… By Jane TongI have joined this hike through a friend’s recommendation and without knowing what i have signed myself up for. It’s really a blessing in disguise for not researching for more
:P.It’s my first climb, my first outdoor camping and many many first. I felt excited and at the same time nervous as to what will happen during the trip. One thing that keeps me going is, I must do it and no turning back. Face whatever that is coming bravely with determination and perseverance and I will make it. Just don’t give up.With this in mind, I trained up for stamina and got myself prepared as much as I could. And off I go.
At every point of challenge during the hike, the thought of giving up keeps haunting me again and again. It takes great determination to push the thought away. I am very grateful to a marvelous team where we encourage each other through jokes, care for each other, moral support given to each other during the hike. We take each step up slowly and we did not pressure each other to move faster. We move at our own pace and YES! We reach the summit eventually. Although we took much longer than expected, our guides are so patient with each of us that we managed to do it.I came down from the summit and down to the base camp with much difficulty. Due to my phobia of heights and descent, it’s really a torture. I’m thankful for Girish and Donie for being by my side, hand held me all the time when there is difficulty going down. Yes, I fell several times and each time, they helped me up. In life, we will fall. Just stand up, dust away the dust and move on again. Yes, there’s pain, but if we endure it, we will overcome it. My team mates also taught me 1 very important lesson, do not rush through the process, we will miss all the nice sceneries along the way. So often, they stopped and took photos to capture the mesmerizing views. Because of them, I get to stop, rest, enjoy the view before moving on. Isnt this what we need to do in life as well Rest?
Thank you SANL for this trip. I sincerely thank all my team mates for the arrangement on logistics, translation, photo takings, jokes and encouragement to make this hike a memorable one. A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL OF U!
… Angeline Tan
Toughest climb ever …. especially the last part, the summit is so near yet so far. Every 3 steps forward, you slipped back 2. So frustrating and many times I wanted to give up and thoughts of ditching climbing entirely popped up. It’s a mental challenge to the max. Glad I made it to the summit, the pain and sufferings are totally worth it. Standing up at the summit, taking in the sight of God’s magnificent creations, how insignificant i am yet I’m well taken care of. He heard my cries and granted the strength and courage I need to complete the journey throughout. PTL!
Last week today, it’s the first day of our hike up to Gunung Rinjani. Time flies. Already missing the team mates, the joy and laughters we shared. The unspoken support given. The give and take of everyone, even with the switch of plan, even though some with a little disappointment, but we care enough for each other to go with the flow as we know it’s the best for everyone. But hey! We do enjoy the little extra time we have in town chillaxing. … By Cristine TabalOur summit attack started at 130am with only few mins to no sleep for most of us. It was a mix of excitement and dread. I had heard and read a lot about how challenging it will be but you will never really know until you experience it first hand. Well, experience I did! 😅We got a taste of uphill volcanic+sand gravel on the first part where you do 2 steps then slide a step back. It wasnt too difficult yet and we reached the clearing which gave false hope that its all ok..the start of the second part was better but its cold and the air is thinner so as we trek further I start to feel weaker and sleepy😆. I tried to cover my face coz its coold and dusty but I also need to breathe more air so its confusing.. then it started getting steeper again with volcanic scree, there was a point where I felt cramps on my thighs but thankfully it went away after few mins of climbing. There were 5 of us with the guide (who wasnt really doing much guiding lol he was just a subsitute guide) and I tried to keep up with them. But I knew it was just gonna get much harder on the last part so after a while I didnt attempt to catch up (and I literally could not anyway lol).
And the toughest part indeed came.. at past 5am I can see a light on the summit, it looks near so I thought if I can reach within an hour I will be there by sunrise. Ha was I ever wrong. Each step I took was a struggle not to sink back down. At first I was wondering why the people ahead of me were stopping often or not moving at all for a long time. There was a couple that passed by and I could hear the girl complaining crying as if giving up but the guy was encouraging her to go on and almost pushing her up just to move (i hope theyre still together😆). I tried different tactics, few fast steps up then break or very slow continuous steps but the path seems to get steeper by the minute and the steps I take do not make sense so I take longer breaks. For the instances I wanted to give up and dont feel like moving, I tell myself “staying here wont accomplish anything, just do 2 small steps then stop and you will eventually get there somehow”. But a small voice is also saying, “its ok to give up, what are you trying to prove? Why are you even doing this?” .. yes I became crazy lol.. and then the break of dawn came, and I see the summit but it looked impossible to reach soon so I just waited for the sunrise and I felt relieved that I get to rest more and enjoy the sunrise and the view around me.
But the torture was not over, I still have to reach the effin summit. I again started to climb small steps but this time much much slower, well the sun is already up so no need to rush lol. And finally after like an eternity, I reached the end! I was so exhausted but really happy. I hugged one of the girls out of joy.. the weather was great with clear skies so we got to witness the amazing views from the summit. We are above the clouds, we can see the crater, the lake, mt agung from afar and the whole painful trail we took to reach the peak. And our exhaustion fades. Nature is wonderful. To be up there is just surreal. And so I tell that small voice in me – this is why I climb, it cannot be explained, it is a feeling you only get once you’ve reached that top😊So anyway what goes up must come down, it was a bit tricky as you need to keep sliding down but have to control else will might fall off the cliff lol.. but it was much easier than climbing up. I was so drained already when we got back. Had a bit of breakfast then tried to take a nap inside the warm tent while the rest were waiting for everyone else to come back. I honestly didnt think I could trek anymore after that😆.
Singapore Adventurous & Nature-Lovers 