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THE
FIRST ADVENTURE OF THE TIGERLILY MOUNTAINEERING
CLUB
Mt.
Semeru
I participated in a mountain climbing
expedition with some other friends; two American who were doing their internship,
and 5 new friends who were studying in Yogyakarta, Central Java. Almost
all of us were amateur climbers. And as for me, it was my first date with
a mountain and it was fantastic!!!! I've never climbed any mountain before.
Only some hikings or campings experience ages go... And I haven't done
any physical exercise these last 3 years... Obviously, I was drained and
exhausted..... My body felt like falling apart..... And the cold.... oh,
it was almost unbearable! Oh yes, no kidding.... Mount Semeru , 3676 meters
high, is the highest mountain in Java Island. It's an active volcano with
an eruption for every 20-25 minutes.
We're driving from Yogyakarta in Central
Java to Malang in East Java for 8 hours. Starting at about 10:30 pm, we
got to Malang at about 6:30 am. We took a rest in a friend's house for
a couple hours. It took another 2 hours to get to Tumpang, a very small
town, to get a jeep to carry us all to the starting point in Ranu Pani.
It was an open back jeep and we were all riding on the back, standing.
So exciting! With the curvy, bumpy, hilly road! We're driving pass Mount Bromo
and Tengger Dessert on the way. Oooooh... what a view! Marvellous! Wonderful!
I was enjoying every moment immensely! Yeah, including the 'tummy shaker'
as the result of generous potholes along the road combined with poor shock-
breaker system of the jeep....
We got to Ranu Pani at about 3 pm and
after a little rest, we started right away to Ranu Kumbolo, the first base.
It was a late start. Then we got lost. And soon it got dark and cold..
We were all hungry, cold and tired; our bodies were aching with our heavy
backpacks, our legs were sore from walking and climbing, and this journey
seemed to be endless.... We could make out the lake which meant that the
first base was close by but the first base itself was out of sight. To
make it worse, the wind blew very strong, and the path was very narrow
and tricky, next to the cliff. Lost your footing, off you down to the dark
depth below.... *Uh oh*
But the view....... ooooh..... it worth
all the hardship! Really....!!! I've always love the night sky. And this
was the most breathtaking night sky I've ever seen.... So clear and crisp,
the blues were so dark and intense... And the stars..... never before in
my life I've seen stars as rich and as bright as this night.... There were
soooooo many many many stars... and each of them was so bright and alive.
It was gorgeous! More than words could tell... Made me wish I could fly
and surf the stars above... It was so dreamy!
Anyway, we've made it to Ranu Kumbolo
at last, until 6,5 hours of walking and climbing with a lot of bumpings
and trippings... We did take some little rest from time to time, needless
say. But maaan, it was really tiring! Oh well, here came the base to shelter
us from the harsh cold wind....
Bad news! The base was packed! And
there were some idiots who set their tents inside the base which meant
that they're setting the tents indoors! It was built to protect those without
tents from the severe wind although it was not really a wind-proof structure.
We're too tired to argue, and decided to make the best out of what's left
and soon prepared dinner together. I was forever thankful for the guys!
They're a bunch of good cooks! hehehe....
Sleep was hard.... These amateurs were
too exhausted and the weather was too cold.... The next morning, we're
refreshened by the serene beauty of nature unfolded before our eyes under
the bright, warm sun.... The glassy lake, the curvy green hills, the clear
blue sky... Oh! Fascinating! This was the last place with water source
so we had to fill in our water supply for the rest of climbing here.
The next day was another hours of walking,
climbing, bumping, tripping, and even crawling and sliding sometimes (
we're a bunch of newbie here, mind you...) with little rest in betweens.
And of course, pictures taking! :-) Along the way, the magnificent beauty
of nature held us in awe. The rich, everchanging landscape fascinated us
endlessly..... What a wonderful world we're living in! Cute little wild
flowers nodded gently and smiled cheerfully, lightened up our slackening
steps... (Not always 'though! hehehe.... *wink* ) The majestic Mount Semeru
seemed bigger and bigger as we're getting closer.... Its eruptions seemed
to hurry us up....
We reached the next base, Kalimati,
before dark. Fortunately, the base was empty so we could use it effectively.
The scenery was a bit different. It was drier, like a steppe and the voice
of the wind was engulfing us even louder. The voice like I've never heard
before. It was like the mixture of voices of waterfalls with rolling seawaves
and wind itself. It was so loud and all over us, circling
around us, wrapped us in its cold,
stirring fingers.... I wished to stay outside for a while to devour the
divine starry night once again but the cold baffled me. We're huddled up
inside the too-much-ventilated hut together and had the tastiest instant
noodles of our lives there! Sleep didn't come easier, but I was grateful
for the chance to just lie down and rest my weary muscles. I could almost
hear my legs muscles moaned... My Kickers mocassin boots were actually
fine except that they're high heels...!!!
It was set that the best time to start
to climb up to the summit was at 2:30 am. And it was clear enough that
only the two Americans would do it. The rest of us were too cold.... It
was about 8*C out there! And up to the summit at the height of 3676 m would
be freezing to us! We would do it next time, with better preparation. At
the moment, after goodluck wishes were delivered and they're gone off into
the dark cold out there, the rest of us were trying to get back to our
fitful sleep....
We woke up early in the next morning
and monitored our brave friends with binoculars. The
first part was a climb through a forest and considered to be the easier
one. The last part
toward the summit was the hardest one. It was very steep and slippery for
it
consisted of dry, sandy earth. We clearly
saw how difficult it was for them... but they
made it! They made it at last! Yessss!!!!
They commented that it was the hardest
thing they had ever done in their entire life! But the exhilirating feeling
they gained was worth it. From the summit, they saw the most magnificent,
wonderful, fantastic view they've ever seen... It filled them with tremendeous
awe...
The journey back was easier since we
knew the ways and what to expect next. And also because there was more
going downs than going ups like before.... We enjoyed the journey back!
And the wondrous landscape fascinated us to no end....
Do I sound too enthusiastic? Well I
am! This is my first! And it was incredible! It was an unforgetable experience
for us! And it has bonded our friendship! We've just met and been together
in this expedition only, but it felt like we've known each other for long!
They're such nice friends! We've shared
too many hearty laugh and were not willing to let it just go away. We decided
to do this again.... To another mountains, to another places.....
The
Photographers of these cool photos are
MR. RAKHMAT SULUH & MR. OLIVER
BERNHARDT
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RestlessSoul WanderingMinds IdleDreams
krisis - reflection - onArt - onLife - poetry - shortstory - semeru - fullmooncafes - fancynites
collaborativeplay - selfportraits - illustration&graphic - my favorite things - gifts
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