trekking mount rinjani – day 2

Rise and shine at 6am.

Breakfast in preparation.

The pisang goreng was yummy!

Packing up to start our Day 2 trek. We will be going down to the crater lake and then up to the second campsite opposite. (Photo by Lay Peng)

Group picture with our guides before moving off.

i quickly snapped a few more pics before leaving, it was too beautiful!

Off we go! (Photos by Lay Peng)

The route down to the crater was not only steep, it was also wet and slippery cos of the rain the night before. (Photos by Lay Peng)

One of the mighty strong porters that zoom passed us despite his heavy load.

A short break to rest our legs and admire the scenery.

Looking very colorful!

Finally up closed with the crater lake and still energetic enough to jump, not bad at all!

i was trying to take a panoramic view of the surrounding but not sure why my friend ended up looking like alien. Oops!

After some rest, more pictures and fooling around – like pretending to fish with the trekking stick etc, we set off for hot spring. (Photo by Lay Peng)

Awesome view along the way.

The hot spring was just right below. We can’t wait to jump in as we knew it was our only chance to ‘bath’ during the trip. (Photo by Lay Peng)

Making our way to the lunch site and was careful not to get wet especially we were feeling fresh and clean after hot spring. 

The porters had already set up the area when we reached.

One of the porters making tea and milo for us.

We were surrounded by blue sky, magnificent mountains, clear lake water and cool weather. What a perfect spot to chill and have lunch.

Did i mention before that our guide can cook really well?

Garlic bread, nasi goreng, pineapple, apple and orange (not pictured). What a spread!

After lunch, it was time to make our way to the second campsite. The climb up from the crater was very tough, but looked at the scenery, it was totally worth it.

Again, my guide had to help me all the way up else i couldn’t have made it. i kept telling him i have no more strength left haha. Once, we were in the middle of climbing up rocky surfaces, he pointed to somewhere far and told me to check out the view. i turned around, looked for a split second (no, i have no idea what i saw) and quickly turned back. Though i pretended to look cool, he could still sensed that something wasn’t right and asked if i’m afraid of height. i guess he must be thinking why the hell would someone who is afraid of height trekking a mountain?! (Photos by Angel)

After another long day of tedious climbing, we finally reached our second campsite.

It was even more beautiful than the first night.

And i found crystals everywhere! On the spider web next to our tents...

... and on my friend’s hair :)

Day 2 ended with this delicious chicken and vegetable curry dinner nomnom.

i had to grab many pictures from my friends to illustrate the full story cos i had no free hand to use my camera most of the time. One hand was with the guide, the other either holding the trekking stick or onto some rocks for my dear life. But yeay i survived Day 2! To be continued...

Day 1
Mount Rinjani, Lombok, Indonesia

trekking mount rinjani – day 1

To trek Mt Rinjani was an impulse decision made purely based on a friend’s remark: if you don’t try, you will never know (if you can make it)... which i totally agree. So without much thought, i went online to purchase the trekking package and air ticket. And finally last month, i experienced my very first 3D2N mountain trekking.

Day 1 started at 4.45am and i only had 2 hrs of sleep the night before. It was a full day trekking ahead. i must be insane to sign up for this.

Beautiful village view from the trekking agency at 7.30am.

A short ride to Rinjani Trek Centre. In front of us were our guides and porters. (Photo by Angel)

After registration, we’re ready to go!

Cute puppies at the foot of the mountain.

Rest stops. We usually break for a few minutes for water and sometimes biscuits.

At around noon time, we reached our lunch stop.

Enjoying tea and waiting for lunch.

Our guides and porters preparing lunch.

Delicious!

The terrain became more and more steep as we trekked. My legs were tired and i was sweating like mad even though the weather was cool. i had no idea why i had to torture myself like this. And finally, out of the heavily forested ground, we were greeted by this view of endless lush green landscape. It was beautiful! But shortly after, it was another challenge – trekking on steep rocky terrain which i thought i would never make it. My very patient guide had to hold my hand and lead me all the way to the top, i didn’t dare to look down at all.

After climbing the rocks for about half an hour (though it felt much longer), we reached a short narrow path where i can walk instead of climb. It was such a relieve. Even though there’s still more climbing waiting ahead but at least i can take a proper break and no need to hang onto the rocks for my dear life. Then i turned around, saw this breathtaking sunset view and all my fear and tiredness vanished by half.

After a while, i saw my friends making their way up from another direction. Only then did i realise that the guide had taken me on a short cut, thus the steep rocky terrain throughout. i remember at one point i was still thinking how did my friends climbed so fast with no fear at all that i can’t even see any of them!

So happy to be reunited with them, we took more pictures and continued our way up to look for our campsite for the first night.

Dramatic looking sky just before night fall.

Dinner in the tent. It was freezing outside! (Photo by Lay Peng)

i can’t believe after trekking the whole day, i didn’t have any appetite for dinner. My food was left almost untouched and i had trouble falling asleep (again) that night. So with only 3 hrs of sleep, i woke up at 6 am and get ready for my second day on the mountain. To be continued...

Mount Rinjani, Lombok, Indonesia