ESA-MT. RINJANI EXPEDITION 2008
by Hairul A. Ben

Twenty-strong was our number. Twenty adventurous souls decided to partake the expedition to climb the summit of Mt. Rinjani. Of the twenty, five were ladies.
This expedition was already in the planning after the ESA-Gunung Tahan Expedition was a success in April 2007. Like any objectives in life, for them to succeed, the planning stages were paramount. Haron, our team leader, was also the chief organizer of the expedition. He searched for the most reliable, efficient and affordable trekking operator. After much deliberation, Haron decided to engage the services of Mr. Edi Sumedi of Rinjani Trek. That was Haron's first most important decision, and it was the right one as affirmed at the end of our expedition.
Zulkifli, with his technical know-how of trekking and equipment, gave his advice to our team members of the items they should have with them for the trip. Mr. Wu Jeng Chong, the Foreman in Repair Department, selflessly volunteered as our trainer. Most of the training was of trekking by nature, and were done on our local hiking trails in Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, Woodcutter's Trail (Mandai) and Butterfly Trail (Chestnut). The training was essential to the success of the expedition. There were a few of us who couldn't join the training because of different work-shifts. I was one of them. Thus we had to take it upon ourselves to do our own training in preparation for the expedition.
Weeks passed into months, and finally, the day of our departure came. The excitement in everyone of us was insurmountable. The atmosphere as we assembled at the airport was euphoric and palpable. Though I was appointed as the journalist at the last moment, I was honored to be given that task. Thus with ink and parchment, I shall attempt to immortalize our experiences, feelings, moments and glory of the Mt. Rinjani Expedition.

Day 1
The team assembled at Row 11, Changi Airport Terminal 2 at 1400hrs. Family members gathered along and greetings ensued among those present. We checked in our luggage, and were fortunate to have in our team the three ladies who are SATS employees; Normah, Sarah and Marlinda. They helped ensure all the ticketing and luggage check-in went smoothly.
Haron gave a final briefing before the departure, and led in the recital of a prayer for our expedition. It was done with such reverence and humility, in supplication to be Blessed with a safe journey and our goals be fulfilled. A group photo was taken before we bid farewell to those we left behind.
We had some time to do a bit of shopping in the transit hall, before making our way to Gate F30. Once the gate opened, we boarded Silkair MI128 for Lombok. Haron's mother in-law, Mdm Asiah was with us for this trip. Of course she wouldn't be hiking with us. She would be overseeing the events after our trekking. She would be staying at a relative's. Our aircraft departed at 1605hrs. It was to be a 3 hour flight.
At 1805hrs, we caught the first glimpse of Mt. Rinjani on the starboard side of the plane. It was glorious, ringed with snowy white clouds and the summit ablazed with the diffused ray of the setting sun.
The pilot made the final approach and we touched down at Mataram at 1820hrs. The airport was a small one, yet modern in construction. We disembarked using a mobile passenger step and our plane was in plain view. Photo session! It was then I realised, we were drifting away from the luxuries and the way of life we were so accustomed to. With each step we took, our comfort zone diminished, and eventually, what we carried in our backpacks would become our most priced possessions.
The team made to the immigration, and collected our backpacks. We had no problem clearing the customs with our backpacks. However, we had some difficulties in clearing the charity luggage we had. The officials weren't as accomodating as we had hoped they'd be, despite having a letter of our intention with regards to the luggage. Haron, along with Shaffuan and Hizam eventually managed to settle the situation. By 1945hrs, we cleared the customs. Our Opertator, Mr. Edi was already there, along with 3 others. We loaded up into two mini buses. Our backpacks were carefully loaded onto the roof of one of the buses.
I was in the smaller bus with Zul, Setmar, Linawati and Nurhana. Haron was sitting infront with a small man. It was then that he introduced himself as Pak Ismail, the expedition Guide. He has been a guide for the past 15years. I felt assured already knowing that, as I was sure the others would be too.
Our road drive began at 5m above sea level (a.s.l) and climbed up a winding and twisting road for 15 minutes to a height of 280m a.s.l.! It was an ordeal for some of the members, as I learnt later. And we went back down to 0m a.s.l. within the next 15 minutes. The rest of the almost two-hour drive was rather docile and smooth. Our tummies were grumbling, and as if he read our minds ( or maybe he heard our stomachs grumbling in unison), the driver pulled over and bought us some finger-food. They called it Gorengan Lombok. We had our first taste of the local food, which consisted of fried Lombok tofu stuffed with bean sprouts and fried soyabean cake. Yup, they're all fried, thus the name gorengan. Our hunger ruled and we scoffed them down gratefully.
Our entourage arrived at the Senaru Resort @ 2205hrs, with an elevation of 365m a.s.l. We were given an official Welcome by Mr. Edi and a general briefing of the hike ahead of us. But the most welcome sight was when dinner was served! We had salad, rice, fried chicken, crackers and chicken soup. Dinner was absolutely filling.
After almost an hour of dining, we were shown to our rooms. They were chalets, accomodating two to a room. I was partnered with Norafandi, the expedition photographer, an old-time friend and a totally funny guy. The trip promised to be an entertaining one with him around.
At 0200hrs, I almost committed murder when a rooster started cock-a-doodling incessantly! It felt good to be close to nature, but I wished there was a button on that animal so I could shut him off! But it lasted for half an hour. The sandman visited everyone of us and we slept peacefully.
Day2
It was rise and shine for Fandi and I at 0630hrs. The sun was already up and it was bright out! Once we're packed, we headed up to the dining hut. Samson, Hasni and his brother Hizam were already there with Muhammad and Toh. The smell of coffee was overwhelming. We were served with the local pancake called lempeng. It had cut-up bananas in it. Delicious. Breakfast of coffee and lempeng in a rustic village, surrounded by nature. Lovely morning. The others had breakfast at different dining huts because not everyone was roomed in the same vicinity. Normah related an incident when she stepped into her room the night before. There above the toilet door was the MOTHER OF ALL GECKO! It was a huge gecko with red eyes, a native to Lombok called tekek. The tekek is a symbol of good luck in Lombok. Normah didn't share that ideology, neither did her husband, Zul.
We all assembled at the Rinjani Trek Centre (RTC) where we registered our names. It was imperative we informed the officials of our departure date and the date we were to come back from our hike. There were some souvenirs such as t-shirts and badges, which were sold at the Centre only.
Pak Ismail, our Guide Leader was assisted by Pak Abu Bakar. Ismail were to take point, while Abu Bakar were to be the last man, right behind our own appointed last man, Hasni. We had with us 11 porters who carried our sleeping mats and provision for the duration of the trek. Mr. Edi bid us farewell and safe trip, and at 0815hrs, we moved out south through a steady climb. It was a common trail used by the locals who stayed there. A single track that was edged with wild flowers and shrubs on either sides, with tall tress canopying the track with their leaves. We were fortunate to catch glimpses of the rare Ebony leaf monkey, which is known locally as Lutung, as they deftly scaled from branch to branch, watching us from a safe distance. We crossed path with the locals, and they were polite in greeting us and making way for us. The sweet scent of flora intruded our senses as we made our way up, and up.
We had our first rest stop at 0850hrs. The Pintu Senaru (Senaru Gateway) was the 0km mark for our trek, at 745m a.s.l. There was a stall selling drinks and a fairly decent public toilet. Initially, we all thought that every stop would be like that. It wasn't to be. Well, we bought drinks and some did their number ones. I know someone did her number two, cos she told me later in the expedition! Honestly, easing one's bowel became a topic of discussion during the trek!
After ten minutes of rest, we proceeded. The actual trekking began. The foliage and track didn't change much, and at 0950hrs, we arrived at POS I STOP. It was our second short rest before moving off at 1000hrs. The weather was cool. Linawati had some problems with her knee. It was strained, and it hurt her with each step she took. I took out my Lavender massage oil and gave the problem knee a massage. I know what she was enduring, for it happened to me last year at Gunung Tahan. At 1030hrs we hit 1000m a.s.l., and at 1030hrs, we arrived at the 2km mark. By the way, the altitude readings were given by Zul using his reliable Casio Pro-Trek wrist watch at my prompt.
An hour later, at 1050hrs, we reached at the POS EXTRA STOP with an elevation of 1165m a.s.l. Haron was another casualty, in which he had severe cramps on both his quadriceps. It was physically exhausting, but everyone was in good spirit. We ate bananas and some biscuits. Ironically, those biscuits we ate were simple hard tacks with pineapple cream fillings, the kind we wouldn't take a second glance back home. They were absolutely delicious then, and we passed them around among us. Since we left Pintu Senaru hours ago, we had a canine companion tagged along. She was following behind us, and always stopped a distance from the last man. I fed her some biscuits and she even ate bananas! We were trying to give her names like Milo, Fifi, and I was tempted to call her Fandi, but one Fandi in this trip was more than enough. Eventually, I simply called her Dawg, and that was the end of the name debate.
Haron had one of the porters give him a massage to ease off the cramps. I told him he shouldn't move off immediately, and to let the spasms subside lest he aggravated them. So Haron left later with Hizam and Hasni. Pak Ismail was to carry Haron's backpack.
At 1110hrs we moved out. The climb got steeper, with clusters of roots criss-crossing the trail. It was taxing, and we eventually had to distribute the contents of Lina's pack. At 1200hrs we hit the 3km mark at 1240m a.s.l. This was where we first encountered wisps of clouds brushing our faces. It was cooling, and spiritually uplifting and we were walking among clouds. We continued our climb diligently, keeping ranks and assisting each other at the more technical sections. Our lady hikers never lost their fortitude, which was an inspiration to me as I watched them. It started to drizzle, and out came the jackets and raincoats. By 1230hrs, we arrived at POS II STOP, where we prepared to have lunch at 1500m a.s.l. The drizzle didn't abate, and it was foggy. Everyone offed their backpacks and did some stretchings to ease off the strain and kinks on their backs and shoulders. The porters started the fire going and boiled water to make us tea and coffee. During the whole time we were trekking, I was in awe at the prowess and agility of the porters. They were garbed in t-shirts and bermudas, with only slippers under their feet. They hauled the provisions and equipment stored in two rattan-weaved baskets tied on each end of a stout bamboo pole. And each of these encumbrance was substantially heavy. Yet, the porters carried them on their shoulders easily and dextrously.
Half and hour later at 1300hrs, Haron, Hizam and Hasni along with Pak Abu Bakar joined us. The cramps still bothered him. At 1345hrs, lunch consisting of instant noodles with rice, boiled egg and vegetables was served. We scoffed our lunch hungrily. I slipped some food to Dawg. After we ate, it started to pour quite heavily, and we had another 2.5 km to go before we hit POS III STOP.
The team moved out at 1445hrs. Haron decided he should walk at the back of the team before Hasni, because he needed to slow down his pace and he didn't want the team to held back. His cramps were still bothering him. Dawg didn't follow us anymore. The climb was the same as ealier, rooty terrain with steeper climbs at some places. We all made good time with our ranks held in check. We hit the 5km mark at 1600hrs, 1840m a.s.l. We took a ten minute rest before moving off the rest of the way.
1700hrs exactly, we arrived at POS III-MONDOKAN MALOKAK with an elevation of 2000m a.s.l. Some of the porters set up tents for us, which we chose at random, while the other porters started cooking dinner. 1830hrs was sunset, and I did my prayers surrounded by the calm of nature around me, accompanied by the voices of my fellow team mates and the smell of dinner. We had fried rice, Lombok style, and it was heavenly. By 2000hrs, we were done with dinner. We sat idly recounting the day's events and enjoying the ambience. Pak Ismail related two incidences to us which happened recently.
There had been deaths where we were camped at. The first being that of a local man who went fishing at the crater lake, but was caught in extremely bad weather on the way back. He had provision for 3 days, but was stuck in the mountains for 6 days. His body was found by Pak Ismail at around 8 pm after the wife of the deceased reported him missing to the Park officials. Ismail carried the body down all the way to the village. Another incident was that of 7 Lombok students, who went up ill-equipped, and they perished due to over-exposure. It was believed the students were heading to Mt. Sangkareang. I shivered at the thought of not having an experience guide along for our expedition.
The stars were shining so brightly, and there were millions of them as we all lazed about looking at the zenith. It was cold, with a temperature of 13.8deg Celcius. But we were all comfortably warm in our sweaters and fleece jackets. The 5 ladies neeeded so badly to ease their bowels. There was a "toilet" nearby; a small metal booth, with a door and a hole on the ground inside it. I voluntered to check it out for them at their hintings. Apart from some rust, it seemed adequate to me. So I gave them the thumbs-up, and became a sentry for them at a respectable distance. I saw further down the path, several torchlights were scanning the area. My male team mates too needed to "go" it seemed. Most of us were wearing head-mounted lights, with a white beam or a red beam mode. It was so funny, cos each time anyone found a "spot to go", their headlights turned red. So, it was an unspoken rule that red meant "STAY AWAY. I'M DOING MY BUSINESS." It was so convenient to be a male in situations like this. The ladies however found it impossible to do anything but Number One. At the campsite, we heard songs by Air Supply in the air! It came from Rahim and Allen's tent, and they were both blissful in it. It was as if Rahim was serenading Allen with the songs. Hmmm, and of course, that become a punt throughout the expedition by yours truly.
By 2100hrs, almost everyone was in their tents turning in for the night.

Day3
My buddy Fandi and I got up at 0430hrs, among the few early risers. We repacked our belongings and did our morning worship, said prayers for a blessed journey ahead. The temperature was 10.3deg Celcius. The sun made a bashful appearance at 0600hrs, its rays piercing through the clouds and mist. Breakfast was already prepared, and we savoured the servings amidst the sounds of small mountain birds and the soft sighing of the mountain wind. The sandwich was humble, but enough to go around and washed down with coffee and tea. To our delight, there was a family of grey macaques hiding in the bushes, attracted by the smell of food. These monkeys are indigenous to this area. They have thicker fur compared to the ones we have in our own Nature Reserves in Singapore, probably because it gets very cold up in the mountains. Some of us tried to lure them out by giving the macaques their sandwiches and bananas. It worked. Wary at first, they thronged out of the bushes and ate heartily whatever was given to them. PHOTO moments!...Out came the cameras.

Once everyone was ready, we moved out at 0645hrs, along the Plawangan-Senaru trail. We were told by Ismail that the foliage will break after 15 minutes into the hike. True enough, at 0700hrs, we were walking along a grassy ridge, the sun shining, but not making the day uncomfortably hot. The long grass, bright emerald green, were swaying to the breeze, and away from the path, tall casuarina trees, or Cemara as they were called here, grew uninhibitedly. The sights of saplings were a testament that the soil and condition were ideal for that species of flora. I took a deep breath at the beauty unfolding before me. We could see what lay far below; civilisation and further on, the coastline of Lombok. The summit of Mt. Rinjani was in view ahead of us, and it seemed so far away still.
I was wondering why everyone was suddenly animated, dropping their backpacks and taking out their cameras. It became clear as they reached the 7km mark, and a sign that said "DEMPLOT". It became clear to me as to what this place was. It was a plant nursery and a natural irrigation system of Gunung Cemerang. Alongside the ridge we were tracking on, the Park Authority had planted 1000 Cemara saplings, in their efforts to preserve the trail and to improve the natural outlook of the area. I guess the sudden euphoria was everyone's way of being glad at being out in the open.
0800hrs, at the 7.5km mark, became a monumental mark for us. Here, we were at 2190m a.s.l. We had surpassed the summit of Mt. Tahan of 2187m a.s.l, the expedition we made the year before. I announced this to the team, and the ladies especially took heart at this revelation.
An hour later we arrived at the Crater Rim 1, with an elevation of 2515m a.s.l. The sight of the caldera was spectacular. Thick clouds blocked the view below, but eventually dissipated as if on cue to display what they were hiding from our mortal eyes. The Segara Anak craterlake in the caldera surrounded the new volcano Gunung Baru, like a moat that surrounds a castle. A thought occurred to me. If Mt Rinjani was animated, I am sure it is proud to see its offspring growing so magnificently beneath it. Gunung Baru appeared to grow right in the middle of the caldera.
Having spent half an hour taking pictures and savouring the beauty before us, we began our descent to the water-line of the caldera. This wasn't an easy feat. Going down is always difficult when you trek. Our walking sticks gave the extra edge in controlling our momentum. It was treacherous, lined with sharp, slippery rocks and roots. Again, we were all in admiration as to how easy the porters made it seem climbing down the trail with their loads. There were two 'red sections' along the way, which meant extra caution must be taken when negotiating them.
1010hrs, we hit the 8km mark, with an elevation of 2310m a.sl. The going was slow, and I could see the trail was taking its toll. Lina had to do away with her backpack, and I carried it for her part of the way. Marlinda started having blisters on her toes, as did a few others. I was carefully making my way through the rocky trail, when I lost my footing and stumbled. Nothing broken, nothing hurt. Hasni decided it was his turn to carry Lina's pack. Still we pushed on. It started to rain at 1115hrs, and it made the trail even more slippery. The descent was tedious, and it slowed the team down. Then, at 1200hrs precisely, Lina slipped while climbing down a series of rocky drop-off. I was right behind her, and I feared the worse. There was a loud thud upon her impact, and her left leg was in an awkward position. I scurried down and asked if she's ok, if anything's hurt. To our relief, she managed a smile and said she was alright. She wasn't even bruised. However, her walking stick broke. Better that than her. I adjusted the length of my walking stick and gave it to her. We pressed on resolutely in the rain, reaching the 12km mark at 1215hrs.
At 1310hrs, the team reached the caldera water-line. Though it was a consolation, we still had a ways to go before we reached Danau Segara Anak Stop. We had to walk along the water-line tightly, for a slight misfooting would send one into the deep lake. At 1330hrs, we hit the 10km mark. Hizam was helpful in pointing out several markers to me. The Stop was in plain sight, and the only thing that was standing in our way was a small river flowing from the lake into the valley further into the mountain. We had to remove our shoes and tread along carefully with Toh and Muhammad marshalling us through.
1345hrs, we arrived at the Danau Segara Anak Stop. There was a shed with a raised platform near the water-line. But it was too small for everyone of us, and there was already a small group of Eurasian hikers before us. We were all wet and cold, and in dire need to change into drier clothings. Ismail and his entourage saw to our needs immediately. They raised a canvas canopy extending from the shed outwards. We were grateful at being out from the rain. But the smoke from the firewood hurt our eyes, a necessary evil, for the porters were preparing our lunch and hot beverages. The rain abated to a drizzle, and I took out my dry cloths, walked a bit further into the foliage and literally stripped myself off my wet clothings. For a moment, I felt so liberated in all my glory. Almost reluctantly I put on my dry cloths. It felt so good to be dry again. When I got back to the tentage, several of my team mates had already changed. Setmar, my Filipino friend and Samson, the oldest team member, went fishing at the lake instead! They must have hides of a rhino i guessed. We all huddled close to each other, chatting and laughing, feeling the closeness and warmth encompassing us. At 1630hrs, lunch was served, consisting of rice, noodles and fried chicken. Another meal fit for a king, so it seemed.
Haron had to decide if we should press on to the planned campsite and arrive there later this evening. After some discussions, Haron ultimately decided to set up camp here. Thus, by 1715hrs, the tents were erected. Ismail took several of us to the hot spring, which was a ten-minute walk. We had our slippers on, and for the first time, we appreciated how difficult it was to trek with them on instead of our boots. 13 of us made our way down to the hot spring, and when we got there, it was worth our efforts. The hot spring water came out from the face of the mountain, right next to a gorgeous waterfall. Ismail was the man who tapped the hot water and built the walls to contain the spring water. When we got in, it felt so deliciously healing! All our pain, sore muscles and cold seemed to ebb away immediately. We soaked ourselves for half an hour, and made our way back to our tents at 1830hrs.
Dinner was already in the making, and we were all comfortably waiting for our meal. We related the hot spring experience to those who didn't come along, and decided to have another go at it the next morning. Dinner was served at 1930hrs, and we all ate heartily, bantering and talking freely amongst each other. Later, when almost everyone was in their tents, ready to turn in for the night, I could hear Haron's voice, in giggly pain as he was ministered with a massage for his cramps. Poor man. But my sympathy for him changed into mirth the next day as you will understand why later.
There was a certain calming effect that the sound of the flowing river had on me. The perpetual guggling of the moving water as it rushed towards the waterfall was symbolic to our own expedition. We, as a team, were heading towards the reason for our existence at that very moment in our lives. With that in my mind, I easily drifted off into a restful slumber.

Day4
I woke up at 0500hrs, freshened up and did my morning worship.I announced to those interested to visit the hot spring to be ready. Fandi decided to stay behind, as did several others. This time, 9 of us headed down to the hot spring at 0615hrs. The weather this morning was absolutely lovely. When we got to the spring, we wasted no time in letting the rejuvinating spring engulf our bodies. There were several macaques around this morning. They kept a safe distant. However, when Toh wanted to take a better picture atop a knoll near the spring, he was oblivious of a rather large macaque infront of him. Toh was taken aback when it barred its teeth and gave a harsh hissing sound. It was smart of Toh not to accept the challenge.
At 0730hrs, we climbed out of the spring and headed back to camp. Whilst we were away, breakfast was ready, and hungrily we ate the banana lempeng served before us. I had second helpings, as did a few of my team mates.
As I ate, I looked around our campsite. Right across the lake was Gunung Baru, a desolate looking place amidst the beauty around it. The eruptions of Mt. Rinjani in 1994, 1995 and 1996 formed the new cone, Gunung Baru. It stands at approximately 2300m a.s.l. and the Segara Anak craterlake is 300m deep. Our campsite was situated at the foot of an imposing mountain. Pak Ismail told me the mountain is called Mt. Sangkareang. At 3500m a.s.l., it is the second highest peak in Lombok, after Mt. Rinjani. A hundred years ago, Mt. Rinjani and Mt. Sangkareang were part of each other. When Mt. Rinjani violently erupted, Mt. Sangkareang became a seperate mountain. Many have tried climbing up the summit of Mt. Sangkareang, but few have succeeded. Due to an alarming number of fatalities, the Park Authority has removed Mt. Sangkareang from any official trekking programmes. Pak ABu Bakar further told us that there were 3 caves at Mt. Sangkareang, and there were some legends and folklore that they were protected by a myhtical lion. Some had ventured into the mountain to seek instructions in the arcane art of mystism.
At 0915hrs, we headed north along the Plawangan-Sembalun trail. It was a steady climb with a spectacular view of the surroundings. I immediately proclaimed to myself that this was my favourite part of the trek so far. The Cemara trees were dominant, growing majestically along the face on the mountain. Brightly coloured flowers adorned the trail, their beauty further enhanced by the morning mountain dews that clinged on to them delicately like twinkling diamonds. Even more delicate were the hundreds of intricately woven spiderwebs on the tall grasses and rocks, so light that they sway with the slightest breeze yet so strong that dews cling onto them like bells. Shaffuan was about three hikers infront of me, when he turned and beckoned to Hizam, who was right behind me. Hizam whipped out a plastic ware and took out a Chuppa-Chup (lollipop) and told me to give it to him. I wanted one too! Sheepishly, I asked him if I could have one, and he generously gave one to me! Strawberry Cream! Yummy! As I removed the wrapper, I put the Lolli in my mouth, and it was the sweetest thing I've had for quite a while since. Only then did I proclaim to Hizam, this lolli had just made my favourite part of the trek sweeter, literally!
Now, Haron was in agony the day before, which worried everyone. However, since we moved out this morning, he was zestful! I could say he seemed rather frisky, flamboyant and absolutely boisterous! He kept asking if "everyone's alright", and if they're "having a good time" and "what's up dudes!" and he was just full of life! What was totally confounding was, he was speaking (shouting) with an Australian accent! What gives?! Ok, so the massage he had yesterday at the campsite worked. But what's with speaking like an Aussie? Here, he's a Malay Singaporean, hiking up a mountain in Lombok Indonesia, surrounded by all ALL_ASIAN cast, and he was speaking Blooming Aussie! I just had to come to a conclusion that he was making up for the zest he had lost yesterday.
At 0945hrs, it started to get misty and cold. We were at 2080m a.s.l., and the climb became more technical. We had to scale up some rocky faces, and the cold really got to us. At 1010hrs, we hit the 11km mark and took a short break. At this altitude and temperature, it wasn't wise to stop too long, for our bodies cooled down much faster and we had to start from scratch when we started moving out again. We pressed on, and at 1130hrs, to our chargrin, it started to rain. But I was glad no one suffered from muscle cramps anymore.
After a lot of scaling, crossing two bamboo bridges over ravines and braving the rain, we arrived at the Crater Rim 2 at 1310hrs. We took a breather, and pressed on towards Crater Rim 2 Stop. That was to be our final campsite, the one we were supposed to be at yesterday. At 1340hrs, we arrived happily at the campsite, with an elevation of 2570m a.s.l. A 'Dining' Tent was already erected and the porters had already began cooking our lunch. Our tents were also being erected as we settled down. It was still drizzling. I looked around, and for the first time, I realised the soil was loose and black. They were porous, giving evidence that we were standing on volcanic soil. There was a lower level from where the main tentage was, and after that was a sheer drop. My tent, along wih 3 others were erected there, while the rest were on the upper level. There was an interesting layered rock formation just behind my tent, a result of the eruption and years of exfoliation and weather erosion.
The day was absolutely foggy, with a visibility of about 10m. Amidst the hustle and bustle of setting up tents and changing into dry cloths, many were looking for a spot to tend to their bowels. The porters actually went from tent to tent, asking if we'd like coffee or tea! I knew we were leaving our luxuries behind, but i dare say, being attended to personally was luxury itself. Man carries his civilization with him, and the hospitality of these Sasaks (Lombok locals as they are called) truly earned my profound respect. At 1530hrs, lunch was served. No chicken this time because it was too high for the chickens to hike up ( a joke on Sarah's account), just eggs and vegetables, rice and pineapple. As we ate, Haron briefly described the plan for the hike up to the summit. Given the speed we've been going, we had to start off an hour earlier than planned. We were to begin our ascent at 0200hrs. We were all high-spririted. A few of our Muslim team members did our evening worship, while the rest lounged about indolently. Our two elderly hikers, Samson and Allen felt youthful, they had about them a boyish grin everywhere they went. Fandi and I laid a small canvas on the slate edge behind out tent, and chatted, waiting for the sunset. The area was still thick with fog and clouds. Zul, his wife Normah joined us, while Sarah and Marlinda sat in their tents, joining in bits of our conversation. Haron, being a responsible leader that he was, went around asking for everyone's wellness, especially so towards Nurhana, his sister-in-law and Firdaus, his nephew. Firdaus was the youngest member, at 22 years old. He was rather reclusive and kept much to himself. Well, between Fandi and I, we bantered with him and joked, til he eventually peeked out of his shell.
As we chatted, we all burst into an ecclectic dance (well, not everyone actually, just me) when the fog eddied and swirled and cleared. Right before us was a splendour that was so magnificent it took our breaths away. Mt. Sangkareang was in full view, and the setting sun silhouetted it, casting a baleful yet mesmerising view. The outline of trees that lined the ridge of that mountain looked like a string of hikers climbing up. Photo moment! Fandi said, "this is the moment I've been waiting for." as he snapped away with his camera. His experience in photography was honed through a diversity of photo sessions he has had. And it seemed he really knew that moment would come when he pestered me to sit with him to keep him company. Fadil, I was certain, was feeling melancholic. He must've wished his wife could have been there with him to see the panorama, because she was at the Gunung Tahan Expedition but couldn't join in this one.
At 1900hrs, dinner was served, and we ate contentedly. Haron again briefed us of our climb. We were all aware that we would be trekking in the dark, but then, we only need to look ahead where we're climbing. We were to keep our ranks tight, and aid each other. We were told to have an early night, so by 2030hrs, everyone was in their own tents. At 2230hrs, I was awakened by the pitter-patter of rain, and it grew quite heavy. I was praying that the rain would stop before our climb, and I was reassuring myself there must be a good thing behind the rain. At 2330hrs, the rain stopped as suddenly as it had begun.