Hello, Travellers...?
This time after a few years later I returned to this mountain by taking a different route.
this time the number of my team members was nine. What is most interesting about the members of this team is that they are all medical personels. Buyung, Arif, Harun, Kurniawan, Cahyo, Succi, Dina , and Vega graduated from a nursing university in Purwokerto four years ago.
Then how do I know them?
Actually, the one who knew Buyung's group was Melina. Melina is my friend. He who wants to go on a hike with me immediately registers me in the group. However, on the day of the climb, Melina canceled her trip for some reason. In the end I was the only member who wasn't from their community.
Buyung, and his friend had been to Mount Gede for the first time, so they asked me to be a compasman for this hike.
Because the departure route is through Cibodas, I can easily give directions to the top. I am grateful that I was able to quickly get to know them. Moreover, because there were a total of four female members, we had a very enjoyable trip.
Suci, Me, Dina, and Vega
Even though it was raining and made our trip stop several times, however, our trip was still fun and we all reached the top safely.
DIFFERENT ROUTES
Putri's mountain route was new to me. So this also means new to all team members. No one has ever gone this route on our team.
From the Gede peak, we took the right path and descended to Surya Kencana Square. It only takes thirty minutes to reach Surya Kencana Square.
ALUN-ALUN SURYA KENCANA
Another charm of Mount Gede-Pangrango besides the blue lake is the Alun Alun Surya Kencana (square). Because this place is very large, the Surya Kencana Square is divided into two; West square and East Square.
In the middle of this square there is a sign board. Here, climbers will also find lots of Edelweiss trees growing. When I got there, Edelweis was just a bud. If it's sunny this square is very good for photo spots. Again and again, I find heavy rain every time I go to Mount Gede.
After 06.00 pm, the group
we're getting ready to go down. As the rain continued to fall and the air became very cold, we agreed to join hands with our friends.
DARK AND SLICK FOREST
Tracks in the form of soil and roots are very unfavorable for us. The ground we stepped on became very slippery and we had to be very careful about our steps to survives.
Estimated travel time to basecamp is around 7-8 hours. So, it is possible that our team will arrive at the Putri basecamp at 02.00 am at the latest.
WE GOT LOST
Arriving at the first post after entering the forest, Simpang Maleber, we began to feel tired because of the rain, cold, and the track was more difficult to pass, we agreed to take a short break. Charge by drinking or eating leftover snacks.
When I was about to start the journey again, my headlamps, Vega, and Arif went out. I've tried replacing it with the new spare battery I brought with me. Still can not. Meaning we lost three light sources. So, we walked more carefully because of the limited light.
An hour and a half later, we arrived at the next post, Lawang sekateng. The rain has stopped, but you still wear a raincoat.
The journey to the next post is longer than the previous post. Estimated only an hour and a half, but, because we began to lose energy and focus, the trip seemed to never come.
Arif slipped twice, vega and I slipped once. We are very exhausted and the supply of drinking water is running low. The time has shown 01.00 am. There should have been signs of the next post. However, until 03.00 we continued walking without finding anything.
We began to be afraid and worried, some of our members were starting to look unable to continue the journey. Finally, we decided to take a long break. Some members choose to sleep for ten minutes.
Thirty minutes later, we gathered and discussed. We prepare physically and mentally. We pray for guidance. After that we slowly started walking.
At 04.00 am we just found the next post, Buntut Lutung. It means that there is only one last post left, Legok Leunca.
It took us about two hours to reach Legok Leunca. The trip was smooth, and we found Post Legok Leunca around 06.00 am.
From Leunca Leunca to Gunung Putri Basecamp it only takes thirty minutes.
This is a valuable lesson for us. We should not underestimate the condition of the body when going to climb. We are grateful that all members arrived at Basecamp in good health. We're just tired. Getting lost in the woods for an hour is no fun. But, because we supported each other, we all succeeded.
Thank you, Suci, Vega, Dina, Buyung, Kurniawan, Cahyo, Arif, and Harun!
All picture were taken with Canon powershot A2500
