Gunung Semeru – Java’s highest

[simage=2210,200,n,left,] Semeru is a fantastic hike – up there with Tambora and Rinjani as a truly world class hike. A great thing about Semeru is that there are two really easy hiking days (and great campsites) before you climb the challenging ash slope to the summit.

The “alpine” landscape of the Semeru-Tenggara is wonderfully varied, with pine forests, hills, grassy meadows, and the beautiful lake at Ranukumbolo. The drive from Malang to Ranupane village is a stunning introduction to what is coming for the hike. The road climbs up a long, narrow ridge giving striking views of “extreme farming” on steep slopes, Gunung Semeru, and the “Sea of Sand”, which contains the famous Gunung Bromo.

It was a very smart move by Java Lava to arrange to fly from Jakarta to Malang in the morning, drive straight to Ranupane by 4-wheel drive, have lunch and then hike the easy 3 hours to Ranukumbolo campsite before sunset. We had a beautiful sunny afternoon and the air temperatures around 2200 m were cool and pleasant. We pitched our tent, ate and retreated early as the temperatures dropped. We wondered if there would be a frost. Instead we woke to thick morning mist, but we could tell the sun was burning it away. As the lake emerged we knew this would be a great hiking day.

From Ranukumbolo to Kelimati it was a really pleasant hike through the meadows and pine forested hills. It was an easy 1.5 hour hike and Gunung Semeru soon towers above as you approach the Kelimati campsite at 2,700 m. We spent a lazy day at the campsite here, rather than climb up to the slightly higher campsite on the forest slopes of Semeru – the campsite you have to walk through on the way to the summit. Both are great spots and there are quite a lot of good flat areas at the higher site.

We went to bed early because the 900 m elevation hike to the summit for sunrise meant a 2 am start. Around 8 pm we were woken by a roar that sounded like a jet engine. We thought it was Semeru, and were proved right when 20 minutes later there was a sound like rain on the tent – which was the ash fall from the eruption! One group set off for the summit at 1:30 am and we headed off at 2 pm with a separate guide. Hiking through the night is never fun. When you get to the treeline around 3,000 m, this hike is mentally and physically tough. The sandy ash has about a 40 degree slope and it is “2 steps forward, 1 step back.” Above 3,200 m the altitude meant the night was cold and clear (apart from another small ash fall). From the campsite to the summit we took 3.5 hours – not bad.

Emerging on the summit with the light building on the horizon is spectacular. Freezing cold, strong wind, and a clear horizon all around. The views of the Bromo caldera are stunning – especially since Bromo is currently active and twice shot ash clouds into the air. Also the nearby large volcanoes Arjuno-Wellirang (3,339 m) and Butak (2,868m) look quite small compared to where you are standing. We could also see the tiny Penanggungan poking through the clouds. Further west we could see Liman and Lawu. To the east, the sun rises next to Argopuro and Lamongan.

The summit area is quite large, and the crater lies a little lower on the south eastern part of the mountain. The crater area is very dangerous – do not go there! Semeru didn’t erupt while we were on the summit, something that one can be glad and disappointed about at the same time, especially given the wind direction direct from crater to summit! It would certainly be spectacular. After 30 minutes on the summit, we made the fun and easy decent. What makes the climb a slog means that descending is like skiing – it is 30 mins to the treeline and around 45 mins to the campsite for a well earned breakfast.

Even if you don’t make it to the summit, it is worth climbing part way up the cone because you do get some great views across to Gunung Bromo from the lower slopes.

After breakfast, we broke camp and began the easy walk back to Ranukumbolo where we had lunch. There’s a great alternative (and shorter) route back to Ranupane from the lake, which takes you though another meadow before a steep climb up and over a ridge that you otherwise walk around. We had some great views of Semeru again before dropping through pleasant farmland. We were back the losman in Ranupane by 3 pm for several beers and a HOT shower. Yes.

The weekend didn’t end there. The next morning we had a quick look at the working Hindu temple in Ranupane before taking the 4-wheel drives along the ridge and down onto the Sea of Sand. We had been there just over year ago and the difference was dramatic – the months of eruptions from Bromo had killed all the grass that was colonizing the area, and Gunung Botak and the Hindu temple were covered in ash. The villages on the crater rim were also badly impacted with crops and fields covered in ash, and hotels looking pretty dusty and sorry. Bromo has been a bit quiet recently, which meant we could go onto the Sea of Sand. However, we were gobsmacked to see that the horsemen were again taking tourists to the edge of the Bromo crater rim and then people were climbing up the slope (steps buried in ash!) to look into the crater. Insane.

It was a great weekend, but we feel compelled to make some observations on improvements that should be made to help protect the environment on a Semeru:
1. Pit Toilets – national parks like Semeru should be able to install and maintain simple pit toilets (like the ones you find in all parks in Canada). It’s really grim that the forests surrounding the main campsites are full of discarded toilet paper and what goes along with that. What choice do you have? There is a cabin/shelter at each site, which are in poor condition. The one at Kalimati had a toilet, it’s full of rubbish. Shelters and toilets need some maintenance, mainly educating people how not to destroy them. Which brings me to the next point.
2. Rangers – you never see a single national park employee in the park (the same in Rinjani). Why? Too lazy? Don’t care? In national parks in Canada and the US, you see rangers at the camp grounds, even the backpacking ones. They look after the area and the hikers, making sure they follow the rules (which with bears around are also for their own protection). In Indonesia this doesn’t happen – there must be many Indonesians who would love to spend weeks camping and working at these camp grounds as rangers. But the system means people spend all there time in the office. In Gede-Pangrango National Park they close down during August altogether, for “restoration”.
[salbumphotos=78,64,6,n,n,picasa_order,center,]