Mount Rinjani

After the spontaneous Mount Rinjani trek booking we arrived in Senggigi, Lombok. To be honest there wasn’t much around. There was a beach and a few bars and restaurants around but not worth staying for any longer than the day we were there for.

The following morning we were picked up and taken to Senaru village for our first nights accommodation as part of the package. We actually depart from another village called Sembalun but tours start from Senaru as most people do the trek in 3+ days return to Senura, whereas we’d return to Sembalum. In Sembalum we had a guide take us to two local waterfalls which were a real sight although not the type you could swim under. After that we ate dinner, had a overview of the upcoming trek and called it a night nice and early.

The following morning the Mount Rinjani summit trek starts. We hopped in the back of a pick-up truck for the starting point in Sembalum at an altitude of 1000m. On the way we had to stop at a local hospital and have a medical check first - thankfully we were both okay. We left the starting point at 9.00am with the aim to arrive at the crater rim before sunset. The previous nights overview explained the first four hours of the walk would be a warm up. Although not a walk in the park, the first few hours were okay as we ascended to rest point 2 at 1500m for lunch. I should mention as part of this trek we did not carry any food, cooking equipment, tents or sleeping gear. This was all carried by our porters. Porters are locals whose job it is to literally carry our gear to the top for us so we can ‘enjoy’ the trek with nothing but our own bags consisting of clothes, snacks and a bottle of water. These porters are build of something else. They carry 20-30kg of gear in baskets tied to a wooden stick which rests on their shoulder as they climb up. They do not stop to rest and usually get ahead. Even more impressively they do it in flip flops! Trekkers have walking boots, hiking sticks, a light backpack and will stop for rest as the porters carrying 30kg on a wooden stick walk past in flip flops.

Up to rest point 2, the walk was okay. We ate lunch as cooked by the porters and set off at 1pm for rest point 3. This is where the trek really starts as the ascent rate steepens and the terrain gets tougher. Rest point 3 was at 1800m and by now, we’re starting to feel tired. The terrain is mostly soft gravel and the clouds are no longer far away. Unfortunately for us the next rest point is at the crater rim another 800m up at 2600m. This was a head down and just go job. We past the clouds and eventually arrived at 4pm, walking mostly on gravel, up makeshift ladders and with a little bit of scrambling along the way. We finally arrived with two of our three porters there but the third was not there. Long story short, he got cramp and struggled to walk so arrived very late. The plan was to arrive, set up, eat and get to sleep at sunset at 6pm but we didn’t manage to eat until 8pm. Nonetheless the views at the crater rim were amazing! We could see into the volcano which actually has a lake inside. We could also see most of Lombok from here and in the distance we could see Bali’s tallest volcano, mount Agung. We enjoyed the sunset, albeit hungry and ready for bed but did eventually eat and got straight to bed at 8pm ready for the 1.30am wake up the next morning.

Unfortunately sleeping on rock is very uncomfortable as you can imagine so we may have had an hour or so of sleep. 1.30am called and we were given breakfast which was two slices of bread, not ideal for what was to come. This climb was straight to the summit at 3700m and although only another 1000m up, this was extremely difficult. The 4 hour trek was almost entirely up gravel and dust, like walking up sand. With our head torches on in darkness we began the walk and within 10 minutes hit the sandy ascent. 15 minutes again and completely out of breath, I stopped to ask the guide ‘surely it’s not this for the next 4 hours?’. He spoke little English but did understand my question and responded ‘yes, yes it is and it gets steeper as we go up’. There is only one path to the summit, up a narrow ridge which at times is no more than 1m wide. Looking over the side of the ridge you could see a steep drop and at times a wrong footing would most likely be your last.

Hours in and we’re still pushing up. As we look back we can see a line of glowing head torches along the ridge behind us. The final 1km of linear distance is the hardest with a 300-400m ascent. Although steep, this would be manageable on solid ground. The problem is that the ground was not solid, the terrain is loosest and the gradient is steepest. The sun is beginning to lighten the sky and the summit is becoming more visible. It is fair to say this final climb was extremely difficult both physically and mentally.

We pushed and pushed, one step then the next sliding and falling down countless times until at last we made it to the top! Absolutely exhausted but we did it and got to the summit at 3726m. It was 1 degree Celsius and a little windy and although we were a little late for sunrise in the end, that was fine by me. Needless to say the views over the whole of Lombok and surrounding islands were stunning! We could look down on clouds in the distance although luckily for us there were no clouds nearby to spoil the view. The sun was glowing orange and casting shadows on the land below behind the lower altitude peaks and into the crater filled with water. The tents at the crater rim now looked little more than specs of colour. We stayed at the summit a little while but not too long as we soon cooled down. At this point the hard part was over but we still had a 2700m descent to make back down to the start point.

The climb down to the crater rim was mentally quite draining as with each step you’d slide. Climbing up, with each two steps up would be one step back. Going down was the opposite… with each step down you’d slide another step forward so concentration was a must. Everyone was falling over, myself included on multiple occasions. We eventually got back to the campsite at the crater rim and honestly breakfast could not come sooner. The reward for the most intense activity I’ve ever done… a single cold banana pancake! You can imagine my face when I was handed that on a plastic plate.

After a short lay down in the tent it was time to move on and begin the final walk down from the crater rim at 2700m to start point at 1000m. Although not easy on the legs, it was of course much easier going down. We passed each rest point and said hello the unfortunate victims climbing up with a slight smugness in our tone this time. As on the way up our porter cooked us lunch at rest point 2 before our final walk back to the starting point.

In all an extremely intense 28 hours with very little food and a few hours sleep but we climbed 2700m up to 3726m, 2700m down, walked over 60,000 steps and burned 12,000 calories.

Was I pleased to have made it? Absolutely!
Will I be doing it again? Absolutely not!

Later that afternoon we had a long taxi drive south to Kuta with a few car changes along the way. On the final trip, we were both in desperate need of more food so stopped off and scoffed a KFC burger meal each. It alone didn’t quite do the trick so we ordered another bargain bucket to takeaway and also scoffed that in the taxi. After checking in to a rather nice homestay in Kuta, it was off to bed to at last recharge.Read more