13th Aug:: Day 5 ~ Summit || 追日

1.30am: We slept little & had to wakie early to catch the summit & the sunrise.

3am: Finally, we managed to set off after much ding-dong.

The Ascent...
... was legendarily tough. Ah-John informed us that over here, the peak at Irian Jaya is the toughest, followed by Mt Rinjani... wth, just carry on walking!!

The way up along the ridge line was filled with loose gravel; v-very steeply... now I know know why ascents are made in the darkness of the nite - 'cos if people can see how tough it is, they'll definitely turn back haha =.=""

In a cruel way, it felt fun too (: To sink into loose gravels... slipping each step as we go up another, hmm... ^^ at least, it's something quite different from the normal trek (:

6.15am: we made it up to the wind-swept summit, just in time for the sunrise. We'll be very sad if we miss the sunrise. The top was filled with many other groups (of ang mohs).

Summit sunrise

Summit shadow cast over the clouds

Monkey stole the fav crackers!! wtf...

The lake (again)...

Duration at the top: about 45min - 1hr... & then it started to get cold. So we made our way down. See, it IS scarily steep...

The best way to descend is, 'cos, by help of gravity... sliding down...!!! Demo by bro_phang

See how deep we bury our toes into the loose gravel *faintz* But it's FUN!! - going down, I mean.



Along the way down...

liJEN: in her fireman-red overalls

Our dear Guide almost fainted behind as we tested the limits of his rice bowl, perching at the cliff edge (what if someone sneezed and the cliff broke, like in cartoon??)

把心石放下

人生的痛苦都是应为有一个“无常”。。。很多时候，事情往往不在我们能控制的范围。

人生的一切都是缘聚缘散 -- 生命，事物，爱情。。。 缘到了就聚合；缘散了就灭亡。

既然是缘聚、缘散。。。目前所拥有的，何曾属于我？

对一切人和物，我们只不过是暂时聚在一起，暂时拥有，暂时保管。只是那么的短暂。

那我们又执着什么呢？

为何不尝试把心石放下？
这条路会走得轻松一点，潇洒一点。

Yuen Simin: sunglass (by oakley); green top (unknown); dust-black pants (by Northern Face); shoe (by Salomon); watch (by Adidas)

Mistake on the summit: was going too light. No sunhat, no sunglass, no sunblock, not enough water... but thanks to the lovely people... I had sunhat from bro_phang, sunblock from jacQ... & refreshing water from the tube @ liJEN's ..... *yum* ... in the end I still got sun-burnt -.-"

10am: reached summit base camp for another round of bfast, dusted ourselves to death, digged our noses...

... went for a final poo in the woods. As the cold wind blow... 爽!! The darned monkeys came over & watched me poo =.="

Descend was fast & steep. 2hrs of downhill ... lunch... & 2hrs more of flat vegetation. Oready made appointments for knee-replacement program ^^

I took in another washing machine for lunch *again!!*... & this time was damn bad sia. What a way to start/end the trek. With washing machines in the tummy.

Lesson: don't eat too much; & don't attempt to run after the young people!!

Rolling hills as we descended the mountains & made our way out... it's the end of the trek*