Trekking Rinjani Day 1: The ‘stroll’

This entry is part of my Rinjani Trek Journal. Click here see my pre-trip planning FAQ.

Sembalun Lawang to Sembalun Crater Rim (11.9km)

On the previous evening, our driver from Green Rinjani drove us for 4 hours from Lombok airport to reaching Senaru, our resting point before the trek. A route briefing and a dinner of nasi goreng later, we went to bed to prepare for the next day.

After breakfast and tea, we piled into a car and headed to Sembalun Lawang to begin our trek. Here we met the first two of our fellow trekkers, Maraj and Tapas, Indian guys working in Singapore.

At Sembalun, we signed the logbook at the trek centre and met with the other trekkers, three Malaysians (a girl and two guys). With our guides Dede and Pahe and a team of eight porters, we set off towards the mountain.

The first hour was easy. we hardly broke a sweat. There were some technical portions and sharp slopes. We let other groups go ahead of us, keeping our pace steady.

(If you’re trail or cardio fit, take the first stretch before lunch as sightseeing).

The schedule was a carbon-copy of the itinerary: Pos 1 (break), Pos 2 (1-hour stop for lunch) and then walking on. Sad to say, the trash situation at both Pos is terrible.

The real work began after lunch: switchbacks began, beautiful undulating hills giving way to deep valleys and long rises filled with gravel. Then, just before Pos 3, the fog rolled in.

The stretch after Pos 3 and the crater is on the windward side of the mountain, where clouds climb towards the crater rim from the ocean. The result is that this stretch is heavily forested, wet and cold. We began to see our breath two hours after Pos 3 (at 1400hrs).

By then, we, Maraj and Tapas had dropped the Malaysians. We were faced with at least 5 false summits: it looks like you’re reaching, only to realise there’s another rise behind.

Just before 1530 hrs, we hit the crater rim without warning.

The fog had reduced visibility down to 10 metres, so it came out of nowhere. We couldn’t believe it, but when we saw some white guys drinking Bintang. So yeah.

Dede and the porters were already there. And they had set up camp. Like dutiful Singaporeans, we did our powder baths (wet wipes for me), hung our clothes to dry and settled down for an early night. By 1800 hrs, the temperature dropped to about 10’C.

Going out to take a dump felt like going into the freezer.

We were grateful for sleeping early, considering the monster of a day to come.