2,240 Meters Above Sea Level

The article on Mount Beuticanar is out! You can read the official article here. But if you want to know  what happened behind the scene, read on please :)

I was typing in my cubicle when my editor popped his head in, and this conversation followed...

"Would you like to go climb a mount?"

"Umm, it depends. Which mount?"

"Some mount in West Java. Forgot the name. Will forward the email to you soon."

A few minutes later I opened an email from a British guy named Dan, who invited one of TJaP's reporters to visit Mount Beuticanar, the highest point of Mount Galunggung. The name of Mount Galunggung emerged when its 1982 eruption forced a British Airways plane to make emergency landing in Jakarta. (Updated: in the article, I wrote that the plane landed on Soekarno-Hatta airport, but the airport commenced operation in 1985. Therefore, it should be either the Kemayoran or Halim airport.  It is my mistake, I take responsibility on this). It was the first time in the history of commercial flights. But the highest peak, Mount Beuticanar, has never basked in the limelight, and Dan wanted to change that.

Courtesy of Nick

It sounds innocently easy. I mean, it's only 2,200 meters above the sea level, compared to the 2,958 meter high Mount Gede that I climbed four years ago. However, Galunggung is still an active volcano. I browsed the internet for a couple times, making sure there had been no serious activity recently. 

When I found none, I said to my editor,"Yup, sure. I'd do it." 

Somewhere in the back of my head, I could see a big red light turning on and the sound of siren blaring out loud. A solemn voice echoed: 'It was a wrong answer, girl. You should have said no.' But I like taking risks in life as it gives more spices, it makes you more alive.

Many people tried to discourage me. Nvn said that the heavy traffic on Friday night would be very heavy that I would reach Cipanas at midnight. As a city girl, traffic doesn't bother me. Trw said that I could meet wild beasts there. I was like, "Wild beasts? You mean leeches?" 

A more radical thought was voiced by Rzk, the guy who lent me the sleeping bag: "Let me get this straight. You don't know this British guy, never meet him, never talk to him. But you are going to climb a mountain with him? Are you sure he's a good man?" I told him that it was an assignment and that I trusted my guts. 

So yeah, on Friday afternoon of June 18 I went to the meeting point, Primajasa bus garage in Cililitan and I saw Dan for the first time. There was no way to misidentify him since he was the only Caucasian guy there. Tall (well, for a 1.57-meter tall girl like me, he's much taller, the top of my head only reaches his shoulder) and blue-eyed, he is as polite as most British guys I knew.

A few things I found out during the journey:

1. Dan spends most weekends climbing mountain or listening to gamelan music

2. Dan loves tofu to the point of addiction

That second point observation was revealed when our bus stopped and vendors pouring in. He was looking for those tofu vendors, but alas, no one in sight. Instead, there was a vendor selling gehu (tofu with bean sprout filling).

"Ahh there is no tofu," he said, a bit disappointed.

"You know, Dan, gehu is also tofu. Gehu is a coined term from toge (bean sprout) and tahu (tofu). If you like tofu, perhaps you want to try gehu?"

"Really? Then I'd like to try one."

But at that moment, the vendors were making their way out of the bus. So for the time being, gehu remained a mysterious food for him. 

We reached Cipanas at 8 p.m. and checked into our rooms at Tirta Merta motel. Each room has a tub filled with hot water to the brim. We later met Nick, an Australian man, who has lived in Indonesia for more than 30 years. Dan said Nick looked like Alfred Russel Wallace, that British biogeographer, but in my opinion, Nick looked like Papa Smurf. Hahaha...sorry, Nick. I like the Smurfs though.

I met with the rest of our team - Masashi, John and Ally - in the morning. Riding in Nick's 4WD car, we headed to Telaga Bodas, which is about 1,640 meters above the sea level (more than half our hike, yay!). The car was parked at the gate, and we hoisted our backpacks. I had the smallest backpack, but it started to pierce my shoulder blade in the first 100 steps toward the lake. (Note for not-so-fit climbers: strategies needed to distribute this weight off your shoulders)

Dan already arranged to meet Adam and Toto, local guides from hiking club Napak Rimba, at a small hut by the lake. There were several boys hanging around. Aha! Help is on the horizon. Started to pray that the boys would join the hike. A few minutes later, prayers were answered and I got few things off the backpack. Then Masashi tied my backpack with his rope, making it easier to carry.

Courtesy of Masashi

The area still has dense vegetation. Since it is only climbed once or twice a year, it is pretty clean too. Walking into the forest was like swimming into a pool of greenery. The higher we hiked, it started to feel like snorkeling! Almost lost mt spirits, but then one of the boys finally took my backpack. Thank you, young man. May Allah bless you.

Dry crater Saat

We reached dry crater Saat, a sandy area where we took a few minutes rest. Then we entered the sea of trees again. The hike felt like a boot camp training, since we had to crawl beneath the weeds and pulled ourselves up with tree roots. After a while, the track began to feel manageable, if not enjoyable. I could catch glimpses of Telaga Bodas at some points along the ridge.

A glimpse of Telaga Bodas can be seen along the ridge

As I hiked, I could feel the air was thinning and my lungs were screaming. I walked slowly, stopping every now and then to catch my breath. The rest of the team was already ahead of me, except Tandang and Sundari, who cheered me up all the way.

The track went high and higher, but just when I thought the summit was near, it started to descend. This happened twice. Continued walking though. I knew I could do it, I just couldn't do it as fast as anyone else in the group. After four-hour hike, I reached the summit. Yay!

The vegetation was covering the view, so the guys pulled out their machetes and started to trim down. Dan trimmed down almost everything that I had to curb down his enthusiasm.
 
"Dan, don't cut all the weeds, because we need to have some enclosure for the...er..."
"Toilet? Oh, yes. Sure."

View from summit

After the trimming was over, we could get a clear view around. There is Telaga Bodas on the west and the city of Tasikmalaya on the east. Fresh air, beautiful views, it feels great to stand on top of the mountain. Just for that fleeting moment, I understand why hiking is fun. Then I started to feel hungry and tired.

The others built the tents and I ate my bread. Too hungry to respond to the surrounding activity. Then I helped Dan making my tent. Well, it's his tent, but he lent it to me. He would share tent with Nick, while I'd be tent alone.

As Masashi began cooking for dinner, Nick turned on his paraffin stove. It started to feel like a cooking competition Allez Cuisine. I only brought Pop Mie, Beng-Beng, jelly and peanuts, but  Masashi and Nick were very well-prepared.

Courtesy of Masashi

Masashi is obsessed to have a three-course meal. For the appetizer, he boiled edamame (Japanese beans) and gave each of us a fist of edamame. Yum, I like it. For the main course, he made a kind of veggie burrito for John and Ally. The three of them were going as a team and they shared food together.

"What's for dessert?" Masashi asked John and Ally.

Dan opened a pack of Oreo and offered it to us. So that should be dessert.

"What are you having for dinner?" Nick asked me.

"Pop Mie."

"I'm making minestrone soup. Why don't we share it for dinner? You, me and Dan."

"Do you want coffee?" Masashi offered.
"I don't drink coffee," I said.
"I have tea."
"Japanese tea? Ocha? Oh, yes please."

Wow! I felt like an orphan being adopted by a family. As Nick stirred the soup, the boys came to watch. Nick looked up and said,"What's going on here? Why are you boys looking at?" The boys quickly dispersed. Masashi laughed and said,"You should pay if you want to have a look."

We had no luck with the sunset as the weather became cloudy. We expected to have a moonlight night, but  no, we could not have it too. I went into the tent and tried to sleep. But the night at the top of the mountain was so effing cold. I applied Minyak Tawon all over my tummy, put on several layers of clothing and lied my self down.

That didn't help much, because I still felt the cold. I sat there for 30 minutes, mulling over what I should do.  As the night got colder, my breath got heavier. I remembered the asthma episode I had four years ago. That was no fun. So I carried my sleeping bag and other amenities to Nick's and Dan's tent. Please note that this is not something I do in a regular basis. I'm built for the tropical climate and the mountain tops at night certainly don't provide that. They were surprised to see me, but let me in anyway. I think they were more afraid of me than I was of them.

"G-g-guys, I'm freezing. C-could I share tent with you?"
"Hahaha, are you sure you're cold? Not because you're afraid of wild beasts?" Dan asked.
"I already put on two pairs of socks, two trousers, two shirts, a sweater and a jacket, and I still feel cold."


Nick put his hand on my face and said,"Hey, you're cold. Your face is cold."
"A-and my hands are cold too," I said.

"You should sleep in the lateral position as I do," Nick said.
"Er, you mean like spooning?"


From the adjacent tent, we could hear John chuckled and said,"Guys, watch your manners, ok?"
Nick calmly said,"John, this is basic mountain survival. Now, I think you are not wearing your sleeping bag properly. You should pull it over your head."

A few minutes in their tent, I already felt warm again. Huddling myself in the sleeping bag, I closed my eyes and fell asleep. Waking up several times in the middle of the night, my feet were feeling cold, so I snuggled my feet to either one of them. I dreamed about being in the sawmill, then I realized they were snoring. (Argh)

I left their tent before Subuh (dawn prayer time). From inside my tent, I heard conversations outside.

"Good morning. How's your sleep?" Masashi said.
"Nice and warm," Dan said.
Masashi laughed. (Argh) I opened the tent zipper and greeted him. He later offered me a cup of tea. 
"I saw your feet coming out of the tent last night (Ah, so that's why my feet felt cold). Looks hot." Masashi smiled at Dan, while glancing at me. (Argh)
"It was a very cold night."

Ally asked me,"So did you finally get warm?"
"Yes."
"Don't you feel like you're being used? Exploited?" Ally asked Nick and Dan.
"We exploit each other," Dan deadpanned.

The sunset-like sunrise

We stood there, waiting for the sun to show up. But it was cloudy and foggy, we could not even tell whether the sun had come out. Seeing this, we quickly packed up our backpacks and dismantled the tent.Going down the mountain is quite easy once you find the right track. Sometimes all you need is sliding down with your feet or bum.

While the hike to the summit took us four hours, it only took about two hours to go down. We went to the hot spring pools and have a dip. It was a relaxing treat after the hike. It is the best part of the journey, other than the fact that there is no leech in Mount Beuticanar.

 Courtesy of Masashi