Mount Ciremai Indonesian volcano hike Day 3 (13/10/2013) As it has been for all the decades in my life up to now, after the night, either warm or cold, the new morning awakes. And so it did here, in all its glory. I could see the sun shining low through the foliage so it promised to be a wonderful day. Some kitty cat wash, brushing teeth, breakfast, packing and dismantling and we were ready to go. We left slightly later than planned but who cared as nobody had a plane to catch today. Based on yesterdays hike it was already clear that there might be some substantial time differences today between the first and the last hiker of our group. So initially the pace was kept artificially low for the first section. As the terrain became more taxing and also very steep sections emerged in front of us, the gap grew and we decided to finally meet again at the lunch place. The hike is a true pearl and seems to be a combination of more familiar tracks like Nuang, Datuk and Liang. On several occasions it even reminded me of the last part of Rajas hike. When I saw the signboard Bapa Tere, it rang a bell, but I was not sure whether this was the lunch place which was mentioned earlier. Although this site was quite small and not really suited to have lunch, I decided to wait. In the meantime I had passed the 2000 meter altitude point and was less than 3.5 kilometers from the summit. When more hikers joined me, I was told that this was indeed not the targetted spot. Batu Lingga was slightly more than a kilometer from Bapa Tere. That it was lunch time was pretty obvious. Every place I passed, without a single exception, where friendly Indonesians were preparing or having lunch, I was offered to share lunch with them. When I reached our own lunch place and took of my backpack, while waiting for the others to arrive, another hiking team invited me to have lunch with them. When I told them that I would wait to have lunch with our hikers, biscuits were taken out of their backpacks and I was asked to share at least a few biscuits with them. Not sure why, but it could be that Mount Ciremai is not that much frequented by foreigners and in one way or the other I ended up as the stranger in their midst. At Batu Lingga, Lenny transformed from hiker to chef once more. We helped out with some small kitchen duties like washing and cutting vegetables, but we rather had a truly relaxing time filled with rest and interesting conversations. In the meantime the weather had seriously changed and the gloomy dark clouds that we spotted around the mountain yesterday afternoon had made their entrance again. Now and then a few rays of sun brightened up the day, piercing through the white foggy clouds, and provided us with some extra warmth. This was especially appreciated now we were not hiking. After a hearty lunch we continued the climb. We were not sure about the distance which still had to be covered for we didnt know how far it would be from the campsite to the crater rim. One thing we did know was that there was still an elevation gain of almost 900 meters with an average gradient of 38% to be digested! Unlike the first part of the hike, now it became more and more clear that we were ascending a volcano. The beautiful pine forests at the foot of the mountain were now replaced by smaller trees, shrubs, volcanic rocks and black fertile soil. On several stretches there was no foliage coverage anymore, something that is only appreciated by those hiking in cloudy weather conditions. Before noon we encountered some white foggy clouds, after lunch we had some minor drizzling, but not enough to pull the raincoat from the backpack. Unfortunately the weather gods had something more spicy on their menu for us. Indeed a shower of cold, cold rain came down over our heads while a few thunderclaps didnt predict anything good. Initially I managed to find some refuge under a few young trees, but got pretty wet anyway. This stop gave us a chance to have a sort of regrouping and when the rain turned into drizzle once more I continued my way up. The rocks were much more slippery now and only the top layer of dust turned into some sort of black mud which moved easily over the dust layer beneath. As we were climbing an extremely steep section, extra caution was required. Then and completely unexpected the sluices of heaven were thrown wide open again and I wondered whether I should continue hiking or start building an ark. This time there was no escape and in the pouring rain we pushed ourselves higher and higher on Mount Ciremais slope. Around 03:00pm I reached the campsite and it wasnt raining cats and dogs but lions and wolfs. The group that passed us last night was also here and most of them were standing under a canvas they were holding above their heads. I was invited to join them and I gladly accepted. While holding the canvas myself the rain gushed inside my windbreaker through the sleeve. Our guides were quite some distance behind, so there was nothing else to seek shelter in at the moment. Despite the horrible weather conditions the spirit in the stranded group was excellent. They were laughing away and even found the mental strength to challenge each other in the songs they were singing. It looked like forever before the first guide also reached the campsite. Erecting tents in the rain is not a funny job and by the time the bigger tent was pitched, water inside the tent was flowing from one side to the other. Removing the water was a concern for later. Having a roof above the head and being able to change to something warm and dry was heavenly. That didnt warm up my frozen skeleton, but at least it was the first step to recovery. In the meantime the Indonesian group kept on singing under the canvas while the downpour continued. I asked where their tents were and then I was informed that they didnt bring any equipment. They were still determined to make it to the summit today and to descend all the way down to catch the early morning public bus to Jakarta. And I thought that only KL Hiking would come up with such outrageous ideas... Finally the rain stopped and I could have a clearer sight at the campsite. From here Ciremais crater rim was visible and the track was only 700 to 800 meters long. An elevation of almost 300 meters still had to be bridged. When I arrived at the site, two hikers were sitting at the smoking remains of a bonfire but because of the heavy rain the charcoal didnt even feel warm anymore. While the Indonesian group finally headed for their last stage to the summit – I was wondering why they halted at the campsite anyway - we were focusing on getting a fire started so we could warm ourselves. If it was true there had been drought here for one to three months, then this amount of rainfall wouldnt have been able to make the deadwood soaking wet. Our guides made great efforts to collect the wood we needed and indeed within 15 minutes we had the bonfire we were hoping for. Despite some clouds in the sky, visibility was relatively good and besides the mountain top on one side we had a good view on the townships in the coastal area as well. Our main concern now was where were Deddy and the last guide? In the meantime three hours had passed since our arrival and darkness had set in. A huge sigh of relief was uttered when they finally turned up. Luckily once again Lenny had taken over Deddys cooking duties, so while we were barbecuing ourselves we enjoyed our dinner, watching the steam vapour of our drying clothes rising into the air. This showdown continued after dinner, all of us holding clothes above the fire in an attempt to dry them as quick as possible. Then we were facing the dancing flames until it became too hot, then we turned our backs to heat up that part of our bodies. A ritual that continued long after we saw the headlamps of the Indonesian group at the crater rim. They made it! According to the planning we would leave by 04:00am tomorrow morning. That should give us enough time to reach the crater before sunrise. Unfortunately none of us had the presence of mind seeing how long it took the Indonesian group to reach the crater, so we didnt change the original plan. Wake up call and tea were set before 04:00am. Deddy would wake us up and prepare the tea. We managed to get the water out of the tent and Ali wiped as much mud as possible. Then I searched for refuge in my mini sleeping bag. This time it must have been too cold outside as Deddy joined me in the tent later that night. After my usual two to three hours of sleep I woke up and felt so cold that I decided to leave the tent and look for the warmth of the bonfire instead. Two guides were also having a rough time and when they saw that I tried to warm myself around the flames, they got up and disappeared in the shrubs only to return with a load of deadwood. Shortly after the intensity of the fire was such that not in a million years I would return to the tent. The guys offered me tea and prepared some coffee for themselves. The sky had cleared even more and several stars could be easily spotted. For hours I stood around the bonfire. Deddy woke up and noticed that I was missing in action as all of a sudden I saw him peeping out of the tent. He exchanged a few words with the guides and his head disappeared inside the tent again.
Posted on: Sat, 26 Oct 2013 08:32:08 +0000
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