We were introduced to our guide and the two porters we were assigned, and while we were getting the privilege of using a real toilet for the last time in the next 4 days, they took care of all the bureaucracy.
Off we go!
The beginning of the hike was quite easy with a mildly ascending terrain and an easily recognizable path passing through orchards and grassland, so that we didn't have to focus too much on the Mount Rinjani Trekking route. Our attention was grasped mostly by the people on our way, both visitors and workers.
There were so many hikers that we couldn't believe it, considering that a multi-day trek in Rinjani Volcano is not the cheapest activity in Indonesia. We were forming at times a continuous single line as the eye could see, and we were wondering the reason for a compulsory guide, since it was so easy to follow the path or the other trekkers.
Given that we were climbing right after the Ramadan festivities, that might have been the reason for so many hikers.This text first appeared on "Nomad Travellers".
The porters: the “angels” of the Rinjani Trekking
But mostly we were intrigued by the porters and their outfits, most of them wearing just Flip Flops! Yes, that's not a mistake, just bare, simple flip flops that you would expect to see in Bali's beaches but not here. Not to mention that some of them were even trekking barefoot!This text first appeared on "Nomad Travellers".
This was actually my first trekking where we had porters: since 2009 when I hiked for weeks around the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal without porters or a guide, I've always been questioning myself what would be the best moral decision. To hire the porters so that they could have a job, or not to, because it's a form of modern slavery?This text first appeared on "Nomad Travellers".
Still no answer to my moral question. For this time we just made sure that we would carry by ourselves our own luggage, leaving them no extra weight than what was given them by our Hiking Company.
And of course they had no technological backpacks, all of the porters were using those typical Indonesian carriers made with 2 bamboo baskets, that you have to balance on one single shoulder. From time to time they were switching side while walking, in order to rest the aching part before switching again, and so on until they couldn't bear it anymore and needed to stop for some serious rest.
So just imagine climbing a steep slippery path, barefoot, with dozens of kilos on your shoulders and no help from you hands because they are busy balancing the weight... that's their daily life along the Rinjani Trekking! Honor to them.
Hiking through the Savannah
The first part of the trek is going through a Savannah like environment, with the mountains visible at the horizon but partially hidden by the clouds, showing their bumpy feet below this thick curtain, with little vegetation and a sandish ground.This text first appeared on "Nomad Travellers".
After about 1 hour and a half we reached POS 1 Pemantuan at 1.425 meters, the first organized stop.
There were just a couple of shelters, totally underestimated comparing their capacity with the multitude of people left unprotected. Other than that just and an out-of-order toilet that nobody would ever wish to use.This text first appeared on "Nomad Travellers".
