Angel's travels: Mt Rinjani / Lombok

The three day and two nights started with a 6.30 am breakfast (banana pancake and coffee) at John’s Adventures in Senaru before meeting our guide Sar and our porters (Amel, Amed and Ari). A pick-up truck was loaded up with lots of baskets, equipment, food, water and our backpack (pic 1). We were seated in the car and drove off through a very bendy and hilly country side to the starting point of the track. After we registered at the office (they need to know who’s in the park and you’re required to pay a fee) we started trekking from Sembalun Lawang. I was only carrying my camera and Teemu a small day pack with water, snacks and raincoats so we could focus on walking without any extra weight. The porters were carrying our rucksack, tents, chairs, food and water for the three days track. We started walking at 7.30 am with green hills and rice fields as views, slowly we got higher and had some climbing to do but before I knew Sar our guide said that we’ve reached Pos 1 at 1300metrers where the porters were preparing a lunch for us in a small concrete cabana. Within 5 minutes we had a warm cup of tea in our hands and were requested to sit and watch the four men prepare a lunch. I could see that they’ve done this many times as it was a clockwork operation with chopping wood for fire, chopping vegetables and cooking rice. They do cheat a bit with a camping gas stove to boil the rice but after half an hour I was presented with a big meal of noodle/vegetable soup and rice followed by a whole pineapple as dessert. Unfortunately, this was only for us and not for the porters and guide, they had rice and a bit of chicken so I felt immediately guilty but also knew that I needed the energy to climb the remaining 1372 metres in height for that day. Meanwhile, the clouds and drizzle came in so the next three hours we had to climb heavily which made me realize that this was not going to be easy. Sometimes I only could walk 10 steps and had to wait to catch my breath before taking the next 10 steps. The combination of humidity, height and climbing was really challenging but encouraged by guide Sar and Teemu that we were doing extremely well kept me going. We finally reached pos 3 at 1800 metres in clouds and completely soaked –more from sweat than rain- and only saw the amazing view of the crater later when the sky opened briefly (pic 2). It made me so happy to see this and it gave me the needed energy to walk the remaining half hour to our camp at Sembulan crater rim / 2679 metres (pic 3). Now we could see the benefits of excellent and experienced porters as they’ve arrived ahead of us (with 30 kg of luggage) to secure the better spots in the camp. We had a small spot with the view of the crater lake in front of us and not based at the big patch with many others and less privacy. Within 5 minutes I had a warm cup of tea in my hands and could take a seat in one of the camping chairs while they put up our tent. Dinner was again a massive meal but I had no problem in finishing it after my long day of trekking. By 8pm I was ready for bed as we would be woken up at 2.30am for our 3 hours climb to the summit the next morning…..

Day two started at 2.30am with a wake-up call with hot tea and jam sandwiches from our porters. After a quick check we went with guide Sar on our way to reach the summit for sunrise at 6am. It was dark, cold and after an hour the rain came in so not the best circumstances to climb. It also got harder and harder by the minute so I was really struggling at some point but cheered up when Sar said that we were doing really well that at some point we had to wait somewhere for half an hour otherwise we would arrive to early at the summit where it would be freezing could. It got busier and busier with people climbing and I never will forget the last half an hour that I had to climb which was sand so it was three steps up, rest, three steps up and rest…. Finally, Sar said the words I wanted to hear “we are here” so the remaining climb was so liberating to reach Mt. Rinjani Summit at 3726 metres! Unfortunately, the clouds made it impossible to have the wanted views (pic 4,5,6) of the surrounding area but it was the personal achievement which counted for me. After half an hour at the freezing summit we made our way down which is a lot easier! You can ‘ski’ down the sand and run parts of the rest of the track so 2 hours later we were enjoying the banana pancakes, spring rolls and fruit salad breakfast. I was ready for a rest but there was no rest for the wicked as Sar said it was time to decent to the lake. The porters will break up camp and join us later so there we went down a very rocky path down from 2679 metres to the lake for our lunch time break. It took us three hours to get to the lake and I was exhausted and feeling my legs who worked overtime but the thought that I only had to walk for 1,5 hrs. after lunch kept me cheerful. Of course during our decent we were taken over by our three porters so they were waiting for us with lunch at the lake but we had one more stop before that and that was the hot springs. What a treat to strip down to your swimwear and sit in hot water for half an hour and relax…… After this treat I enjoyed the lake view and lunch which was Gado Gado with fried tempeh. After lunch I was planning a little nap before our 1,5hrs trip to our camp for the night but Sar had other plans and said “better to leave early and have more time there to rest” So off we went again and my tempo was clearly a lot slower as my legs were complaining and not happy with all this exercise. After we left the lake behind us I could only see a very high wall in front of us and I started to fear the worst. I started to ask questions to Sar and Teemu but they just said keep on walking one step at the time. After two hours I knew that it was going to take a lot longer than the 1,5hrs to get to the top of the crater rim and my mood dropped by 1000 metres. My two men said that I just had to take it easy and one step at the time but in the end we had to reach camp at some point and it should be worth it. When we climbed higher and higher we could see stunning views of Mt Rinjani, the lake and the mini volcano in the middle of the lake. That gave me spirit and energy and you could clearly see the route we’ve already achieved that day. After 4,5 hrs. I could see the end of the hell of a trek and my camping chair waiting for me. With clear skies and sun we reached the Senaru Crater rim at 2641 metres and again we had a top spot with one of the best views of the lake, Mt Rinjani and the second volcano in the lake. I was so tired and couldn’t move my legs but felt amazing as it was a hell of a day/trek but so worth it. We had dinner by sunset with views to the lake but also to the Gili Islands and Bali; it was just stunning (pic 7). My body and mind were clearly tired and after sunset it was freezing cold so it was time to warm up in the tent and my sleeping bag.

Day three after a long but cold sleep I had breakfast and sunrise from my chair before our final trek all the way down to Senaru village. My legs hadn’t recovered overnight so I was prepared for this when we started our trip at 7.30am. The decent was a mix of rocks, sand, jungle paths and climbs but with some stops and lunch at pos 2 (1300 metres) we finally reached the final destination where a car was waiting for us to take us back to the village. In a way I wasn’t tired but more excited of the three day track but my body was in need of a lot of rest for the next couple of days.

I could kiss the ground the porters walked on as I have total respect for these guys who walk this track in their flip flops, shorts and t-shirts and 30-40 kg of weights on their shoulders. The two baskets are attached to each other by a bamboo stick which they support on one or both of their shoulders. I couldn’t walk 2 metres with it but they walked or better to say ran as mountain goats up and down the track as it was a piece of cake. Most of these guys start when they’re 16 yrs old and say that they cry the first time but they are told to get on with it and after a couple of times you just get used to it. When I’ve asked them how many times they’ve walked this route they couldn’t tell me as it could be hundreds of times. Some of the porters become guides after a couple of years so they lose the weight but not the climbing! If you ever follow my footsteps you will understand what I’m talking about and agree that this is a hard job and in my opinion totally under appreciated by travel agents and tourists. Amed, Amel and Ari (pic 8) thank you so much for all the lovely food prepared with big smiles and while having fun, motivating us during the trek and entertaining me in the evening with your care and stories but most of all for carrying my backpack as that made it a lot easier to climb this damn mountain !