back to running, only this time, without a particular race as a goal.
The idea of climbing the Mulu Pinnacles was planted by a friend. Having visited the Mulu caves 5 years ago, I have known of the Pinnacles, but I have never thought of climbing it. All the websites detailing the hike had grave warning like: ‘must possess above average fitness’, ‘not for beginner’, ‘high risk activity’, ‘difficult even for the experienced climbers’ – in other words, not me. I was unsure why my friend thought that I was indeed fit enough to do it. But on the other hand, this was actually the best time for the trip, as Sarawak had restricted entry into the state at the time to control the spread of Covid-19. It was cheap to visit at that time and we would have the whole place to ourselves, without the usual crowd of foreign travellers. In the end, I agreed. It served as the goal of my training.
Training began in June. I would do between 3 to 6 runs a week, to build up and maintain my endurance. I tried to incorporate at least one hill session per week. I always run the BDA slope, which was 500m in length and 50m in elevation, then going downhill as recovery, and repeated 5 times. Hill sessions were always hardcore. I could feel the lactic acid burning at every muscle fibres over the legs and sometimes even running up my arms. I looked forward at reviewing my heart rate pattern after each hill session.
We were fortunate to have a tour package had everything included (airfare, board, meal, registration fees, guide fees, entrance fees, boat fees) and we had little to worry about but to prepare our personal items. I indulged in shopping for my outdoor gears, my favourite item being the shiny navy blue 50L North Face backpack, purchased at a heavily discounted price. The day came when I said goodbye to work, then drove to Miri Airport in early morning to meet up with my three companions. And off we went to Mulu via a little plane. The plane took off 30 minutes earlier than scheduled.
The first day was pretty relaxing. A boat ride brought us to Kuala Litut, then we had to trek 9km through a forest trail to the Camp 5. It was the first time in my adult life, trekking through a forest for this distance carrying a fully loaded backpack. It was quite an enjoyable trek, until it started raining. I stopped sightseeing, put on my raincoat and picked up the paces. It was only near the end of the trail that I realized that I have left my friends far behind. I stopped a few times to wait for them, took out my phone to record a few photos and videos, but the insects started to attack, so I pushed on.
I arrived to find myself soaked inside out. I washed off the mud and pulled the leaches off my feet. I thought I would be squeamish, but it wasn’t too difficult after all. It was the first time in my life being bitten by leaches. I found out that I have put the waterproof bag cover the wrong way, and as a result, almost everything inside my bag was either wet or damp. I was especially sad to find my phone soaked and could no longer start. That was a bummer as I wanted to have a GPS recording of the climb to the Pinnacles.
We settled into the camp easily. There was a group of middle age uncles who had just finished their Pinnacles climb early on in the day. They were obviously seasoned climbers. Even so, three of them did not manage to reach the peak. They were telling us the difficulty of the trail, in what way it was dangerous compared to the many other mountains that they have summited. We kept pressing on with so many questions. Yet, the more answers we get, the more anxious we became. After dinner, our guide with his assistant and the park ranger came to brief us about the climb. There was time limit for each of the three checkpoints, failing which we would be asked to turn back. Inclination would be steep (nothing less than 50%), and there would be sections of rock climbing and rope climbing. Should it rain, the climb would be cancelled for safety reason. Each of us was seriously questioning ourselves, especially me, who had never hiked before. We told ourselves to be prepared to give up if we really could not manage. Safety first, we just need to return in one piece. We went to bed early, but none of us could really fall asleep. The sound of the river and the forest were just a little too loud and disturbing for me.
We woke up early the next morning and set off at 6:30am. We had to reach the first checkpoint in 1 hour, and I found this the most difficult. Actually, this part of the trail is comparatively the easiest to climb. However, pace needed to be fast, and it made one breathless. I could only keep up as we made several short breaks while waiting for my friends to catch up. After the first checkpoint, the terrain became more difficult and involved more technical climbing. The rocks are just there, and you need to figure out where you would put your hands and legs to push yourself up. It was challenging, but extremely enjoyable! It reminded me of my childhood days when I used to climb up my father’s big bookshelf spanning the entire upstairs living room like a spider man. The climb did not require that much of upper body strength than I previously thought. All of us managed to reach all the checkpoints in good time and eventually arrived at the Pinnacles. We were rewarded by a spectacular view! I would never forget my first glance at the majestic structures. What an incredible creation of nature. We spent half an hour absorbing the breathtaking scenery.
Then, in a matter of minutes, the sky turned cloudy, and we worried that it might start to rain soon. I was the first to hurry my friends to pack up and start descending. It was at the beginning of the descent through the ladder sections that it started raining. Ladder section was the scariest, as one miscalculated move, one would fall from a height of several floors. The rain had made it more difficult as the rocks we relied on for grip had become more slippery. I was worried, but I just told myself to focus, one step at a time, forget about the rain, and get this section over and done with as soon as possible. Focus and concentrate were the key words here. Before long, the ladder section was over, the rain stopped, and my guide and I breathed a sigh of relief.
That was the only part of the descent that I found relatively easy. The rest of the decent, especially from halfway point onwards, was a struggle. Words of the seasoned climbers and the guide who warned that ‘descending a mountain would always be more difficult than ascending a mountain’ came back ringing repeatedly in the head. I did not believe it when it was said to me on the day before the climb. Never in my life had I find descending an activity that require any effort. This time, I could truly understand what this means. I never thought the day would come when I could not balance on one leg to land the other leg on a lower ground. My thigh muscles were giving way. I had to use my arms to support myself through almost every single step. It felt never ending. I was ahead of my group at the beginning. However later on, not only did they caught up, I eventually slowed everyone else down. But I have to say there is no shame to be slow if it meant safety. I knocked my legs and feet against many rocks and nearly sprained my ankles a few times along the way, but no real harm done. We finally arrived back at camp safely just before sunset at 5:30pm.
I did not sleep well on the night after the climb. Each time I close my eyes, I see more big stones to pass in order to descend the mountain. I spent the next few days walking sideways like a crab. I dreaded the sight of any stairs. It took one week for the soreness at the quadriceps to subside. We spent the last night at Marriott Mulu. It was rather a sad sight to see the beautiful resort so empty, our group being the only guest at the time.
This trip was a very memorable one. I am so happy to get to know this group of friends. Only one of them was an old friend, the other two were new friends. We clicked so well right from the start. There was never a dull moment. We helped out each other in many ways throughout the trip. We were also lucky to be assigned to our guide, who was clearly competent and extremely helpful, looked after us well from the very beginning till the end of the trip. The muscle soreness was the only regrettable annoyance from the climb.
I have to thank all of my travel companion for making this trip such an unforgettable one. I never thought I could ever climb the Pinnacles. This experience has taught me to have more belief in myself, taking on boulder steps out of my comfort zone. For even if I fail, what does it matter?
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