13 April 2023, Thursday

After a good night’s sleep, we woke up bright and early at 5:30am, packed our bags and went for breakfast at our Rudy Trekker guest house at 6:30am. Breakfast comprised of a simple omelette, toast, coffee, watermelon and pineapple – just the way I liked it. For the 3D2N trek, it is advisable to pack as light as possible, so we just brought along what we needed on the mountain. Whatever we didn’t need, we deposited them at Rudy Trekker to be retrieved after the climb.

Hajar then came to meet us and introduced us to our guide and two porters who would be taking care of us over the next three days. Our guide was a 23-year-old lad named Harry, and the porters were Putro (aka GoPro) and Radip. They appeared to be honest and good-natured guys, which was a good sign. At 7am sharp, we hopped on the back of a pick-up truck together with Harry, GoPro and Radip and began our adventure.

There are two ascent routes to Mount Rinjani – via Senaru or Sembalun, but the preferred route is via Sembalun, which was what we chose. The drive from Senaru (where Rudy Trekker was) to Sembalun took 50 minutes. Before we could climb Mount Rinjani, we first had to undergo a medical checkup at Sembalun Agro Medicus, a small medical facility located in a nondescript building in Sembalun village.

After filling up a form with some basic personal particulars, the medical staff measured our temperature, blood pressure and oxygen levels using an oximeter. It was a fuss-free process and we were in and out in less than five minutes. After getting the all-clear, we drove to an office nearby where Harry registered our group to inform the mountain authorities about our climb.

From the office, we drove for another 15 minutes to the starting point of the trek at Kandang Sapi. The sky was overcast and the temperature was a cool 22 degrees Celsius. After taking some photos, we officially kicked off our trek at 8:22am. Rinjani, here we come!

Today’s trek would be divided into several sections, with checkpoints or milestones along the way:

• From the starting point to Pos I: 3.7km
• From Pos I to Pos II: 1.4km
• From Pos II to Pos III: 1.7km
• From Pos III to Pelawangan crater rim: 2.2km

(Between Pos III and the crater rim, there is another Pos IV, but the distance to Pos IV is not indicated)  

In total, the trekking distance for today is about 9km and the elevation gain is 1,500 metres. The elevations at the starting point and crater rim are 1,100m and 2,600m respectively. If it sounds easy, let me tell you right now that it is not!

The first section from the starting point to Pos I was easy enough, a good warm up for what was to come. We first walked through savannah grassland before entering a forest. The morning air was fresh and cool. The entire mountain was filled with lush vegetation and it was very soothing on the eyes. A fog soon rolled in and that made our trek even more atmospheric. It felt as if we were on a dramatic mission to Rinjani.

After an hour of trekking, we reached Pos I and took a break. As a reward for completing the first milestone, Harry gave us a Beng-Beng chocolate & caramel bar each. Nothing like chocolate to motivate us! During our break, there was a short moment when the clouds opened up momentarily to reveal the peak of Mount Rinjani. It looked so very far away but it was awe-inspiring. I imagined myself at the summit of Rinjani tomorrow morning. That little glimpse was the boost I needed to keep going. After a 20-minute break, we resumed our journey.

From Pos I to II, the terrain was relatively flat so it was still easy. Along the way, we passed by many cows and had to be careful to avoid their “cakes” while walking on the main path. I’m referring to cow dung, of course. Some of the cakes were “freshly baked” and even had a nice glossy sheen to it!

We also encountered a couple of people who took the motorbike service to go up to Pos II. Harry jokingly called them the “lazy people”. I won’t say I disagree with him, because why do you come to Rinjani and take a motorbike up? If you suffered an injury or have really bad cramps after summiting, you may need a lift to go down the mountain. Sure, I think that’s good reason to take the motorbike. But to take it on the way up? That’s just plain lazy…

It took us 25 minutes to cover the 1.4km from Pos I to Pos II, and we arrived at 10:08am. GoPro and Radip also arrived at the same time, and they began to prepare and cook our lunch. If you’re wondering what kind of kitchen facilities were available on the mountain, the answer is: none! There was only a small concrete shelter big enough for four groups of porters to cook. Those who came later had to find whatever space they could to set up their “kitchen”. It didn’t help that it started to rain soon after we arrived, so the porters who came after us had to scramble to seek shelter under a wooden building and prepare the meals there.

As there were absolutely no facilities on the mountain, the porters had to carry everything with them. I’m talking about a wok, pot, cooking utensils, gas canisters, cooking oil, plates, cutlery, water, fruits and enough food to prepare eight meals over three days. And that’s just for food preparation. On top of that, the porters also had to carry our tent, sleeping bags, mattresses, a foldable table, safari chairs, portable toilet tent and possibly more items that I don’t know about. All these items were carried by our two porters. I think the guide also helped to carry some items like soft drinks but the majority of the stuff was carried by the porters.

Each porter’s payload comprises of two sections joined together by a bamboo pole – a rattan basket to store items and another load made of various items tied together. Part of the skill is to pack the items such that the weight on both ends is balanced.

On the second day of the trek, I tried lifting one of the payloads. I estimate that it weighed around 20kg. And that was after we had consumed several meals already so it was lighter. For the full load on the first day, it must have weighed even more, maybe 25kg or so. After lifting it, I could barely walk for more than a few metres before I had to put it down again. It was not just heavy, but also painful on my shoulder. I simply cannot imagine climbing up and down the mountain with it for hours a day.

And the most amazing thing is, all the porters did so while wearing flip flops! Somehow, their magic Skyway flip flops provided the best grip and traction on the mountainous terrain. You will never see any porters falling down. Not only that, the speed at which the porters walk is unbelievable; they even overtook me. It is really incredible how they can walk so fast with the heavy load. I take my hats off them. Really, they are superhuman. Please remember to tip your porters well. They deserve it.

Back to our lunch. GoPro and Radip cooked up a feast for us. At 10:48am, lunch was ready. On the menu today was Nasi Campur, which means “mixed rice”. It comprised of steamed white rice, a sunny side egg, fried chicken drumstick, an assortment of vegetables (cabbage, long beans and potato), tempeh (fermented soybeans) and of course, keropok (or krupuk as spelt in Bahasa Indonesian). It was so good.

They also served us a platter of fresh fruits – watermelon, pineapple, apple and orange. To complete the meal, we had a choice of hot drink – tea, lemon tea, ginger tea, coffee. I chose ginger tea, and once again, it came with real ginger slices. It was a very good lunch that filled us up well.

It started to rain as we were having our lunch. It was a drizzle at first but it became heavier. I anticipated rain so I had brought along my waterproof backpack, but my pants and shoes were not waterproof. Harry handed me a disposable poncho (JC had brought his own poncho along) and it covered me to my knees, which was good enough. At 11:35am, we left Pos II and resumed our trek.

It stopped raining not long after, but the wind picked up. The terrain was mostly gentle upslope through the grassland so it wasn’t too difficult. Along the way, we passed by a spot where there had been a landslide during the last earthquake in 2018. It was a reminder that Indonesia lies on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area of significant volcanic and tectonic activity.

We arrived at Pos III at 12:22pm, faster than the expected timing of one hour. Here, Harry gave us another Beng-Beng to reward us. We rested for 20 minutes before setting off again.

It was much steeper between Pos III and IV. Our breathing became more ragged as we took each step. However, Pos IV wasn’t far away, and we arrived at 1:22pm. It took us 40 minutes to get from Pos III to IV.

After a short rest, we left Pos IV at 1:41pm. From here onwards, it became much tougher as the gradient was very steep. Harry called it the “Hill of Regret”, because people will start regretting the moment they start climbing it. Not only was it steep, the ground was mostly loose gravel, which made it extra tiring because your feet sank into the soft ground with each step. It was most tiring when we had to take big steps. The trekking pole came in handy in these instances, acting as a support to push myself up. For this section, we had to pause for every 30 metres or so to catch our breaths.

Finally, at 3:03pm, we reached the first crater rim, Pelawangan Sembalun, elevation 2,600m. It took us 2 hours 20 min to trek the 2.2km from Pos III to here. When we arrived, the whole area was shrouded in thick fog and there was no view at all. The wind was very strong, which made it difficult to even walk in a straight line. Our campsite was a short distance away. Along the way, we saw tents belonging to other hikers who had arrived before us.

We reached our campsite at 3:15pm. GoPro and Radip had already set up our orange tent. It was perched on the narrow rim, or ridge of the mountain. Around us, there were a few other tents sharing the space. Perhaps sensing our anxiety, Harry said that the strong wind was not normal. Indeed, I was quite concerned because the wind appeared strong enough to uproot the pegs and blow the entire tent away.

As it was very cold, we quickly sought shelter in our tent. Once inside, it was much warmer, though the tent was flapping wildly and we could still hear the wind howling loudly. The interior of the tent was spacious and comfortable, with more than enough room for JC and I and our bags. We each had a mattress, a pillow and a sleeping bag. After unloading our stuff, I could feel my shoulders aching from the weight of my bag. I was so tired that I fell asleep soon after, despite the racket from the wind outside.

At 4pm, Harry popped by our tent to serve us our afternoon snack – fried banana with chocolate sauce and shaved cheese topping. It was so good! We also had a hot drink, which was very welcome considering the weather.

After our tea break, we emerged from the cosy confines of our tent because the fog had cleared up momentarily, so we took the opportunity to see the lake. That was the whole point of camping here at the crater rim. Usually, hikers would sit on safari chairs here and admire the view while sipping tea. However, this wasn’t one of those days. The good weather didn’t last long as the fog rolled back in soon after and obscured everything, so we ran back to our tent to hide.

Harry told us again that the strong wind was not normal and we might have to decamp from here. He presented two options – either we stay here to wait it out, or move back down to Pos III or IV. Taking up the latter option means that we may not be able to climb to the summit tomorrow morning. He apologised profusely and said that we wouldn’t be able to get a refund as the weather was beyond his control.

We understood very well that the weather was beyond anyone’s control, but my first question to him was: Was it safe for us to remain here? That was my main concern. I wanted his opinion because he had been here many times, so he would be able to better judge whether it was safe or not, based on his experience and reading of the weather conditions. To me, the wind was very strong and I feared that if the conditions deteriorated or a thunderstorm happened in the night, the entire tent might get blown off or get swept away, even with the weight of us sleeping inside. I was asking him to make an informed judgment based on his experience. However, he wasn’t able to give a definitive answer to my question.

Next, we asked him a few other questions: besides going down to Pos III or IV, were there other options nearby? If we remained here, could we use the emergency shelter at the crater rim if the need arose? What were the other groups doing – were they also decamping, or staying put? To these questions, Harry said that we could either only stay here or go to Pos III or IV; the emergency shelter would not be available for us to use; and at the moment, one group has decamped while the others are remaining.

For JC and I, our top concern was safety – not just for ourselves, but also for our guide and porters. If Harry assessed that it wasn’t safe to remain here, then let’s go. But if we were to go, then it would be best to leave now at 4:30pm while there was still daylight, because climbing down the mountain in darkness would be even more difficult and dangerous.

Unfortunately, Harry’s responses were not assuring, and we could see that he was visibly flustered and confused by the situation (he said so himself). In the end, as most of the other groups around us were not decamping yet, we decided to stay put.

An hour later, Harry popped back into our tent to inform us that the wind had broken one of the support structures of our tent, and it was on the verge of collapsing. He also updated us that many of the groups around our camping area had started to decamp. Hence, based on the latest developments, we made the decision to move and go back down to Pos IV. We were disappointed of course, but we accepted that the safety of everyone involved was paramount.

After packing our stuff, we moved over to our guide and porters’ tent, which was not actually a tent, but more like a basha. I found it incredulous that GoPro was calmly cooking our dinner inside while the wind was raging all around us. He was stirring the green curry in the pot as if it was the most normal thing in the world. I also found it funny that we still had time to eat our dinner despite the urgent task at hand. It’s all about the priorities, man! Having said that, this was the best green curry I have ever had in my life!

At 6:30pm, we finished our dinner and emerged from the basha. As we made our way down the mountain, the sun had just set and it was rapidly getting dark. A short distance from the crater rim, not far from where we had just decamped, we saw that all the other groups, and another Dutch couple who were also booked with Hajar Trekking, had set up their tents here. There was hardly any wind here at all.

We spoke to the Dutch couple and their guide, and deduced that there were suitable spots for us here to pitch our tent. Hence, we asked Harry to let us stay here at the rim instead of going down to Pos IV. Especially since it was already dark, and Pos IV was a long way down. Harry agreed, and by 7pm, GoPro and Radip finished setting up our tent in this new area. When we stepped into our tent, it was quiet and peaceful, totally different from the chaotic situation earlier. It was amazing how a slight change in camping spots a few hundred metres away could make all the difference.

We went to bed around 8:30pm because we needed to wake up very early to start climbing to the summit. Of course, whether we could even climb depended on whether it was safe to do so, whether the wind had subsided by then. Thus, the plan was to wake up at 2am and assess the situation. If we deemed it safe, we would start climbing at 2:30am to reach the summit in time for sunrise. If not, we would skip the summit attempt, sleep in for a few more hours and continue trekking to the lake and second crater rim as per the original programme.

I didn’t manage to sleep till around 10pm because the people in the surrounding tents were talking and playing music. It wasn’t that loud but because we were lying on the ground inside a tent, their voices and music got amplified somehow. My nose was blocked too and that made it hard for me to sleep. I ended up not sleeping much that night.

Looking back at the whole situation, I don’t really blame Harry because he had never encountered such strong winds before. Earlier during the day, we heard the news from another hiker that someone had fallen down while descending to the lake and was injured badly (The next day, we learned that he was successfully evacuated around midnight, about 12 hours after the incident). Thus, Harry’s mind was also thinking about the accident and concerned about our safety.

Safety has and always will be my number one priority, but I think he didn’t consider all the options thoroughly enough due to the confusion at the time. I’m sure he meant well but perhaps he overcompensated for it by suggesting we go down to Pos IV instead of finding a suitable alternative camping spot nearby. He should also have communicated with the other guides/groups on the best course of action to take, since we were not the only ones facing the same situation.

For us, summiting Mount Rinjani was a major objective. If we couldn’t do it due to valid reasons, then too bad, it was just our luck. But it would have been a real pity if we had indeed gone down to Pos IV and missed the opportunity to summit when the weather permitted us to do so. It all boils down to making a correct judgment call sometimes. So, did we manage to summit Mount Rinjani eventually? Read the next blog post to find out!