Hiking the Caves

Heading upriver on a beautiful day
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After an early start, we cruised upriver in a now very snug longboat.  Willie pointed out all kinds of things along the way and gave us the safety briefing for caves.  We stopped first at the Wind Cave, famous for wind.

The caves in Borneo are all limestone, very different from the rockies.  The formations are gritty looking, and the stalactites are clearly made from discrete drops, collapsed spheres brought down by water. They are spectacular inside, periodically lit by sinkhole-skylights green with ferns and algae.  The wind cave is toured via a well-lit path, and the lights are motion activated, so staying too long in one spot leaves you in the dark.  Luckily, flashlights were a key part of the safety briefing, so we got through ok.

Willie quickly herded us back to the boat, we were on "military time" now...

A bug that Willie pointed out, and later put on his nose!
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After a quick break and another jog up a crystal-clear tributary we hiked up past where the river comes from the rock, and entered the clearwater cave.  At first Michelle was a little worried at what we might find in this cave, comprised of the "man" and "woman" chambers...given the Bornean sense of humor there was a strong possibility of it being x-rated...luckily that was not to be.  The women's chamber was a smooth, softly lit cavern that ended in a dry waterfall site.  The men's chamber had nothing really to do with men, but did house the underground section of the clearwater river.  We stropped to drink straight out of the real mountain spring and enjoy the echoing rushing of water.

Michelle's trekking attire. Willie suggested that the skirt was not a good idea for the climb. It wouldn't have been.
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Willie quickly herded us back to the boat, we were on "military time" now...and it turned out to be a good thing given the leisurely pace at which we finished the next leg of the trek.  At two points upriver we had to get out of the boat (except Willie) and hike through the shallows...the combined weight of seven Westerners had it riding a little too low to make it.  It was a welcome and refreshing break from the noon heat, and having our shoes wet didn't really matter...we sweat enough in 4 seconds to make up the difference.  The boat dropped us off, to return in 2 days, and we started the 8km trek to Camp 5, at the base of the Pinnacles climb.

Willie and Susan walk the plank
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The trek was pretty uneventful, but absolutely gorgeous.  Willie stopped to point out the tree that provides poison for blowdarts and several times had us stop and be quiet to see if giant squirrels would show themselves (Michelle thinks we were too noisy).  The hike was flat, and all of the boggy bits were bridged by tidy plank walkways.  We discovered the Mangostein, and Willie cut open a few for us.  Perfectly spherical rinds give way to brown, fleshy seeds that are both sweet and really sour.  Kind of like lemonade for the hot afternoon.  We arrived at camp 5 shortly before sunset and jumped in the river as soon as Willie let us go.

Camp five's amazing backdrop
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Somehow Willie assembled a gourmet meal out of the food we all helped pack in, red snapper with fruit and vegetables, local ferns cooked in garlic...way more creative than any of us could have done!  Dinner ended with a safety briefing about the Pinnacles...and got us a little worried.  As we got closer and closer to hiking up, the warnings from guides, park wardens and signs got more and more serious!