Mt. Rinjani

We made the trip to Mt. Rinjani (Indonesia's second highest peak) via a four hour ferry across the Bali Sea followed by a 3 hour van ride through the eroding switchbacks of Lombok. We were surprised to find that our driver had a 15 year old mix tape that was heavy on Boyz II Men. After arriving in Senaru, a small village at the base of Mt. Rinjani, we negotiated for a reputable guide to lead us on the daunting three day trek up the mountain.



Day 1…

Day ONE: we woke, swallowed some banana pancakes and then rode in the back of a pickup truck to the trail head. We should note that in addition to the regular "sights and parasites" crew (Mark, Lindsay, Sarah and Chris) we were also joined by Sarah’s attorney friends from L.A., Christine and Mathias, as well as a German named Andreas. The seven of us were accompanied by Itra, our guide, who, at the end of our first day's hike, would carry a 50lb log up the side of the mountain to the campsite so we could have our dinner served hot). five porters accompanied us as well, ranging in age from 17 to 45, all in astronomically better shape than us. And so it was that the whole Rinjani gang was about a baker's dozen in size.

The first morning's hike was pleasant enough, through savanna, rolling hills of waist high grasses and the occasional wandering bovine. We broke for lunch after an hr, and any worries about going hungry on the mountain were quelled when we downed a large Indonesian style noodle soup. Stretching out after our meal we shared our optimistic impressions of the trek, believing our initial 2 hour hike and 1.5hr lunch might be the pace throughout.

By 3pm we were scrambling on all fours up a steeply graded trail resembling the loose bed of a former avalanche We powered through and by 4:30pm we arrived at our first campsite, perched on the rim of Mt. Rinjani's crater, 1600meters higher than where we'd started. The views from the rim were all the reward we needed. We ate and hit the sack by 7pm, for Itra would be waking us in less than 7 hours to start our ascent to the summit.

Day 2…

2AM… we sit outside our tents and consider the 1100meter climb ahead of us. tea and cheese sandwiches were all the sustainence we'd need. above us, the Milky Way gleamed so vividly that its clouds of cosmic gas were visible (a dark smudge with a purple-ish white perimeter). Under the guidance of Itra and our headlamps we began to climb. The grade of the trail was even more daunting then the day before. Making matters worse, the trail was comprised entirely of tiny bits of volcanic pumice. Progress was slow and demoralizing. With every two steps forward we slid one back, a Sisyphean ordeal, like climbing a waterfall.

6AM…Summit. eventually, all of us who tried to summit DID-- some much quicker than others! The sunrise was astounding; at 3700meters we were well above the clouds and will let the pictures speak for themselves. Oreo's were eaten and then we made a much more rapid decent back down to base camp and more banana pancakes.

NOW 9AM… the day was far from over. we stretched our dogs (aka our feet) in the morning sun, thinking we'd happily spend the remainder of the day napping and recuperating. However this was not part of the itinerary, and by 10AM we were stumbling down a precarious switchback with sheer cliff drops into low hanging clouds, which pour into the crater basin every morning and keep the northern side of the volcano green and tropical. The trail descended 600 meters to the edge of the crater lake. We took a 2 hour break for lunch and some (very) hot springs and then (again, after thinking we'd happily spend the remainder of the day here, recuperating) left the stunning lake behind and began a 600meter climb to the other side of the crater rim, where we would spend the night. finally, now at the campsite, what remained of our energy was used chewing dinner, afterward which we collapsed in exhaustion before the sun had even set completely.

Day 3…

All down hill! Despite some very sore legs (esp knees) we all managed to get down the mountain by noonish on Day THREE. the group photo shows us at the bottom of the trail, tired but fulfilled!