:: Mount Rinjani trek 27.08.11 – 03.09.11 ::

You have to understand this trek was not my idea AT ALL.
I aint very excited about the tough route recalling my struggle up Mt KK, though the pictures of the crater and lake were awesome.

But I was eventually convinced by xf, and surprise-surprise we managed to gather a group of ‘crazy enuff’ people to attempt this with us (think some of them did not realized what they were in for):
mike, tony, jelyn, rachel, ME, zhenwei (unfortunately had to miss this trip), weiping, xuefen, weizhen, xf & zhix (missed our 1st group pic)


We must have been real good persuaders :P
I shall sheepishly admit that I do love being organizer.. coz I get to decide
Who (to invite) – What (itinerary) – When (period) – Where (stay where)
And I’m blessed to have friends to let me have my way.
What a dictator (I know I know)

We had 2 guides and started with 13 porters??!!
OMG. Total of 25 people.
I have never trekked with such a big contingent, isn’t that amazing

:: Day 1 Depart Senggigi 530am; Start at Sembalun Village 9am; trek up Sembalun Crater Rim, reach camp 530pm ::
Apart from the initial savannah relatively flat ground, the rest of the route is just up, up N up.
I remember our guide kept saying ‘curam’ which means steep in English.

But the view just kept getting better. I was immensely relieved when we finally reached our tents.
Understand 3 porters have gone way ahead to ‘chop’ a good spot for us.

:: Day 2 From Sembalun Crater rim - Rinjani Summit attempt 245am - 11am; trek down Segara Anak Lake 1pm, reach camp 530pm ::
Woke up at 1+am to get ready for summit attempt, actual trek started at 2.45am :(
Checkout everyone’s attire: headlights, gloves, 2 poles, buff, beanie, full gear on.
I’m amazed by everyone’s enthusiasm.

This route is again ‘curam’, what made it worse is the terrain – all loose small sand/rock.
As we trek up, sliding back becomes part of the momentum.
Forward – slide back – forward – slide back..
ok cool, just keep going, keep sprits up!

By 5.45am we reached the final ‘CURAM’ portion -loose black small sand route leading up the peak.
Someone asked ‘are we still continuing?’ ‘yes we are’
The sun began to rise on our left

At 630am our guide decided to take a break and started offering tangerine & oreo biscuits.
I TELL U, they have never tasted this great
I think he knows this could be the turning point for some.
So he decided to stop, wait for everyone to reach and for us to take group photos.
This is our SUMMIT point.
Are we still continuing?’ again same question
I remembered zx answered, ‘yes I would like to try to reach the peak’
People, spirits up N move on

The wind was howling like crazy.
Forward – slide back – forward – slide back
Can’t stop, coz the wind aint going to stop anyway
Don’t think, just move your feets. Every step counts.
This was what I was thinking, I don’t know about the rest.

At 7.45am, we finally reached the PEAK.
Victory is damn sweet. this pic says it best.

WE DID IT. cheers with shoju (complete with shotglasses - brought by mike)
View from the peak. Honestly, no difference from view below.

Haa. So how to come down?
Skid down all the way, best if you have a sledge.
If not, so just skid down, stop, skid, stop. Don’t go over the edge. Otherwise end of story.

I’m quite exhausted by the time we reached back our tents at 11am.
N the day trek continued after lunch..
What?? Are you mad? Nope as per itinerary, we have to get to the lake for the night.
That route down to the lake is TREACHEROUS.
This is the most dangerous route for me.
Slippery downslope all the way.
I was losing control of my leg muscles. Fell couple of times, luckily just bruises.

The most rewarding part? Soak in the hotspring - my motivation of the day

Especially when we are covered from head to top by the volcanic black ash/sandstorm

:: Day 3 From Segara Anak Lake 1030am Trek up then down Senaru Crater Rim; reach camp in the forest 4pm ::

Woke up to a superb lake view.

Have you ever brushed your teeth in front of such view?
We did.

As you can see below, spirits have lightened considerably after Day 2 summit attempt.
I recalled zx, tony greeting trekkers who went past us in opposite direction, 'selemant siang' / 'good day mate'
And discussing whether to include 'good luck' in their greetings..
Gloating? nah. pure entertaiment..

Highlight of the day had to be near-escape from the forest fire in the night.
Thumb-up for wz, who went to our guide in the middle of the night to ask them to checkout the fire. We could see & hear the fire crackling from our tents!
Whatever happened to the guys, All slept like a log?

I was hoping for a good night sleep finally. But thoughts were abandoned coz we were worried about evacuating in middle of night.

:: Day 4 From forest - Nice forest trek Senaru Village 730am -1pm; Transfer to Gili Air, stay in Manta Dive ::

Familiar home-ground 'Bukit timah' trail.
Back to civilization by 1pm.
We made it back safely.

Our last group photo of the contingent.

Switch On iphone. Back to reality.

~ Reflecting back~

It's tough being a porter, carrying the load using just bamboo pole, and walking in slippers.
Do tip generously if you can.
zx is just acting tough.

I know Chris was cringing when he realized that we are taking a tougher route up the summit from the Malaysian group that we met at the airport. But believed by the end of trek, we all would agree that this is a wiser choice, as to go other way which means to attempt the summit on Day 4 would have been unthinkable.

I was very glad that my stamina have improved since Mt KK.
Apart from day 2 trek down to the lake that got me very scared (xf knows that), I could handle rest of trek, albeit slowly..

This time, I managed to enjoy the scenary, noticed the change in terrains, and more photo-taking, which I was never able to do in previous treks.
But I can never surpass Jelyn and zx’s enthusiasm in taking pictures/videos.
Thanks to them, we have lots of group pics to reminisce.
Jelyn, you have a close competitor now.
Zx, I’m truly very impressed by your neverending energy + tripod+ mp4 +speakers? Constant snacking on your cereal bars must have helped.

OK, I’ll be honest. Camping (albeit with mattress and sleeping bag) and doing toilet biz in the tent is not my cup of tea.

i bet my parents can't recognise me like this.

We had a great group of comrades.
Everyone’s sharing their happy food, and pace moderators so no one had to walk alone.

I know tony would have liked to reach the peak before sunrise, but eventually he decided to stay with the group (for whatever reason, I don’t know) but I believe partly to give moral support and encourage everyone to reach the top. It’s not easy to be the last man.

My honour to have trekked with all of you.
I had a great time.

PS: some pics are courtesy of ZX & tony

^.^