Keep Your Spirit

We arrived in Canggu for one more night before making our way over to the island of Lombok. We had to complete the last step of our passport extension, eat some more good food, then arrange for transport to the next island. All of the above was completed... and then we ate some more Canggu food... did I mention the food in Canggu was good?

Day 41- Another crazy day of travel to get from Canggu to Lombok. We took a 2 hour taxi to the harbour where we caught a 1.5 hour fast boat to Lombok. On the boat ride over we were lucky enough to sit up top and enjoy the sea breeze and sun rays. We met some new friends on the boat who shared our goal of climbing Mount Rinjani. They informed us that the town of Senaru is the best place to book and begin the trek. So, we combined forces and our rupiah to take a taxi to Senaru. We had nothing booked for the next few days and our only goal was to find a way up Mount Rinjani. With our new backpacking Belgian buds, we bargained with a bevy of different trekking companies to find the one with the best value. We settled on Lenk Trekking to take us up the mountain for two nights and three days, for $140 bucks each. (Crazy to see how little money the people live off of)

We were set for takeoff. When Mike and I climbed Mount Baldy in Canada, he had experienced significant pain in his left knee, unfortunately, when we summited Mount Merapi in Jogja, the pain in his knee was still present and much worse. We had heard the overnight summit portion of the climb, consisted of scree. This was the same as Mount Merapi and proved to be particularly difficult on Mike's knee. Therefore, we knew we wouldn't try to summit Rinjani.

Day 42-  Mount Rinjani is the second highest mountain in Indonesia and sits at 3,726 meters. We met the rest of our group before taking a flatbed truck up to our starting point. Climbing Rinjani with Mike and I, was; our Belgian friends Elena and Jasper, first time British hikers India and Suzy and a girl from Singapore named Jasmine. Here we are in the first hour of our climb. 

This was a very tough trip. The terrain wasn't as difficult as Merapi but the amount that we were hiking each day was insane. To start, we did 7.5 hours of climbing and made it to the top of the crater rim by 5 pm. We stopped a few times for snacks and lunch but otherwise it was a straight shot. Along the way, if we showed any sign of exhaustion, the porters would say "keep your spirit", these words were just the little boost I would need to keep me moving. 

The hike up to the crater rim was quite steep for the last 3 hours and when combining this with the incredable heat and insufficient provisions of water from our company, it was exhausting. When we finally arrived we were so happy and relieved to be "there"!

In this photo you can see the summit behind us. By the time we got to the rim Mike was in a lot of pain with his knee. We had made the right decision not to hike to the summit. Getting to the top of the mountain would be an additional 4 hour hike on scree, which our guide described as 2 steps forward, 1 step back. Sliding on the scree was inevitable. Also, it being a night summit, it would mean almost no sleep for our companions. Our guide had such a tough time getting to the crater rim that he got one of the other porters to take the rest of our crew to the summit. 

As the sun set, I got the view I was hoping for. The caldera at the top of the mountain is filled with a lake, approximately 200 meters deep. We were also able to enjoy the luxury of a pee tent on this excursion. This was a new experience for us, however appears to be designed for travellers less vertically inclined, as Mike demonstrates below... It covered the important parts, that's all that matters.

                          

While we climbed the mountain it was impossible not to notice the garbage that blanketed the beautiful  landscape. It truly took away from our experience and the experience of the multiple other climbers on the mountain. The mountain is completely covered in filth and unfortunately, it is not left by the tourists. Most of it is tossed aside by the guides and porters. It was so bad that our group discussed starting a petition to encourage tourists to refuse climbing Rinjani until the government pays to clean it up as well as educates the locals on the importance of proper garbage disposal. I am still seriously considering it. Very sad that such an incredible place in the world will eventually, if not already, succomb to the effects of human waste. 

As the lights went out, the tents lit up the night. It was very cold, so most people were huddled inside their tents to avoid the intense gusts of wind. 

We were frozen and starving until our lovely guide brought our food to us. It was so nice to be able to eat a hot meal out of the wind. It is crazy how little the porters have for themselves while they climb the mountain. I felt guilty sleeping in my tent with a sleeping bag, while our 8 porters and guide all slept together under tarp and blankets, completely exposed to the elements. For both of our nights on the mountain, the wind was intense and we would be blanketed with dust by the time the sun came up in the morning, making it difficult to breath. I can't imagine how uncomfortable our porters must have been. Below is a picture of them cooking dinner under their tarp.  

Day 43- I woke up early the next morning to catch the beautiful sunrise and await the return of our four members that attempted the summit.  They started their climb to the summit at 2 am. We knew how they would be feeling by the time they descended, so we had "we are the champions" ready to play on our speakers as they trickled into camp. They were thankful for the warm welcome and were absolutely exhausted. So much so that they all sat on the ground while we helped remove their shoes and clean the dust off of their faces. It is a huge accomplishment to reach any summit, especially when it is as hard as this. They all agreed that it was the hardest thing they've ever done. After a short rest and a hearty breakfast, we continued to the lake and hot springs to wash and clean our dirty bodies. We had another hard day of hiking, it would be another 7 hours of hiking before we'd make it to our next camp.

When we first arrived at the hot springs we were disgusted at the site. It was home to a whole new degree of garbage, human feces and waste around and in the water. It was a true cesspool. The area designated for the tourists was cleaner but notably downstream from the landfill used by the locals... We were all a little sceptical to go in the water. Scepticism didn't stop us from taking a dip, to wash off the layer of dust caked onto our skin. Although, we were all wondering what new layers of bacteria we'd replaced it with. It is amazing what one deems acceptable conditions when pushed to their physical extremes. Mike ate a bug that went in his soup noting its nutritional value while I celebrated minor dust behind my contacts as a huge success!

After leaving the hot springs we realized how little daylight was left. The sun was not far from disappearing and we still had 2 hours of climbing ahead of us. There was no time for breaks.

Well, maybe a quick one for a photo. This is a view from the other side of the lake. On the left you can see the summit and the rim where we'd slept the night before. It was crazy to see how much ground we'd covered in one day. There was also a new volcano forming in the center of the lake that can only be seen from this side of the mountain. Although we were all working at full capacity to make it to our camp before dark, the sun left us and we were in the dark once again. Only this time we were alone. We made sure the six of us stayed together as a group and continued the climb with frequent calls out to one another to make sure we were all still on the right path. Our guide was more than an hour behind us with one of our crew who was struggling to make the climb. It was difficult to see the path even with head lamps and the last hour required actual rock climbing, testing us even further. We had no idea how much further we had to go when we finally climbed over a ridge and saw tents sprinkled around the mountain side. We were all so relieved and the sense of accomplishment far outweighed the stresses of the day. The sun was still setting at this point on the mountain and I was able to capture the crescent moon in the distance. 

The wind at this camp was worse than the previous one so, once again, we all ran to our tents to take cover for a windy night. 

Day 44- I set an alarm for the next morning to catch the sunrise. It meant us climbing a little mountain to see it but once again... it was worth the view. 

Here is our crew. We were all dirty and tired but happy all the same. :) They say it's less about where you go and more about the people you're with, in this case it was true. We met a great group of people on Rinjani and I hope to enjoy a beer with them all again one day, either in our home or theirs. 

This is a view of our camp from the top of our sunrise viewpoint. Our tent is the one on the far right.

For our third time on Mount Rinjani we got to appreciate the feeling of success when we reached the finish line at the bottom. It was a proud moment for all of us and although Mike's knee soured his experience, I would do it all over again. We all made sure to cheers a bintang at the bottom.