Gunung Rinjani summit day!

Alpine start for real today! Alarm was set for 1:30am (per our guide's instructions). We packed the night before so we were ready to roll. Our guide, Yantoo, was not in the same boat, so we didn't start hiking until after 2:30am. Yantoo didn't want to be on the summit for very long because of the cold and he knew that we hiked fast so I think he was pumping the brakes. We were not concerned about the cold as we were prepared and used to it.

Many hikers started before we did - we could see the line of lights going up the mountain. The hiking was not easy, Adittia was determined to make it to the summit so we passed a lot of people. Yantoo couldn't keep up, but Dan and I stayed with him. Part way up, he started to get cold and thirsty so we gave him my jacket and water. He doesn't speak any English, but we were able to figure things out. There were steep cliffs on either side of us and "no fall zones" so we wanted to make sure someone was with him. 

The most difficult part of the hike up was the scree - for every step you would take up, you would slide back a bunch. Much of the hiking was with both hands and feet. I'm not going to lie - there were parts that were really tough. Adittia even got a little teary. We stopped to wait for Yantoo. When he caught up, Dan and I went to the summit while Adittia and Yantoo stayed protected a little longer from the wind. 

Dan and I made it to the summit of Rinjani about 30 minutes before sunrise. The show was awesome! However, the summit was not very big, with huge cliffs surrounding almost every side, and there were a good amount of people on the summit - last year, an Israeli man plunged to his death while taking a photo on the summit. We took a bunch of photos and then headed back down. Adittia was cold, so we wrapped him in the sleeping bag we brought up and taught him the penguin strut to warm his hands. One of my favorite parts of the sunrise was seeing the giant shadow that the volcano makes. It was also super cool to see the crater lake and rim from above.

The headlamps of hikers ahead of us can be seen going up to mountain 

The lights in the foreground are of hikers, in the background are the lights of villages at the bottom

The summit is finally in view 

Additia and I on the summit

Adittia and Yantoo making it to the summit 

Adittia and Yantoo almost to the top!

Check out the shadow that Rinjani makes!

Looking at the ridge we hiked and the crater rim where we camped

In the background, you can see Gunung Agung which is on the island of Bali

Dan, Yantoo, Adittia, and me celebrating making it to the summit 

One of the craters on the volcano - there were at least three that we could see

Once we started heading down from the summit, the scree was really fun. It was kind of like skiing down the loose rock. We were back down to the crater rim and camp in no time. Yantoo, Adittia, Dan, and I probably were the fastest hikers down from the summit.

Looking back at the summit and all of the people on it

Dan coming down the scree field

Going down the scree field was kind of like skiing - except super dusty

You can see Mt Barujari which is the smaller crater/mountain that sits inside the big crater and is surrounded by the crater lake. This is where the last eruption of Rinjani occurred. If you look closely, you can see some smoke coming out of it.

More scree slope fun

Dan coming down the scree slope - so much dust

Looking at the tents along the crater rim - they kind of look like prayer flags from a distance

Another view of the tents along the rim

If you look closely, you can see rectangular vertical tents. These are "toilets". The porters dig a small hole, put the privacy tent around it and voila - it's a toilet. Unfortunately every group does this each time they camp, so there are toilet holes all over the place filled with toilet paper and human waste ☹️ Most of the groups do try to fill them in though.

A big breakfast after summiting

Our super human porters all smiles because we are about to head down - some of the first hikers to do so

Dan hiking down with the summit of Rinjani in the background

A cool small canyon

Edelweiss - a sacred flower in Lombok

Our porters getting close to the trailhead

Made it down to the trailhead - I was surprised that we were the first hikers to do so

A bowl of soup for dinner and then straight to bed - a long, but awesome day!