The Pinnacles of Borneo

in #photofeed6 years ago

_MG_6521a.jpg

There is quite a lot to my trip to Borneo but I'm just going to focus on what was the most challenging hike I've ever done, in terms of difficulty:distance ratio.

The Pinnacles in Mulu National Park.

_MG_6442.jpg
sleeping arrangements

We hiked 8km to the overnight hut to sleep before we were to begin the Pinnacles hike at 6:30am the next day. This is only a 2.4km hike to the top but we were told to allow for 8 hours return! That's nearly a 0.5kmph pace.

Check out the photo of the diagram for information on the hike
_MG_6473.jpg

At the halfway up point we are told to leave water for when we get back down, and if we don't reach the 2km mark by 11am, you have to turn back. This is because the last 400m of the track is ladders, ropes and very jagged rocks. The hike goes from about 200m asl to nearly 1200m asl over 2.4km. That is a very steep incline...

_MG_6544.jpg
the last 400m is rocks, ropes and ladders

All for a view of the surrounding rain forest the limestone pinnacles that jutting out of the canopy.

_MG_6546.jpg
_MG_6550.jpg

After getting to the top and seeing the Pinnacles, having a rest and eating some food. It felt as if the reward for the difficult climb up wasn't worth it. It wasn't until climbing back down and also struggling with the steep decent and wobbly knees that I realised the reward is the hike itself. The challenging nature of the terrain and beautiful forest of trees and limestone rocks we climbed through was an experience I'll never forget.
We were the first of the group to get back to camp at about 2:30pm. At 3:00pm there was a torrential downpour that bloated the river (see first image). We jumped into the river in a little area sheltered from the rushing water and casually watched a deer carcass float by that must have been swept away from a bank upstream and drowned. We figured it was a good idea to stay out of the river at that point.

_MG_6476.jpg

We then had an 8km hike through the old headhunters trail back to civilisation.


Intro Post
Website kieranstone.com
Instagram @kieranstoneau
Facebook Kieran Stone


Sort:  

World of Photography
>Visit the website<

You have earned 6.50 XP for sharing your photo!

Daily Stats
Daily photos: 1/2
Daily comments: 0/5
Multiplier: 1.30
Block time: 2018-09-24T23:57:51
Account Level: 4
Total XP: 1339.78/1600.00
Total Photos: 110
Total comments: 90
Total contest wins: 12
And have also received a 3.64 percent upvote.

Follow: @photocontests
Join the Discord channel: click!
Play and win SBD: @fairlotto
Daily Steem Statistics: @dailysteemreport
Learn how to program Steem-Python applications: @steempytutorials
Developed and sponsored by: @juliank

gosh it feels like i can feel the humidity and torrential weather from your photos.... very nice shots, @kieranstone !

sounds like the hike is its own reward :)

One of those times when you think of the saying "it's about the journey, not the destination"
:)

That distance taking that long I figured it must involve a bit of climbing, then I saw th diagram you took a photo of, holey sheet XD That would have been a fun and challenging walk. Seems a bit of a life metaphor, enjoy the walk not just the end :)

I've been on long walks that make you tired and you have to carry a heavy pack and it just takes a while, but this was something else...

This post has received a 22.31 % upvote from @boomerang.

You have paid more to a bot today then you have earned from it's vote. If you want to know why, visit my post: https://steemit.com/bots/@jimberg/why-is-steem-bot-tracker-tool-not-showing-accurate-data

You have copy and pasted today more than provide thoughtful comments. If you want to know what I think of this, read this comment again

Well, it was not today, but couple of days ago. Anyway, I just wanted to make your attention to the fact that you have paid 10 STEEM for a vote, which will give you back between 7-8 STEEM net as reward. But if you are ok with this, who am I to tell. Sorry for that!

And regarding the trail. It really does look like a very challenging one on this Borneo terrain.

Epic. Its on the bucket list for sure. Pity you posted this before the HF20 meltdown.