Greg's Travel Tails

Gunung Rinjani - a Volcano of Humbling Proportions

Standing at 3,726 metres high, Gunung Rinjani on the Island of Lombok in Indonesia is, by all accounts, freaking huge! It’s so big in fact that it can be seen from pretty much anywhere on the island, from the Gili Islands off the North-East coast of Lombok, to Kuta on the far south, approximately 70km away as the bird flies. On a clear day it can be seen from Bali too.

And its beautiful. It’s fair to say my view of Rinjani has changed considerably since climbing her for the first time 18 months ago. On a whim, I decided I was in the mood for a bit of a walk in the countryside, and agreed to join my then travel-mate Seje on the trek.  He’d only decided then too, after chatting to some people who’d just returned. Why he didn’t quiz them further for details I wish I knew, because man were we under-prepared!

But I survived. Not only did I survive, I made it to the summit! No thanks to our “guide”, who took every opportunity he could to curl up in a ball next to a rock, a tree, a huge cliff-face and go to sleep. Sure he was faster than us, and had to wait extended periods for us to catch up, so why wouldn’t he take advantage of this ability and catch up on some zzz’s?  Ummm, because he’s our “guide”!  I believe his job is to “guide” us up the mountain, to help us when we’re in trouble, to encourage us when we’re doubting our abilities, and to ensure we’re safe at all times. Umm nope, not Janur – he has his own definition of what a “guide” is… and from all accounts it seems he’s not the only one – such behaviour is quite common among the “guides” on Rinjani.  Strange considering the penalty for a guide losing a customer (due to falling off the mountain, dying of hypothermia, getting eaten by a fire dragon, etc) is 5 years imprisonment. No question asked. Do not pass begin. Do not collect 500 rupiah.  Jail time.  Didn’t bother Janur – apparently his sleep is very valuable to him.

Anyway, I digress.  In short, I came, I saw, I conquered. And I hurt.  A lot! Seriously the last day of the 3 day trek was the most painful day I’ve ever encountered. Especially the last 8 hours, which entailed walking downhill, steep downhill, constantly, through pouring rain, with knees in absolute agony. Every step I took felt like somebody was jamming a blunt ice pick between my kneecap and my leg. And twisting. Imagine that for 8 hours… not pleasant.

So you’d think the second time around I’d be more prepared. And in a way I was. In the 18 months between attempts I’d been to countless Myotherapy sessions to try to “fix” my knee issues; gone on a regular gym routine; purchased Orthotic insoles for my shoes (apparently I have flat feet… I bet they tell everybody that to squeeze $500 out of their tight fists); purchase knee braces; and hiking sticks. Yup, you could say I geared myself up, to the teeth. 

So why then, after about 1 hour into the trek the second time around, with all this wealth of experience behind me and geared up like Sylvester Stallone in Rambo 27, sweating buckets and already feeling fatigued, did doubts already start to creep into my psyche?  Surely I was prepared and ready for this!  

I wasn’t. But the truth is I don’t think anybody is ever fully prepared for Rinjani. She’s a tough one. She’ll throw everything she’s got at you. She’ll have you question all your preparation (or lack thereof). She’ll have you doubting yourself before you could even spell the word “Thomas”. All you can do is press on, which is what I did. 

It’s what you do. You press on… and it’s worth it. When you reach the crater rim, you know why you’re there. All those doubts dissolve into a euphoric rush of endorphins, fuelled by relief that the first day of climbing is over, excitement that now all you need to do is relax until dinner time, and of course amazement at the view in front of you. It’s magnificent. In the centre of the massive crater is a lake – Segara Anak – glowing in shades of blues and greens and yellows. In the centre of Segara Anak is another volcano, a new one – Gunung Baru (“New Mountain”). Gunung Baru is active, and occasionally Rinjani is shut down completely due to activity, but mostly it just vents fumes every few hours – a gorgeous display of smoke and rumbling noises, and a constant reminder that you’re on an active volcano… 

I didn’t make it to the summit this time around. Not through lack of trying – we did the hard yards. We got up at 2:30am (as you do). Left camp at 3am (as you do). We carbed up with rice, protein loaded with a fish I bought off a fisherman at the lake, had our supply of sugar lollies in the bag, nutrient drinks aplenty. To the summit we were going… but Rinjani had other plans for us. She threw clouds and rain at us – it came from all angles. By 4am we were drenched to the bone, but we soldiered on. As dawn approached it got colder, and wetter. We hadn’t prepared for this. We sat down for a break, in complete darkness, and pondered our options. At this point it seemed like every other group had already turned back – we saw the lights of the group ahead of us shining our way. It was about 4 degrees, and we were soaked. It was only going to get colder as we ascended toward the summit. That was when the disappointing reality kicked in… Rinjani had beaten us this time. For fear of hypothermia, we turned back and begrudgingly plodded back down towards base camp. In complete darkness, and complete silence.

This time around I did have the good sense to break up that final day of downhill walking into 2. We walked most of the way down on our third day, and on the fourth day had a leisurely 2-hour stroll into the town of Sambalun, through rice paddies, garlic fields and various other fruit and vegetable farms. We gave our last remaining biscuits and lollies to some farm kids, and made our way into town where there was a car waiting to take us back to Senaru… back to civilization. Back to clean clothes, (cold) showers, and plentiful food. And most importantly: on to Kuta, where beaches and rancho relaxo awaited us…

Thinking back on this experience, I often wonder if there’s anything I’d do differently next time… but I think probably not.  Would I do it again – definitely! Should you do it?  That depends – how much of an appetite for pain and suffering do you have?  You’ll need a lot, but trust me, it’s totally worth it!

Note: The photo above was taken on my first visit to Rinjani in January 2010… the position at which this photo was taken is about where we decided to turn back this time around… except we were in darkness, enveloped in clouds, so there was no view to see.