Trekking entry #1 : Mount Ijen
It's a step, we are officially starting the journey for a new venture and adventure.
It involves the great outdoor, something that we so often miss in the ever increasingly chaotic big city life of Jakarta.
A friend and I started the discussion since July 2016, we were excited and hopeful about the project. Between us, I was personally paranoid about the project. I've had my shares of failures and I am too familiar with the feeling of a failed project. It's the feeling that you get when you were a child and your father threw you into the air, so much fun, but as if this time no one is there to catch you on your way down. Smack down on the ground, with under develop bones, failures and gravity has some shared properties after all.
Anyways, I am trying my best to stay away from those thoughts and focus all my attention to the good stuff that can be done along the way. I think the only way this will fail is when we decided that we're giving up. As simple as that.
With some physical training and a trial short hike in Mount Pancar, we decided that we are ready to level up the terrain, so Mount Ijen it is. Located in East Java, about an hour drive from the city of Banyuwangi, it seems like a good stepping stone for me as an absolute beginner.
According to my research from the net, the climb supposedly only takes about 2-3 hours with an elevation of 2,443 m ( thanks wiki).
Morning of departure to Surabaya-Banyuwangi from Jakarta
So let's get into the trekking related stuff.
The door, a thin layer of solid matter that psychologically separates us from the rest of the world. It weighs on the mind so much that we nickname nature as The Great Outdoor. A few hundred years ago, they just called it as "here" and "there".
I want to break that door, I think the door amplifies our egos so much that it is changing its purpose from providing security into providing insecurities. Door for VIP, door for members only, a bouncer guarding a door, door to a door shop. Who am I without a door at least within 10 meters radius? How dare you step through that door!
So I decided to join my friend and see for myself, what a few moments without doors feels like.
To Mount Ijen!
The hike started at 1AM, so we had a short nap at the hotel before we head out to drive to the base camp with Mr Sony, our local guide and driver. It took us about an hour to reach our destination, I assume it would be faster but it was raining quite hard and the road was only lit by the car. If you get motion sickness quite easily I recommend taking some anti motion sickness tablet as the road snake its way up..
As you reached the base camp you can find several simple outlets that offers you food and drinks. It might a good place for trekkers to grab a bite or drink since it will about 3/4 of the trek until you find the next resting place that serves small bites and drinks. So you might want to carry some water.
Might as well drink something.
After all the preparations and registration were completed at the base, we started our climb. Newbie that I am, I immediately noticed that my water proof jacket was a mismatch for such condition. I was being cautious because of the rainy season, but soon it was raining from inside the jacket instead. The temperature was a good 13 degree Celsius, and I left my thermal shirt in the car. So forget changing. I thought carrying less means easier hike, I was carrying lenses and cameras inside the bag, so it was only right to left that shirt. Boy was I wrong. Cool outside, steamed inside. Let me tell you, feeling your own sweat is kinda a downer. Makes you think that you're already tired when you're not.
I recommend bringing your own light for the night ascend, the terrain gets harder and visibility is important as you climb the dark mountain path.
It was around 3am when we reached the top. After all these years spent looking at man made lights, I have to say, whatever actually lies beyond our head is just magnificent. I can almost taste the view in my mouth and it tastes so good. The best dish is served when you are hungry. And I was hungry for nature.
You can immediately see the sulfur fog rising into the dark blue sky once you reached the summit. If you are lucky enough like we were, the moonlight does all the lighting for you to be able to see the surrounding landscape.
Earth, wind ,and fire.
I felt like a kid when I reached the top, it was good, all the worries felt like I left it at the base of the mountain. As far as one human life span, that is one of the moments I would like to freeze. Good news, no doors.
After absorbing the nigh sky and landscape for a while, we moved on to the location of the sulfur mine. The location of the Blue Fire, which is only visible at night time. In order to do that we have to descend ( and ascend to get back) steep rocks and sand formation for another 20-30 minutes each way, depending on the human traffic, there were a lot of people who shared the same schedule that night. It's just basic mannerism, be patient on the crater track, one wrong step and someone could get injured. Some people opt to bring gas mask with them, but for me the gas mask was more suffocating than the fog itself, ended up not using it. A watered buff used as a mask helped my breathing a lot more when the sulfur fog blew my way.
On the way down to the crater you could see rocks as big as a truck, to think that once it flew through the air when the mountain erupted shows the hidden force of nature. As you near the bottom of the crater you can see the blue glow from behind the sulfur fog. An effect from the interaction of sulfur and molten lava ( I assume, so I might be wrong ).
But that was not the only thing that amazes me, the miners, their working conditions, the fact that they are there to work. It makes the office space seems like a fenced piece of heaven. Despite the suffocating sulfur fog, they spend hours, days, years in that crater unlike us who visited the mine for less than 3 hours. I wish I could get to learn their life stories.
Breaking the sulfur to smaller pieces to carry back, the miners work nonstop. The Blue Fire is like the plant in the corner of your office for the miners. Only this one can melt you in a few seconds.
We climbed back up from the crater before sunrise, as soon as the sun hit the land, suddenly I can see faces from all over the world. It was practically in my backyard, but I never bothered to notice, while people from across the globe make their time to visit the place. After we scouted the area, we decided it was time to head down.
The descend felt a lot faster compared to the ascend, even though it took us almost the same amount of time. Maybe because the sun was already rising then, I was able to orientate better with visible landmarks to measure the pace. It was not kind to my toes though. With all the weight held in check by mostly the front part of your foot, it was a struggle to keep a good descend speed.
By the time we reach the base camp the sun was already warming up the cold morning.
Morning descent view
It was around 6.30AM when we reach the base camp. Ran back to the car and took of that jacket, thank you breathable material. Thank you Mr. Sony who drove us back to the hotel while I nap.
Tourist, tourist, guide.
Woke up midday, lunch, beer, beach, dinner, and coincidentally watched the Everest on HBO. The next day we packed our belongings and board the plane. Now remembering the whole experience, it was a weird feeling, the whole trekking/climbing thing. Such a hassle but you kind of want to do it again.
At 5PM we landed back in Jakarta airport, as the airplane moved through runway I was already excited for the next trip we will be planning soon. From the time we landed until I reached my bed, I passed 9 doors.