It was our ultimate day, hence we started out early. Actually we start early almost everyday. After a quick snack, we began our climb at about 7.30 in the morning along with another group consisting of 4 people, 2 girl, a guy and a guide. Uncle Richard, from Camp 5 joined us as well.
Only for about 5 minutes or so the ground was flat, and then the tortuous climb began. The hike to Pinnacles is only 2.4 km in length but rises up to 1,200 meters from Camp 5. It is so steep, according to Uncle Annad, Pinnacles Summit stands 45 degree from the ground. That means, we will be doing lots of bending to balance our gravity point. Sigh!
Only for about 5 minutes or so the ground was flat, and then the tortuous climb began. The hike to Pinnacles is only 2.4 km in length but rises up to 1,200 meters from Camp 5. It is so steep, according to Uncle Annad, Pinnacles Summit stands 45 degree from the ground. That means, we will be doing lots of bending to balance our gravity point. Sigh!
We climbed and climbed and climbed the Pinnacle for about thirty minutes before realizing that both Rain and Sara was missing. Elius and Bagio ran down to find them while the rest of us just waited there. After waiting for about 15 minutes, they finally arrived and we continued our journey.
For the first part of the climb, we passed through huge trees and razor sharp rock. The rock and the root from the tree made it easier for us to push our self up. At one point it felt like rock climbing rather then mountain climbing.
Upon waiting for Sara and Rain, the other group managed to catch up with us. The group now was lead by the boys and Sara. Akka was just couples of minutes in front of me and the other two girls were behind me. Half way through, Akka went missing and I was left behind with the two girls and their guide. On and off we were cutting each other till we reached the moss jungle, and I begin to lead. The trees were getting thinner and thinner and as the name describes, everything was covered by moss. Hence, it was very slippery and we had to be very careful with our step to avoid falling down. I knew Akka was just a couple steps ahead of me, but the mountain was such that I could not see her presence. So I kept on climbing trying catch up with her. Just then, the guide from the other group informed that, if we are unable to reach the first level by 10.45, we have to go down. I was shocked. There is no way I am going down with out looking at the Pinnacles. Not knowing what time it was, feeling rather tired, and not wanting be left behind, I vowed to my self that I will indeed reach the Pinnacles in time and upon seeing it, I am going to hug it. So I climbed and climbed, and climbed some more till I finally reached the second level in time. Phew! From there onwards, it was very vertical and hence required us to use rope and aluminum ladder for about 15 minutes to reach above. I totally got lost count of the ladders.
Mulu Tracks:
Once above, I continued my climb without waiting for the girls. It was only another 30 minutes or so to reach the summit, but I was not aware of that. Hence, continued climbing looking for Akka and the group. From that point on ward, the climbing was getting tougher and tougher. There were times where I need to go through little cave, walk in between two huge rock or even walk across 2 huge rock that was connected only by aluminum ladder situated on the ground all by myself. Phew, I sure felt like gymnast for a moment!
The more I walked, the silent the place was. I was all alone in the mountains. I neither could see Akka nor see the group behind me. Feeling so lost, I followed the arrow leading upwards. Finally after taking my last step, I finally saw everybody sitting still on huge rocks simply looking at open air. Yet there were no Pinnacles around. I was surprised with the quietness and walked further up and saw rows and rows of silver sharp razor rock emerging from the ground in the deep jungle of Sarawak. It felt like the Pinnacles just grew along with the tree. I was so mesmerized with gods creation that only tear didn’t fall from my eyes. I walked further up to the baby Pinnacles and simply hugged it. There was no better way to view the Pinnacle but in total silent. Sigh! The climb was indeed worth it.
Akka and me..hugging the baby pinnacles
The group cute guy from other grou(grey)p, me, akka, John(orange), Elius(yellow), Sara (red) and Rain(shirtless)!
VIews of Pinnacles:
A while later, the girls managed to reach the peak intime. We lingered for a while enjoying the view while having our lunch as usual, a musli and lemon tea, which we shared with Uncle Richard. We could not stay longer as the place was getting misty. In just seconds, it drizzled and we headed down.
Pinnacles covered by mist
Climbing down was 10 times tougher then climbing upwards. There is a high tendency to go slow, as we tend to watch every step to avoid falling down. With razor sharp rock, no doubt we had to be extra careful. Thus, everybody has their own timing. The boys were really fast, followed by Akka and Uncle Richard and I was some where with Bagio, Rain and Sara. The other girls were far behind us. We walked and walked and continued to walk for hours. As the time passed by, the place was getting darker and darker and the only noise I could hear were whispers from Sara and Rain. Finally after 4 hours of climbing down, with Bagio by my side, I spotted the flat ground. Ah, I finally made it. “Flat ground”, I screamed with joy. Bagio just smiled. He asked me to continue my journey while he waited for the two girls.
Upon reaching Camp 5, I saw Akka all freshened up, sitting at the eating lounge with a cup of tea. I wanted to jump into the pool again but instead just bathed and went to dorm to rest. A while later, Akka joined me and we went to kitchen to prepare dinner. We ate and chatted with Rosy and Rachael again and then went to bed, all covered with deep heat. Why? You will get the answer in a day or two.
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