Day 6: Camp IV to Camp V

It was nice to have a solid five hour day after the agony of days three, four, and five. It was a rolling day, first down into a winding valley and then slowly up the valley to the base of the Jaya range. Apparently Base Camp is a five hour walk over the range. I can't tell you how excited I am that this hike is nearly complete.

Today was very similar to all of our previous days: hours of trudging through deep mud up and down hills in the rain--sometimes a light drizzle and sometimes a massive downpour. The group morale has definitely improved now that we are within sniffing distance of the mountain. People are already discussing how to best avoid or shorten the hike out...! Unfortunately, our best option appears to be combining days 1 and 2 and 5 and 6 of the hike, coming in in four days instead of six. This would be difficult but doable. The other potential options have major roadblocks: getting a helicopter from base camp is both expensive and impossible since there are no longer any pilots trained to fly in and land there; accessing the Freeport Mine road is very risky and potentially dangerous, as other climbers who have done that have been locked up in shipping containers or worse...

This leads me to one serious concern I've harbored the entire trip: our safety. If something were to happen and one of us was seriously injured, what would we do? It is an unbelievably difficult four to six day hike back to the nearest village, and the nearest medical clinic is still an hour plane ride from there! The reality is, we cannot afford to injure ourselves. Without access to the mine road or a helicopter rescue, there is no realistic way we could reach medical assistance in a timely fashion. This hike is life or death. You either stay healthy, or you're screwed.

Anyway, not such a pleasant thought to end on but sleep is calling. If all goes well, we'll be at Base Camp tomorrow afternoon and pushing for the summit tomorrow night!

We're at the base of the Jaya Range! Soooo close to Base Camp...

Day 5: Camp III to Camp IV

I write this at Camp IV, within sight of the Pyramid. Seven hours of long, arduous trekking and we can finally see our goal! Today's terrain was markedly different from the dense jungle we had walked through the past three days. Now we are traveling through swampy marshland. There was more mud today than all the previous days combined. At one point I even sunk in to my thighs...it felt like quicksand and for a couple minutes I thought I wouldn't be able to extract myself.

We walked ahead of the guides today. For some reason they went at a very slow pace. When the clouds cleared above the ridge we were traversing, we saw a massive rocky ridge several miles distant. Until the guides arrived we mistakenly believed  it to be Carstensz. In reality, Carstensz is behind this ridge. Not the best news to hear after a long day of trekking.

I spent most of the day with the porters. We have 28 porters not including the two babies that are along with their parents (and are carried on their mothers' shoulders throughout). The porters are incredibly impressive. They manage to walk at the same pace as us while carrying 50 pounds in bags slung across their forehead. Moreover, almost all are barefoot and not clothed in adequate attire. On days like today, when it rained nearly nonstop, I don't know how they do it. I've noticed some of them wiping or swatting themselves with a certain leaf. Apparently this is a form of traditional medicine that keeps illness at bay. I'm keen to try it myself! I have been slightly horrified by some of the wounds that the porters have. There is one young girl who has massive, festering wounds on both legs. Since they do not have any access to medical care, it's a wonder that it hasn't seemed to impede her movement or abilities.

Dinner on the trek is a non-affair. It usually rains in the afternoon and evening so leaving the tent to eat is not something you look forward to. Furthermore, just getting to the kitchen tent involves crossing a sea of mud and majorly dirtying your feet. Then, the stools just sink into the mud leaving you squatting next to the camp table shoveling food into your mouth as quickly as you can. Then it's back to the tent to clean the feet (for the billionth time) and crash on your damp sleeping bag. Why does anyone do this?

Anyway I'm pretty exhausted from four long days of trekking. I'm hoping (perhaps unrealistically) that tomorrow will be shorter and dryer. A boy can dream...

Can you call it "rock climbing" if there are just tree roots and no rocks...?

Day 4: Camp II to Camp III

Phew today was hellish. Nine hours of muddy jungle hiking to get to Camp III. The highlight of the morning was a large river crossing on a single tree branch suspended over gushing white water. At one point I thought Ed would fall in but he maintained his balance. We got to lunch three hours in thinking 'this is hard' but also that we could manage the second half of the day. Little did we know it would be a six hour slog uphill in pouring rain. The mud situation was much worse than we had seen so far. At points it came up to our knees. But that isn't even the worst part. It's the unending slipperiness of everything. The trees, branches, vines, roots...everything is wet and slippery. It makes every step a gamble. Unfortunately I seem to be on the losing end more often than not. I faceplanted in the mud several times today. It honestly feels like I'm going from near-injury to near-injury.

I have learned several things about jungle trekking, however. First is just adjusting one's attitude to be willing to get dirty and fall. There is no way you could do this trekking without grabbing onto numerous branches, roots, or vines. I've also learned to watch every step because each one matters and can mean the difference between staying healthy and getting injured. And getting injured out here could mean death since there is no way to get out...Sugapa is the closest heli- or plane landing site and it's three hard days of climbing away. Finally, I've learned to never 100% trust the terrain I'm moving on. Many times I've stepped on a branch only to have it crack and split open, or landed on what appears to be solid turf only to fall right through into a hole. The jungle can be a deceiving  place. All in all, though, it's not so bad. It's just one big sponge really.

We are now recuperating in our tent refocusing before tomorrow--our last big day (hopefully) and also our first day actually seeing the mountain!

I don't think I've ever been this dirty in my life...

Day 3: Suangama to Camp II

Another day of hard jungle trekking down. Today was much more difficult than yesterday. We started at around 9am after a filling breakfast of rice and eggs. We hiked until 3pm with minimal breaks. It was very, very muddy. We had a number of stream crossings and very muddy sections. We are following a river uphill into the highlands. This involves moving up and down and pretty steep, slippery trails. I've been impressed by the quality of the path thus far. I think there's an incentive for the locals to work on the trail and improve it because of the enormous economic windfall an expedition bring. Each of the 30 or so porters makes 7-8 million rupiah per expedition. That's roughly $700...per porter! Considering the average income in Papua is less than a dollar a day, these locals are making a killing.

We made camp in between the traditional Camp I and Camp II because we were so far behind from yesterday. Our guides are confident we'll make up time as we continue on.

I also learned a lot about the local cannibals. They reside primarily on the north coast of the island. They only eat their enemies and do so after a conflict. They do not eat the heart; instead, they keep it because it means 'they're the man'. They prefer to eat the thigh after it has been grilled.

All in all we're enjoying this adventure tremendously so far. We've been very lucky with both local/political issues and with weather. We've also seen a beautiful full rainbow and several butterflies--both good omens for me. Not just good omens for me, it turns out. Our guides informed is that it was yesterday's rainbow that convince their porters to resolve their dispute in favor of continuing with us. Good thing too because with no porters there is certainly no expedition.

We are eating dinner now and all eager to sleep after today's difficult day. More tomorrow!

My mother posing before one of the numerous raging river crossings.

Day 2: Sugapa to Suangama

We awoke to another large meal of rice and eggs before resorting our gear in advance of the porter weigh in. After finding it sufficiently light (or heavy, depending on one's perspective--under 17kg), we waited for the final negotiations to conclude on porter payment before heading off for the first of our six trekking days.

We rode the first 5km on the back of 150cc motorbikes. Someone on the July expedition had crashed during this and was medevaced out...so I was more than a little anxious for this section considering how horrendous the roads are. (With a lot of persuasion, Robert--a motorcycle dealer and expert--convinced the local to let him drive. Unfortunately the bike couldn't make it up one of the hills so the local had to walk the rest of the way!) Luckily we all made it to the start of the trail in one piece. The trail was a thin dirt path that wound its way up through hillside and at times into forest. This area is inhabited by Dani tribesmen so some of the local area is cultivated--they grow sugar cane and potatoes primarily. The hiking was up and down, with the occasional stream crossing.

We were supposed to go all the way to Camp I in the jungle but the last group to pass through had neglected to pay the porters from the village of Suangama and so we were forced to spend the night in this village while our guides worked out a deal with the locals.

The village where we stayed the night.

Luckily, the rains started after we ha made camp in the village so we are still dry. Not sure how long that will last...

The highlight of the afternoon was twofold: first was developing some pleasant friendships with locals. They even invited me in to socialize in their hut. The huts are circular--almost like wooden yurts--and are covered in wood and straw. The cook fire is in the center of the hut and fills it up with smoke due to a lack of ventilation. We took pictures and laughed together.

The second highlight was a series of disputes resolved in the local fashion. The first was the porter issue I mentioned earlier. The two tribes: Moni from Sugapa and Dani from Suangama came to an agreement by which the expedition would continue with several more locals hired as porters. The second was a domestic dispute between a local woman and man. We couldn't make heads or tails of it but there was a lot of aggressive yelling followed by what appeared to be a judiciated discussion with several other village people acting as mediators. Turns out the dispute was over the price of yams that day. The final agreement was concluded by the divvying up of a huge bag of yams!

Now we're having dinner and then heading to bed. The next couple of days will be extra difficult due today's shortened itinerary.

Day 1: Bali to Timika to Sugapa

My mother and I stayed up all night in order to catch our domestic flight from Bali to Timika which left at 2am. The flight was 3 hours long and I slept the whole way. It was surprisingly comfortable as I had three economy class seats on which to stretch out.

At the airport in Papua before flying into the jungle.

Once in Timika, we immediately recognized our two other expedition companions: an American-Australian named Robert and a 21-year-old British guy named Ed. We picked up our luggage--thankfully it all arrived--and met our guides outside...except we were stopped by local government officials before we made it out the doors. They brought us into a separate room and asked us about our plans and for our information. After almost half an hour of waiting and discussion, they wrote our names and passport info in a book and kept photocopies of our passports. We finally made it outsides and met our guides Yosh and Poxy.

I had thought we would spend a night in Timika, a ramshackle town with a very culturally interesting and provincial feel. Papua had a very different vibe from the other parts of Indonesia; I'm not surprised that they are seeking their independence. The locals are culturally, ethnically, and even racially distinct from the majority of Indonesians. People in Papua are predominantly Moni, and are darker skinned with very prominent cheekbones and tightly curled black hair. The adults do not smile often, but the children are always laughing and sneaking smiles at you. It isn't that the adults are unfriendly, often just saying 'hi' and smiling is enough to elicit a shy grin, but they just seem more withdrawn and less outgoing with us foreigners.

Anyways, much to my surprise our guides immediately brought us to the building next door and I realized that we were flying straight into the jungle. We repacked some of our stuff and collected it in one bag to leave in Timika for our return. Since I had thought we would be staying in Timika, I had worn normal clothes. This meant that I had to change into my junglewear in the middle of the domestic terminal with amused locals looking on.

We waited several hours for the weather to clear before jumping into a small Cessna for our forty minute flight to Sugapa, the last real civilization that we will experience on this end of the trip. By 'civilization' I mean cell phone reception (but no 3G or data service or Internet access) and roads (unpaved, of course) and actual huts for shelter. It's my understanding that there is one more small village beyond this and then after that...jungle. 

(To make matters more nerve-wracking, the day before local separatist militia members had stormed the runway in Sugapa, not allowing any planes to land...we were hoping that there were taking a day off today.)

During our flight, as we entered the highlands, an automated female voice suddenly said 'Warning. Warning. Pull up.' I trusted our pilot, but it was quite scary. The clouds were so thick that it wasn't clear how far above the mountains we were. Then a hole opened up and trees were poking through! After that, I was praying for a safe landing until we finally got to Sugapa.

We were greeted  on the muddy airstrip by a crowd of locals. I think a local sport is watching planes come in onto the airstrip because it seemed everyone in the village was out there.

We unloaded our bags and began walking into the village. It was about 1km from the airstrip along an only slightly muddy dirt road. We walked through the main street of the village before turning into a small hut. The hut actually was larger than it appeared at first sight and we unpacked our bags in a room. My mother took the bed, I got the floor. Because we had not slept much in the night, we took a nap before lunch and then again between lunch and dinner.

The food so far has been excellent. Fried chicken and French fries, curry and rice, Oreos, and fried soy beans have all been in the menu do far. That said, one of our teammates--Ed--is already sick and having diarrhea. I'm pretty sure that we'll all get stomache issues on this trip  eventually so I think he might actually be lucky to get it now, sooner rather than later.

We've also been joined by mosquitos...and large ones at that. I'm glad that I'm taking anti-malaria medicine. Wouldn't want to get that out here...

Off to bed now. Hopefully we will start our trekking tomorrow without incident or delay!

Carstensz Pyramid: The Uncensored Introduction…

Two of the Seven Summits scare me. The first is Denali. Denali frightens me because of the weather—it’s totally out of one’s control and can be incredibly unpredictable. Every year, people die in accidents unrelated to any mistake they have made. An example of this would be the four Japanese climbers who died in an avalanche while descending Motorcycle Hill. Sometimes, shit happens and the weather causes unfortunate incidents.

The other mountain that makes me nervous is Carstensz Pyramid…but not because of the weather. There are several political and cultural anomalies that make Carstensz Pyramid one of the most dangerous summits in my opinion. I’ll break it down for you:

1. Independence Movement: The province in which Carstensz Pyramid is located is currently trying to gain its independence from Indonesia. In the past months, they have killed a foreign journalist, shot at incoming planes, and conducted other dangerous stunts to further their movement. Separatist groups/independence movements are notoriously unpredictable and impassioned…you definitely don’t want to get caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Considering our expedition begins the day of Indonesia’s independence, we might be doing exactly that…flying into a dangerous place at a very bad time.
2. Exotic Location: The first issue is heightened by the fact that—of all the Seven Summits, even Everest—Carstensz Pyramid is the most difficult to get to. Just reaching the base of the mountain requires an arduous 5-10 day jungle hike through dense rainforest. There isn’t another option (helicopters no longer fly to Base Camp with any regularity). And getting out can’t be expedited…you’re stuck walking the 100 or so km to the nearest village whether you want to or not. This makes medical or safety evacuations difficult if not impossible. Not the most encouraging of situations.
3. Freeport Mine: The other nuance about the location is the Freeport Mine at the base of the mountain. I guess I lied…technically it is possible to get to the mountain quickly…but only through the Freeport Mine which operates essentially as its own country. It has its own armed security force that shoots on sight if anyone approaches. One group last year had an urgent medical issue and entered the mine, only to be shut in a shipping container without fresh food for seven days. Eventually a mineworker felt bad and was able to sneak them out on a helicopter. Cool, in like an adventure movie way. Not so cool when you are actually facing that as a real potential situation.
4. Local Culture and Customs: The final dangerous aspect of this expedition is the locals. The local people of Iryan Jaya are incredibly impoverished. Making money as porters for expeditions is an important source of income for many of them. This is good, because if not for this income they might be eating you. Yes, that’s right, some of these tribes still practice cannibalism. They also use blow darts. And wear penis gourds. Don’t believe me? Just wait for the pics. If I ever get back to civilization…because the final thing is that their judicial system is based on an eye for an eye. So a situation might arise when someone—a local working as a porter, perhaps—gets crushed by a random rock fall. The locals would then hold the westerners responsible and exact “justice” by…yes…killing him or her. You probably don’t believe me. I wish I were making this up. How I know it’s true? It happened on an expedition last year. 

As you can tell, this mountain will be an adventure no matter what happens. And by “adventure” I mean “an experience, usually hazardous, whose ending you do know not or cannot predict.” I’m just hoping that my ending involves us making it back home safely…!