Mountaineering in Gunung Gede

It’s not like I have tons of money (wish I had..).
it’s just the title lies on the ‘next trip’ and it fits well my schedule (right before back to school).
And I want to hike.
And the most important thing that made me decide to joined was: it fits my budget (yeaay!). Mind that I’m nowhere from the so-called settled-financially-status, which makes me can be categorized as Sudra class in Hinduism. Or rakyat jelata in bahasa.
Okay, let me tell you the title that interested my traveler guts was: http://backpackerindonesia.com/trip/pendakian-gunung-gede-cibodas-camp-kandang-badak-surya-kencana-turun-putri
Within small period of time, I emailed my id card with mba rini’s id altogether with payment of Simaksi to Ase_Adventure. Why in rushed? Because guys, you will need simaksi (surat izin masuk kawasan konservasi, cmiiw)-IDR15000/person, issued by Balai Besar Taman Nasional Gunung Gede-Pangrango as an entry permit to Mount Gede-Pangrango. Proceed atleast h-30 until h-7, if I’m not mistaken. I decided in last minute to joined. Ase was our TS and he was the one who submitted it. It= as in entry permit for 39 person. I didn’t knew though, but I was sure that Ase would said, “Ck,ck,ck,ck,ck…”.
From time to time, he updated the topic about our trip. Range from member list, meeting point, itinerary-updated, detailed-description route, until some photos of Mt.Gede taken from different shelter (there are 12 shelter plus Tanjakan Rante, wellknown as the devil stairs. Start gate: Cibodas-puncak Gede). By staying updated, we have some point of view about what comes forward and be prepared.
As for me, I rarely logged in. so, what comes forward, then so be it! It’s not anyone’s fault.. #enjoying my trip.
About the total person= 39 (amazingly crowded..)
About the situation= fun, exhausted, amazing, hilarious, eager, etc (mixed fruit punch)
About the story= hmm, where do I start? Okay, ckckckckc…………….
July13, 2012. How do I describe? Three person. Bogor team. 9pm, Gramedia Pajajaran. We sat on the back seat at the devil minivan (a.k.a elf setan, IDR25000/person), and soon regretted the next 1,5 hours journey to Cibodas T.T. we’re shocked! Why oh why? Because oh because, the driving style didn’t matched with the melancholy song sung by Nike Ardilla (RIP). The song is lullaby, while the driver+the road agreed to gone insane. It drives-our-stomach crazy. Thank God, we were kicked out from that ‘thing’ and posed beautifully in front of Alfamart Cibodas at 10.30pm. Fortunately, before we turned the store into a camp, we met Bandung team, organized by cute yet talkative girl named Tata (Thatha A. Ardjasasmita). So, we decided to find some decent place to save our energy that night. Jakarta team was still on the way and will reached the basecamp at 1am. So, we rented 2 angkot (IDR7000/person) and slept near warung Mang Idi. Jakarta team arrived around 1 or 2am and went straight into the dreamland. Because tomorrow, we will really, really need maximum endurance (especially for newbie like me).
July14, 2012. Gathered in circle, we began our briefing with informal introduction, then direcly divided into three team (advance, girl-group, sweaper), ended with praying. Safe until home, aamiin. And let the journey begin.. start at 7am, pass through Telaga Biru, Air Terjun Cibeureum (Cibeureum waterfalls), Kandang Batu and…Kandang Badak. The last mentioned was the campsite. We end the journey around 4pm.
July15, 2012. Start at 6am, reached Puncak at 10-11 am, Surya Kencana at 11-12pm. Kept walking until 6pm. (re-registration). Reached home at 9.am, safe and sound. Alhamdulillah..