14 April 2023, Friday

I had set my alarm clock for 2am but I was woken up an hour earlier by the alarm from the tent next to ours and I couldn’t go back to sleep again. I continued lying in bed but my blocked nose didn’t help. At 2am, I crawled out of the tent to answer nature’s call and gargle my mouth with Listerine. I didn’t bring my toothbrush or toothpaste along for the climb so Listerine was the next best option (pack light!). As there was no mobile reception then, I couldn’t check the temperature. But when I last checked yesterday evening at 7pm, the temperature was 14 degrees Celcius. This morning, it was chilly but not freezing, so I guess it was probably around 10 degrees C. There wasn’t any wind at all, which was a good sign.

At 2:10am, breakfast was served to our tent. It comprised of two slices of toast with chocolate sauce and a cup of hot coffee. The toast was golden brown, lightly fried with butter on the outside, and it was delicious. As you can tell, it’s quite easy to make me happy – just give me bread and coffee and that’s all I need for breakfast.

Harry confirmed that the weather was fine so we were good to proceed with our mission of climbing to the summit of Mount Rinjani. As we would be returning to camp after summiting, we packed our essentials into one bag (JC’s smaller bag) and left the other stuff we didn’t need in my bag at camp. JC called the smaller bag our “assault bag”. Guys who have been through Army during National Service will know this term.

It is important that the Assault Bag be as light as possible because the climb to the summit will be arduous. But it is also important to bring enough water, warm clothes and gear because it will be cold at the summit (3,726m altitude), especially before sunrise. But it will also get hot during parts of the climb and after the sun rises, so you’ll want the flexibility to add or remove layers easily.

For the summit climb, I wore two layers for my lower half – a pair of Uniqlo Heat Tech leggings under my Decathlon trekking pants. For the top half of my body, I wore up to three layers – a Uniqlo Heat Tech long-sleeved top, a short-sleeved Uniqlo DRY-EX T-shirt and an Under Armour waterproof jacket. I also put on a beanie hat and fleece gloves to keep my head and hands warm. The only thing that I missed out on was a bandana to protect my face against the wind chill.

Armed with our head torches, trekking poles and Assault Bag (JC carried it for the first part), we started our trek at 2:43am. We were supposed to set off at 2:30am so we were already 13 minutes late. However, we were not the last as many other hikers were also making their way up the same time as us.

The elevation gain from camp to the summit would be 1,100 metres. Harry later told us that most people take three hours to reach the summit, in time for sunrise, which was around 6am. Soon after we started our climb, I knew that it would be a tall order to achieve it. The path up was very steep and comprised mostly of loose gravel, like what we encountered at the Hill of Regret yesterday. However, it was much worse this time as it was continuously gravel for almost the entire way up.

Climbing in the dark with only our head torches for illumination, we also had to be extra careful and alert. Actually, the darkness made it less scary because we couldn’t see beyond what was in front of us. I just focused on the next steps ahead. If I could see how steep the slope was, or how narrow the ridge was, it would have been way scarier.

We stopped many times along the way to rest and catch our breaths. My nose was also runny because of the wind chill, and it impeded my breathing. Anyway, it is not a competition, so take all the time you need. Everyone has their own pace. Despite how tough it was, the thought of not making it to the summit never crossed my mind. Ok, I shouldn’t use double negatives, but what I meant was, it never occurred to me that I wouldn’t make it, and I never thought of giving up halfway. I definitely had to push myself physically but I knew that with each step I took, I was a little bit closer to attaining my goal.

I feel that trekking on a mountain, or in this case, a volcano, is a bit like problem solving. You need to plan your next steps carefully as a misstep can be very costly and potentially life-threatening. You need to figure out the path of least resistance, where to place your left foot so that you can have enough leverage to lift yourself up, and then where to plant your right foot and so on. You also need to know how to adjust your body weight, how to avoid the slippery rocks and how to react when you slip. But most of all, I feel that it is a test of your mental strength.

At about 5:45am, the sun was emerging from the horizon on our left, yet we were still a distance from the summit. We could see the dark outline of the summit up ahead, and the trail of headlights belonging to the hikers in front of us. It was so near and yet so far. We knew we were not going to make it in time for sunrise, but it didn’t matter. We would still get there eventually. JC was quite tired at this point, so he asked me to go ahead. Harry stayed with him so I pressed on by myself.

The final stretch to the summit was the hardest because it was very steep, and the soil was very loose. As the sky got brighter, I could see exactly how narrow the path was. At its narrowest, it looked to be not more than 2 metres across. The incline was about 40 degrees. As I paused to catch my breath, I glanced to my left and right to soak up the views. I also turned around to look at the sea of clouds below, but that was scary so I quickly turned back around to face the mountain. I decided to focus on the task at hand and kept my eyes firmly forward and upwards. 

With each step I took, the sky got brighter as the sun rose higher. Many others who had summited were already on their way down but I kept going. Finally, at about 6:30am, I reached the summit. It felt amazing to stand there and take it all in. Yesterday, I was just starting the trek 2,600 metres below, somewhere far away. And now, many hours and thousands of steps later, I am here, at the top of Mount Rinjani. Mission accomplished!

People ask me why I like to “torture” myself and do such strenuous activities when I’m supposed to be relaxing on holiday. The answer to that is: It’s not the destination; it’s the journey. It’s a cliché quote, but it’s true. The reason I like to climb mountains (or to be more precise, trek) is not for the views from the top, but rather, I see it as a form of self-affirmation and a test of my physical and mental strength.

Yes, the views are always incredible, but more than that, it is the knowledge that I am able to make it all the way up there purely based on my own strength and using my own body, that is even more rewarding and empowering. The sense of achievement in successfully scaling a mountain is something you can’t replicate by lying on a beach or shopping at a mall. Don’t get me wrong, I like to lie on the beach and shop at malls too, but I also like to challenge myself physically every now and then. As I always say, people travel for different reasons, and there’s no “right” or “wrong” way to travel. You do you, and I’ll do me.

About 10 minutes later, JC joined me at the summit, along with Harry. So happy that we all made it successfully. We spent another 20 minutes resting and taking photos before starting our descent at around 7am. As much as we wanted to enjoy the fruits of our labour and stay there forever, it was very cold and windy, and we still had a long way down, so we needed to get moving.

Going down is physically less tiring but it requires a lot more focus. If you’re not careful, you can tumble down very quickly and fall to your death. However, it’s not that dangerous if you go down slowly and carefully. Remember, it is not a competition and there are no prizes for finishing first. 

Due to the steep incline, you have to adjust your body weight and lean back when you are going down. Never lean forward. Keep your centre of gravity low so that if you slip, you will fall on your bum first. After that, sit down and lie down with your back against the mountain. You never want to fall forward because things will literally go downhill from there.

A trekking pole is definitely very useful here because it acts as an extended arm to stabilise yourself while you find your footing. Harry saw that I was struggling a little in the soft soil so he imparted this useful advice: when going down, dig your heels in first and keep your feet straight pointing up, not sideways. I tried his technique and it helped a lot. I was able to go down much more confidently and quickly after that.

Even though going down was not as difficult as going up, it was also not easy because the sun was up and it was getting hotter with every passing minute. We were also getting tired after our early start to the day with little sleep. We missed our target to reach our campsite by 9am and only arrived at 9:37am. Back at camp, we saw that many other groups had already decamped and left for their next destination, the lake.

After some discussion, JC and I decided that we were too tired to continue with the original plan of trekking to the lake and camping at the second crater rim tonight, followed by the final trek to Senaru village tomorrow. Instead, we would backtrack to Pos II and camp there for the night, before trekking to Sembalun village tomorrow, back to our original starting point.

We decided this was the best course of action because of a few reasons. First, we had already achieved our objective of summiting Mount Rinjani, so it was mission accomplished. Second, Harry told us that the hot springs at the lake were not in action at this moment, so there was one less reason to go to the lake. Third, the trek down to the lake was not easy, with large rocks and steep inclines, and it would be made even more difficult in our current tired state. A trekker had fallen yesterday and injured himself/herself badly on the way to the lake (likely because it was slippery due to the rain yesterday), so we didn’t want to risk it. Fourth, backtracking to Pos II was all downhill and a shorter distance compared to going down to the lake and then up to the second crater rim. All things considered, it was the best option.

Of course, I was disappointed that I couldn’t fulfill the original plan, but safety comes first. That also gives me a reason to come back again in the future, to complete my unfinished business. But instead of 3D2N, I will do the climb over 4D3N instead, which will be less tedious since there is an extra rest day.

For 4D3N, the route and the sights are all the same. After summiting, you will trek down to the lake and spend the night there. The next morning, you will then trek up to the second crater rim and spend the night there. Thus, the same programme is spread out across another day. In this way, you can fully enjoy the lake and the hot springs, instead of rushing everything on Day 2.

But the reason why I didn’t choose the 4D3N package is because Scoot only operates two flights between Singapore and Lombok weekly – on Wednesdays and Sundays. To fit in a 4D3N programme, we would have needed to spend eight days in Lombok (fly in on Wed and out again on Wed) instead of five days (fly in on Wed and out on Sun). So this is my advice for those who are thinking of travelling from Singapore to climb Mount Rinjani: Do the 4D3N programme, and set aside eight days for the trip instead of five.

As we rested from our exertions, GoPro and Radip prepared our second breakfast – burger and fries. It was a simple meal but I enjoyed it, especially the fries. Harry also helped us take some nice photos and videos with the lake as the backdrop. I must say that Harry has a good eye for angles and camera movements. The videos he shot of us were really good.

At 11am, we set off again from the crater rim and made our way towards Pos II. Having come the same way before, we knew what to expect from the terrain so it was reassuring. However, that didn’t make it any easier because going downhill is very strenuous on the knees. Your toes will also be begging for mercy. Therefore, it is important to wear thick socks and have a pair of good trekking boots or shoes.

We reached Pos IV at 12:29pm, took a short break and left Pos IV at 12:48pm. At 1:29pm, we reached Pos III. We left again at 1:41pm, and reached Pos II at 2:24pm. GoPro and Radip immediately went about preparing our lunch and setting up our tent. At 2:55pm, lunch was served. It was simple fare of Indomee noodles with fried chicken, fried egg, tempeh and keropok, but it was delicious.

If you’re wondering how they keep the chicken fresh over three or four days without refrigeration, Harry said that the porters carry the fresh, uncooked chicken up the mountain on the first day. At the first lunch spot (which is also at Pos II), they will cook the chicken and add salt to preserve it. On the subsequent days, they will re-fry the chicken. So the chicken was already cooked on the first day, and re-cooked on the subsequent days. Mystery solved!

As we were not trekking anymore today, we had the rest of the afternoon free to recuperate. We chilled out in our tent and took a short nap. Around 5:50pm, we emerged from our tent to relax at the pondok and admire the scenery. Pos II was surrounded by grassland and it overlooked a valley. When the sky was clear, we could also see the peak of Mount Rinjani from here. The fog was coming in so it was getting cool, around 20 degrees C.

In the evening time, it was actually very beautiful and serene, with no other humans in sight. Besides us, a group of three Singaporeans was also camping here for the night. They had also booked the same 3D2N package with Hajar Trekking, and like us, they decided to descend via Sembalun as well. They took a longer time to reach the summit, and only just arrived at Pos II in the evening.

At the same time as their arrival, Harry served us a late afternoon snack of popcorn and hot tea, so we chatted with our fellow comrades over tea. They told us that they struggled with the climb because they were not properly equipped with the right gear. Instead of trekking shoes, they wore sports shoes with minimal grip on the soles. They were young, in their mid-20s, so they didn’t have much experience trekking as well. But after their Rinjani experience, I’m sure they have levelled up, and will be better prepared next time. It was always nice to talk to fellow travellers.

After the sun set at 6:45pm, it became much colder. We went back to our tents to hide, before coming out again for dinner at 7:10pm. Dinner was fried rice with fried chicken, fried egg, tempeh and keropok. It wasn’t fancy, but I liked it. As there were no lights at camp, we used the light from our head torches while we ate our dinner. That night, we slept at around 8pm because we were so tired. The tent was double layered so it was well insulated from the cold. The base mattress also kept out the cold from the ground. Once huddled inside my sleeping bag, it was warm and comfy. I slept very well that night, happy that I had finally fulfilled my dream of summiting Mount Rinjani…