Mulu Pinnacles Miri 9-13 August 2012

Mulu Pinnacles, Miri, Sarawak. 9-13^th August 2012.

This is a most memorable trip for all 10 of us and probably the most challenging adventure we have ever taken. It is even more difficult than climbing Mount Kinabalu!

Before the trip

Trixie emailed us the itinerary for the Mulu Pinnacles. It looked dauntingly challenging! The itinerary included an 8.8 km track carrying our backpack through forest to Camp 5, a challenging ascent to view the Mulu Pinnacles and a dangerous descent and to return by the same 8.8 km forest track.

I didn't think I was physically fit enough to do it.But that week I taught Bible Knowledge on Luke 19 on 3^rd Aug . The lesson included the section on the profitable and the unprofitable servants. In the course of preparing for the lesson, it struck me the unprofitable servant was unprofitable because he was motivated by fear of risk while the profitable servants were motivated by faith. Ouch! I knew fear was my motivation for sitting out the climb in Camp 5 while others who were game climbed to view the Mulu Pinnacles.

5^th August Sunday morning devotions. That day, during my morning devotions on Sunday, I heard the song.

He raised me up so I can stand on mountains.

He raised me up to walk on stormy seas

I am strong when I am on His shoulders,

He raised me up to more than I can be.

It was as if God was very specifically asking me to climb the mountain. The line struck – He raised me up to more than I can be. The climb is not so much about me as it is about Him.

So I smsed about 5 prayer supporters to pray for the 10 of us as we tried to conquer the point to view the pinnacles.

“ Request prayer for 10 people from my church TOD include me trying to conquer Pinnacles in Mulu. It’s a extreme challenge especially for above 50 and not so agile like me. D most difficult day on the 11^th as we  try to conquer a v difficult peak n safety when we descend. Pray for safety, health n good weather. Oh please pray. Also 12^th August when we walk 8.8 + 3 km on same day after ascent.”

To another close friend, I mentioned God had to raise me (and my big butt) to stand on mountains. She replied big butt was never an issue with Him.

That morning reading was Psalm 146. The verses that stood out were;

Verse 8 said The Lord raises those who are bowed down.

Verse 9 spoke about God helping the fatherless and the widow.

Coincidentally that morning, our Sunday service speakers were Ben and May from Vancouver. They shared about their ministry.  May spoke about the video Healing Rain and about how God was a father to the fatherless and defended the widows. The question I was left with was; “Who was I to accept verse 9 which was reconfirmed to me through the message and to reject verse 8 about God raising me up.”

I checked the weather on the few days we were there. It was rain for the 2 days that we were supposed to climb and bright sunshine the day after. I groaned inwardly. “God, did you make a mistake with the weather?”

The trip itself.

We began our supposedly 1 hour journey by long tail boat to Kuala Litut. Well, the 1 hour journey became about 2.5 hours because the Melinau river was dry and too shallow at certain sections so the men had to push the boat upstream. At many points, all of us got out of the boat and walked and were already tired before we began the jungle track.

Jason carried my bag most of the way although initially Peter and him carried the extra bags on a stick. Thank you Jason for bearing my load. While tracking we heard thunder. We reached Camp 5 about 4 pm++. It rained heavily that evening shortly after we arrived. When we saw groups of people coming in the rain, we were very thankful that we and our luggage had been spared from the rain. During the briefing, we were warned that the climb was difficult and dangerous and told to carry 3 liters of water and our own lunch pack up.Our guide Undi said the climb would be cancelled if it rained. That night it continued to rain heavily and we were not sure whether we would be allowed to climb. 

The ascent.

We started about 6.10 am. We wore our headlamps and walked the easy 200m through the forest. Then we started climbing. We definitely needed good gloves to hold the ropes etc to climb. The heavy rains the night before cooled the forest and made the ascent easier. The fitter and younger group – Peter, Trixie, Irwin, David and Katherine went way ahead of us. 

We reached the first ladder close to 10 am. The first ladder was a vertical ladder. There were 17 ladders altogether, some at an angle, some horizontal and some very close to each other to help us climb up the solid rock ascent. There were also sections with iron rings and ropes.

We in the slower group focused totally on climbing and did not take any photo. Halfway we met people coming down. They had reached the peak already. We also met Peter and Trixie’s group. They were overjoyed to see us because they were worried that we had given up and gone back. 

We reached the peak safely about 11 am. We were the last group up that day on the point to view the pinnacles. We posed for photos and the mist came and made the scenery better. I remembered to take some photos with Convent Sentul sports T-shirt popped over my climbing T-shirt. I made it to the top because my husband Jason led me all the way up. Thanks Jason. 

The song He raised me up came at many points in the ascent. I knew that I would reach the top even though I was not very fit because it was God who raised me up to stand on mountains. Reaching the peak showed me that God is much bigger than my limitations and issues of weight, gender, age and arm issues and that mind and heart could outweigh physical issues. I also realized God knows I can do the climb and nudges me towards it to stretch my faith though I do not feel capable of it earlier.

The descent.

Our kampong Adidas shoes were very uncomfortable for the descent.  At many points I descended backwards since it was safer but I had to be careful not to lose track of where I was going. We met Undi at 1100 m. I did not realize it but Trixie and Katherine had asked Undi to stay back so he could take care of us instead and ensure our safe return. Thank you, sacrificial friends. The descent is much more dangerous and difficult than the ascent. I took about 4+ hours to climb up but about 7+ hours to climb down.

At 900m, I had finished my supply of water.  Undi allowed us to drink from the extra bottles stored there since we were also the last group down. We were very slow – something like 30 mins for 100 m descent. Jason joined the Singaporean men and left me and a Singaporean lady in the capable hands of Undi, our experienced guide aided by Stanley ( the Singaporean’s young guide)  and Alex.
                                            

I descended a bit faster than the young Singaporean girl so I sat at the bottom of each section to wait for her. While I sat and waited, I tended to doze off since I was exhausted. Falling asleep on the track was dangerous – I could fall down if I fell asleep. Furthermore, each time I got up, I felt faint and fell backwards many times. Even when I walked, I was quite unsteady and fell. So at times, I just descended using my butt. There are numerous blue back section on my butt currently. Undi got sticks for both of us to keep us steady. 

Near the 500 m mark, I was very exhausted and wished I could just sit down and sleep in the forest. Undi kept me alert and focused by engaging me in conversation. Undi told me no one ever stayed in the forest at night. He identified the sounds of various birds and insects and told their sounds were calls to go home and so we should keep walking to go home. At the 400 m, heavy rains descended. I was very discouraged and cried and tasted my salty tears in the midst of the rains. I asked God why it rained. After a while, I realized the rain was very good for me as it cooled me down and refreshed me and I no longer felt faint.  After I felt refreshed, I encouraged Undi and affirmed that surely we would arrive safely at Camp 5 as many people were praying for our safety.

Eventually about 7pm, we reached Camp 5. Our friends cheered and clapped when our flashing lights appeared in the rainy darkness. Katherine took me to the bathroom where she had prepared my clothes and towel for my bath. Judith fixed a pail filled with warm water. Trixe helped me remove my gear.Thank you,friends

I was so exhausted that I bathed sitting down. My legs were so rubbery I had no strength to stand anymore. After I finished bathing, I could not walk so I laid down on the long bench in the bathroom until Katherine took me to the dinner table. I was too tired to eat more than 2 bites and went to sleep on my bed in Dorm 4. It rained heavily again that night and it was very cold. I was not sure whether I could walked out the 8.8 km the next day and mentally prepared myself to skip all the caves itinerary if necessary.

The track out.

We engaged 2 porters to carry our heavy wet clothes – 1 for me and one for Trixie’s family. That made the track easier. The heavy rains for the 2 nights raised the river and we had a wonderful short and fast boat ride out.  That day, Undi surmised that we would walked a total 20 km if we did all 4 caves on top of our 8.8 km track.

We checked in the luxurious Royal Mulu Resort and I had two wonderful baths and washed my hair twice that first day. . Thank you Trixie and Katherine for organizing the trip! We are greatly blessed.