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TRANS BORNEO CHALLENGING 2006
TRANS BORNEO CHALLENGING
Jacek Pałkiewicz2006-10-23 12:15:53
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is to push the boat out of the path of sudden dangers, could be the beginning of catastrophe. So, with the engine running on high, the boat winds among the rocks in search of a break that would allow us to forge through the cataract terrace. Crossing these thresholds is one of those situations that we are not fully able to control. American writer Ed Abbey compared the moment to sex: “One-third of the pleasure is in expectation. Half of the thrills accompany anticipation. The rest is either ecstasy or darkness.”
In the Muller Mountains of Borneo, we are faced with one other barrier. We are embraced within a monolith of green and musty air saturated with a stifling, all-pervading humidity and surrounded by the claustrophobic half-light of the forest. The lowest layer is a tangle of liana vines, epiphites, ferns, vines and mushrooms. Without an exact map, we wander for 10 days over a slippery carpet of rotting leaves with the consistency of sticky mud. To keep from falling, we cling to everything in reach, most often to thorny palms that wound the hands. Every time this happens we let out a series of curses. I see my team suffering and some of the barefoot porters fall down. Crotches are rubbed raw and feet are covered in sores and painful wounds. I move forward on all fours under a tree trunk that blocks the way ahead. The weight on my back pushes me to my knees and I gather my strength to pick up my exhausted legs to avoid becoming entangled in the maze of roots. An annoying cloud of insects delivers painful bites, even through our clothes, and rivulets of sweat pour off of our bodies and into the eyes.
Heavy exertion in hot, humid air leads straight to overheating. The organism is unable to release heat through sweat, which in these conditions runs off the skin like liquid. Therefore sweating does not cool but dehydrates the body. Energy depleted, my heart thudding and on the edge of heat exhaustion, without removing my backpack I fall into
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