TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2018
After the success of her first climb at Mulu Pinnacles, OLIVIA MIWIL looks forward for more mountaineering adventures.
Pinnacles at Gunung Mulu in Sarawak is much more difficult than scaling Mount Kinabalu.
That was the warning given by the tour operator when my husband and I booked a trip to Gunung Mulu National Park, which is the World United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation heritage site.
Mulu, although is less than an hour flight from Kota Kinabalu, was never in my travel bucket list. But when I won two return flight tickets from MASwings to the city, we decided to sign up for the four days and three nights trip that include climbing the mountain.
We felt that it could be once in a lifetime opportunity to visit the heritage site. Instead of visiting caves and other leisure activities, our hope is also to make unforgettable moment by conquering the pinnacles.
When people told me about Mulu, it was often associated with its magnificent show caves and biodiversity but seldom on the pinnacles. As such we prepared for the trip mainly looking at websites, blogs and videos.
At the beginning, my husband and I doubted whether we are fit enough to conquer the pinnacles as both of us have never climb a mountain, even Mountain Kinabalu although we live in Sabah for years.
According to Mulupark website (www.mulupark.com), to climb the pinnacles, you need to have above average fitness level and are in the excellent health condition.
The activity is high-risk with steep gradient of 2.4 kilometres trail that ascends to 1,200 metre above sea level. Descending is more challenging and it is even dangerous to do so in the dark.
Some of the lime stones have slippery surface and sharp rocks which further increase the risks especially when it rains.
Unlike at Mount Kinabalu, that allows climbers to go up and down at their own pace, the time to ascend to the peak is limited to within 3.5 hours. This is to ensure all climbers are able to go down in time before it gets dark.
Knowing the risks, we knew we had to prepare ourselves to ensure our fitness levels are up to the tough climb. For three months, we focus on improving our stamina to face the hiking distance of 4.8 kilometres. We pushed our training to beyond the distance by running and hiking up hills. We also focus on exercises for upper body strength such as planks, sit ups as well as indoor rock climbing.
On Aug 19, we set out for the trip, which involved a lot of walking of at least 10 kilometres daily to explore caves and to go through jungles to reach Camp 5. Camp 5 is a place for climbers to stay overnight before and after the climb.
Our guided climbing began at 6am after a heavy breakfast. Unfortunately the first 15 minutes of climbing was a struggle and tiring especially when the altitude is gradually increasing. After the first 500 metres, I managed to maintain the pace while making sure to follow all the precautions for safety.
I had read articles on people who fell and died while climbing doing this activity. I had to be careful and follow all the rules so that I could return home safely to our five-year-old daughter.
Climbers are recommended to bring at least three litres of water for the approximately eight hours hike for rehydration. However, the concern is it would cause pain on the knees joint due to the extra weight.
I am accustomed to not drinking water when I run, until the fifth kilometre. Therefore I limit my water to two litres during the climb. But the result is that I was feeling thirsty during the climb, which pushed me to reach Camp 5 as soon as possible so I could drink as much water.
To minimise the impact on my knees, I took small and low steps, and grabbing edges of the rock to pull myself up instead of using my hiking pole. Some prefer to use gloves to protect their hands from the sharp razor rocks, but I opted to go with bare hands so that I would have better grip. Thankfully, I did not had any major cuts on my hands.
At the viewpoint, we had about half an hour for some snacks and photography opportunities. The view on the top is totally worth all the efforts although I also enjoyed the landscape of low dipterocarp and moss forests with pitcher plants that can be seen at the side of the trail.
We wished that there would be helicopter, cable car, abseiling or other easier ways to descend the mountain. Unfortunately, our group of 14 people, including a 60-year-old woman, had to continue on with the longer-than-expected hiking hours.
Some of us had to apply analgesic cream on aching calf to carry on the journey, some had to rest many times but all managed to arrive at Camp 5 by 4pm.
While it was so tempting to just lie down and do nothing after completing the daunting quest, we had to engage in stretching exercise to cool down. Once that was over, I took a dip in the river that has stunning view of the mountain.
As recovering time for every individual is different, it is best to plan for the next day hiking back from Camp 5 to the boat area at Kuala Litut as well as arrangement at the airport.
We were glad that our three-month preparation helped us made through to conquer the Gunung Mulu pinnacles.
However the journey could be more easier if we used proper hiking shoes and bring isotonic drinks.
We made the mistake of wearing shoes made of rubber polymer and thick lugs on the soles, which did not have good padding to cushion impacts on the knees while descending.
But of course, the experience made us crave for more adventure in nature. Since we are living in Kota Kinabalu, our next destination maybe to climb the highest mountain in Southeast Asia - Mount Kinabalu.
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