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| Sunday, July 05, 2009, 12.44 PM | |||||
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Home » FeatureStory
But somehow this picture perfect landscape didn’t help ease our apprehension about climbing the razor-sharp Pinnacles that stood like needles on the slopes of Gunung Api within the Gunung Mulu National Park in Sarawak. Along the 40-minute upstream ride to Kuala Litut, from the national park headquarters, photographer Munira Abdul Ghani and I just couldn’t stop feeling nervous. We were worried whether we were mentally prepared and had enough stamina to complete the arduous climb up the Pinnacles. The thought that we had not packed enough clothes and snacks for the three-day expedition also bothered us. Gunung Mulu National Park is Sarawak’s largest park and is known for its vast biodiversity and limestone karsts and caves. The park usually attracts 20,000 visitors every year but the number went up to a record 24,000 last year. Of this number, only about 250 guests a month check in at Camp 5, the base camp at the foot of Gunung Api. The mountain is located midway of the Kuala Litut-Kuala Terikan trek of Sarawak’s famous Head-Hunter Trail, stretching from the national park to Limbang. The 250 include leisure campers, trekkers on the arduous Head-Hunter Trail and those on the expedition to climb the Pinnacles. The Pinnacles are silver-grey stones that rise above treetops to an incredible height of 45 metres (that’s as high as a 12-storey building). The Pinnacles are the remnants of continuous limestone formations, dissected by natural chemical weathering over time. Of those who attempt to climb the Pinnacles, only two-thirds finish the 2.4km trail to the Lookout Point at 1,200-metre altitude of the 1,750-metre-high mountain. A few unlucky climbers have fallen to their death there. Our fears were real indeed. The Journey To Camp 5 We had arranged for a 9km trek from Kuala Litut to Camp 5 on Day 1, followed by a whole-day expedition up to the Pinnacles summit at 1,200 metres on the second day and the trek back to Kuala Litut on the last day. This was the typical programme for The Pinnacles Summit Expedition, said our guide Bub Julau. “Some cram all these in just two days but that requires lots of stamina and a high level of fitness,” he said. The trek to Camp 5 was a pleasant walk through dense rainforest. It was flat all the way, except for a short hike up a small hill at the 5th kilometre. The trail has clear signs at almost every kilometre to inform climbers how much distance they have covered. Gravel footpaths and plank walks help trekkers through the wet spots. Although the ground was flat, the distance was intimidating. It was clear to the guide that we were unfit. Whenever Munira made brief stops to shoot something that caught her eye, I took advantage to offload my backpack and rest my legs. Almost 31/2 hours later, we saw bright green turf showered in scorching sunlight at the end of the dark, gloomy trail. Slowly, Camp 5’s facilities — the L-shape hostel building, a few benches and a riverside shelter as well as the rocky Sungai Melinau and the limestone Gunung Benarat — came into sight. Gunung Api, with the Pinnacles, stands just behind the hostel. Camp 5 is like a paradise for trekkers and climbers in the middle of the dense jungle, flanked by grand mountainous summits. The Pinnacles’ Summit Trek “We must at least reach the Mini Pinnacles. At least then you’ll have the photos and I’ll have the story,” I told Munira as we continued our hike on the Pinnacles’ Summit Trek. Bub gave a short briefing on the expedition after dinner. The plan was to leave Camp 5 at 6.30am and reach the Mini Pinnacles at the 900-metre mark an hour later and reach the first ladder at the 2km mark by 11am. (There are 15 steel ladders at the remaining 400 metres where the main Pinnacles’ Summit, or the Lookout Point, is located.) “We must turn back and go down no later than noon. That’s the rule,” Bub said. This rule, he said, was for our safety as the descent is tougher and more time-consuming and the jungle becomes darker much earlier. So we set off early. Our tired muscles could bear with the flat 200-metre walk before we reached a huge boulder with a small crevice with a rope running along it. “The climb starts here,” announced Bub. The first 10 metres (almost every 10 metres was marked with a red stick) reminded me of my torturous hike up Selangor’s Gunung Nuang, which I had vowed never to climb again. Throughout the almost 50-degree gradient track, we stepped in between rocks and tree roots with practically nothing to hold on to, unless we bent down. At difficult stretches, there were ropes to help us ascend. The higher we went, the stronger it reminded me of the Nuang trek, except that it seemed to be five times tougher. Only my resolve made me continue. Urged by Bub, we moved as fast as we could. But we weren’t fast enough. “Fifteen metres to the Mini Pinnacles!” announced Bub as he saw us pause for breath for the umpteenth time. The time was already 8.40am. When we reached the small plateau at the Mini Pinnacles, Bub had his cigarette lighted up. His mind was made up. “Take as much time as you need. Sit, drink, rest, lie down or take pictures. We walk down at 9.30am,” he said firmly. “Even if we continue to climb, based on our pace, we cannot meet the 11am deadline,” he explained, much to our disappointment. He saw our dejected looks and added consolingly: “Many climbers have not been able to reach even this point.”
 
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