My near-death experience in Mount Rinjani

Apr 26, 2018
7 min read

Standing tall and mighty at the height of 3726m, Mount Rinjani is the second highest volcano in Indonesia.

So as you may have guessed it, hiking it wasn't exactly your average 'walk in the park'. And I reckon my mistake here was underestimating the difficulty of the hike itself.

I did a decent amount of research before eventually picking on the most suitable tour operator for the hike - based on the hike days, itinerary, price, as well as online reviews. The most affordable one which I manage to find online was run by Lombok Eco Tours, offering a 3 days/2nights group hike at the price of USD 145 per person. The website itself had also warned that the hike will be rigorous and only suitable for advanced hikers, but being the ignorant person that I was, I thought I was able to overcome it simply because I have gone on plenty of day hikes. Boy, was I wrong.

So wrong.

But once I found out how under-prepared I was, it was far too late.

DAY 1

View from the Base Camp

As scheduled on the itinerary, my friend and I were picked up from our hotel in Senggigi at the early hours of dawn to be driven to the Base Camp located in Senaru village. From then on, we were served breakfast and meet the rest of our group members which we will be hiking with for the next 3 days. In total, there were 8 of us- 4 Danish backpackers, 1 yogi British backpacker, 1 senior-yet-active Canadian backpacker, my German friend, and myself. We hopped onto the back of an open truck and embarked on the first day of a gruelling and eventful hike.

We started the hike in Senaru Village at 1000m, and ascended upwards to our tent grounds at 3000m. Along the way, I passed by a couple of young, local hikers weeping in the ground. I wondered, why were they so upset about? Until a couple of volunteers brought down the covered body of a deceased hiker on a stretcher, and that's when I knew, and fell to the ground as a result. The once cheerful atmosphere surrounding the group quickly changed into a sombre one, as we quickly became more alert and conscious with the surroundings. Our minds were surrounded by so many questions, why did he passed away? The area we were hiking weren't surrounded by cliffs, so he couldn't have fallen into a cliff, could he? And, judging from the state of his motionless hand hanging from the stretcher, the deceased seemed pretty young and healthy too. Rumours quickly spread around nearby hikers and porters that the deceased passed away due to exhaustion.... we knew the truth didn't really matter to us, but as we were embarking onto the same exact destination as the deceased once was, it would just be good to know.

After passing the gruelling first day of hike into Mount Rinjani's infamous 'Regret Hill', we finally reached the tent site, had an early dinner, and tried to get as much sleep as possible before making it to day 2.

DAY 2

Views from the way to the Summit

We were awaken from our tents as early as 2 in the morning to prepare for the gruesome hike to the Summit. The surroundings were pitch black, and the weather was extremely cold with strong, harsh wind. We strapped on our mountain coats and gears tightly, switched our headlamps on, and started the hike in a timely manner.

The first few minutes of the hike were decent and do-able, but the further and further you go, the harder the hike becomes. The once solid, rocky grounds slowly transformed into sandy and ashy base, making it harder to walk upwards when it's so easy to slide back down. The group quickly became dismembered in the dark, until I was finally left on my own to device to hike upwards. The weather was extreme, but when I looked upwards and see a sky filled with stars, my eyes were quickly overwhelmed with tears. Unsure of whether it was because I was so moved by the beauty of the nature surrounding me, or by the intense external conditions, I decided to soldier on until the sun slowly rises.

With high hopes, I expected the weather conditions to improve once the sun is fully up, but to my dismay, it worsened. Having been raised in a tropical climate, I have never experienced such a cold and harsh hike before. Once closer to the summit, the winds turned colder and more powerful. Despite the extreme weather and high levels of danger, I did not want to turn back around just yet. No, I did not hike this far just to go back to the camping grounds, I thought to myself. But at that moment, I was left with such little choices. I had covered every inch of my body with protective weather gear except my hands, and as a result, my hands had turned stiff from the cold. The conditions had become so intolerable that I could no longer use my own fingers to perform the easiest of tasks- such as turning off the headlamp at the top of my head, or unzipping my coat. When I saw the two Danish girls from my hiking group descending back down from the top, I proceeded to ask them whether they had reached the summit. No they have not, and it was all for the same reasons as I have not either. And so I decided to make the most disappointing, yet wiser decision... which was to turn back around and continue walking downwards back to the camping grounds.

We were loitering around the camping grounds until everyone had reached back down safely from the summit. Once ready, we packed our bags and continued walking downwards to the lake Segara Anak and the nearby hot springs. What a fantastic experience it was! After not having washed up for the past one and a half days, to soak over warm hot springs was extremely rejuvenating.

Taking a quick lunch break on the way to the lake

Views from Segara Anak Lake and surroundings

After a couple of hours, we finally dried ourselves and prepared for the second most gruelling hike of the trip, to rock climb back up to a different camping ground for the night. Little did I know, this was where my near-death experience would begin, in what could be known as the longest hike of my life.

The hike itself started out fine, until halfway across the hike I realised that the cold swimsuit I was still donning underneath my shirt was making my entire body feel cold. I finally decided to hide behind the bush to change into warmer attire, but by that time it was far too late. My body's temperature had worsened, and I felt weaker with each steps I take. With the very limited medicine I had kept in my bag, I thought taking a few paracetamol pills would improve my body's condition, when in fact it didn't. If anything, I felt even more weaker, nauseous and drowsier than the usual. My whole body and head started to feel light, whilst the sky slowly turned darker and the weather colder. The conditions had become so bad that I felt the need to sit down to either close my eyes or try to puke every 5 minutes of each rocks I climbed/hike. What was supposed to just be a 3-4 hours of hike turned into a slow and painful 6 hours hike. At this time, I was so scared I couldn't make it through the night. With each slow movements, I slowly remembered the stories told by my guide of the many lives lost in the same exact route as I was heading, simply because they were either lost, or fell through the cliffs due to recklessness. In my mind, I was already thinking of the worst- how my parents back home would receive the unpleasant news that I did not make it through Rinjani. Throughout the entire short hikes and stops, I kept muttering words to my guide,

"How long is it to the camp site?"

"About two hours long, depending on your hike duration...."

"It's at the top of the hill, isn't it?"

"Yes...."

"But it's so far.... what if I can't make it through the night? I feel so weak.... what if... what if I die here?"

"No don't say that, you're going to make it. Take as much rest as you like, as long as you don't over-exhaust yourself, we'll make it through."

The both of us were already preparing for the worst, that if I really couldn't make it through the night, one of the porters from the camp site would have to hike back down and carry me on his back. But no, I thought to myself this would never happen, and that I will try with all my limited energy and strength to complete this hike on my own, no matter how slow or weak I was. At the end of it, the guide eventually resorted to holding my hand and guiding me slowly to the camp site during the last few gruelling minutes of the hike. By the time I reached the camp site, it was extremely dark, silent, and everyone else had already fallen asleep. I couldn't care less, I quickly opened the door to my tent, zipped the sleeping bag all through my face, and fell asleep until I was once again awaken in the middle of the night due to the unbearable cold.

DAY 3

View from our tent

Last day, and an ode to my survival from the previous night, we opened the tent door to receive breakfast which had been prepared by the porters, only to find such a marvellous view of the mountains.

The last day was unsurprisingly the easiest day of the entire 3-day hike, as all we needed to do was to simply keep trekking downwards until we finally reach the base camp where we first started the hike. This would've been the true "walk in the park", had everyone still be in the same optimum health conditions as they were on the first day of the hike. But no, I've heard multiple complaints surrounding my hiking group along the way, with sore legs, hip cramps, and all the likes. Me? I had issues with the tip of my toes, which resulted to me walking downwards sideways instead.

But we finally, finally made it back to the base camp where we first started the hike. From here onwards, the group had to be divided into two, those heading to the harbour for Gili T, and those heading towards Mataram or Senggigi towns. We bid our farewells, hugged, and shared contact details. And before you know it, I was finally seated comfortably inside the car, ready to return back home.