Gunung Kemiri 3345
Sumatra the fast state
We climbed Gunung Kemiri between Sunday, May 9 and Thursday May 14 2009. Unfortunately one day short of success, which was a first in over 60 climbs all over Indonesia. Sumatra is not Bali and if you believe that it takes forever to get things done in Bali then you will never see an end in Sumatra. Do not attempt to climb any of the three mountains in Aceh province that are over 3000 meters if you do not have extra time on your hands. Without doubt during our adventure to Gunung Kemiri we experienced by far the worst roads in Indonesia. Here distances are not measured in kilometres, but in hours that it takes to drive from one city to the other. In our case we needed to drive roughly 270 km that took 10 hours from Medan to Ketambe where we meet Pak Johans our tracking guide.
The exhausting long drive
It will take a good hour just to get out of the hustle and bustle of Medan. Once the city hectic is left behind then the street gradually starts climbing into very hilly terrain. Quickly very densely forested mountains start to appear that offer a different view around every corner. With the appearing hills and the massive forested surrounding, the weather is very wet, humid tropical with very frequent down pours. As we travel on the main road between Medan to Lake Toba the street is still in rather good condition making travels rather comfortable. However on weekends this part can be congested with heavy traffic, as many Medan residents escape from the heat of the city and spend their weekends in the cooler, high lands.
Brestagi
Berastagi has a healthy economy based on something other than tourism. As an agricultural trade centre, the town’s markets are always humming with activity, and modern-day snake oil hawkers fill the sidewalks with ‘big-city’ amusements for isolated country folks. Plenty of roadside stalls offer a wide choice of local snacks for the hungry traveller. Here everything is available for a bargain and if you master bargaining well then you are able to pick up some great “essentials” which will add additional weight to your already overloaded back pack. On Sunday, the largely Christian community takes the babies and bibles out for worship.
Kabanjahe
After a further hour of tiring slow driving the road then parts from the stretch to Lake Toba and gradually starts heading north. For us it was time for a quick meal that we found in one of the many Padang restaurants. Perhaps for the fact that we were very hungry we seriously enjoyed our mid afternoon meal. Full of new strength and most enthusiastic we returned back to our car to continue our journey towards Ketambe. However our newly gained enthusiasm very quickly vanished after experiencing the first couple of kilometres of road. Nothing could have prepared us for this newest experience as we now travelled without doubt on the worst roads that we ever experienced anywhere in Indonesia. 
Now we gradually started to understand why here distances are not measured in kilometres, but hours it take to drive from here to there. At the end when calculating our average speed then I was pleased to know that I would have travelled faster on my mountain bike. The road for the next 180 km is simply a disaster with a countless amount of holes in the road as well as long stretches that reminded us more of a riverbed than a main road connecting rural areas of North Sumatra with the city of Medan.
On the positive side, the slow driving allowed us to enjoy the scenery that was marked by rolling hills with vast mountain regions in the background.Driving along the winding, hilly roads was like driving through a botanical tropical garden. Recent farming transformed ancient, virgin rain forest into miles of rubber oil plantation, and endless cornfields. In-between one finds everything that might grows around 700 meters of elevation in a tropical rain forest climate. Coffee, Avocado, Durian, Mangoes, Water Apples, Cacao, Passion Fruits, Bananas, Pineapples, Limes, local green Tangerines, Tamarilo as well as every imaginable vegetable that is needed for the daily life.Throughout our very tiring slow drive I could not help myself imagining how this very picturesque landscape looked just 30 years ago before the road was widened and people started to hack down ancient rain forests, that where filled with a large variety of now seriously endangered wild life. 
The road here still winds along steep hillsides offering spectacular views of a most striking surrounding, and then gradually descends toward the town of Lanbaleng where the road joins the main road connecting the south of Sumatra with the north and eventually the Aceh province.For the final 90 km the road follows through a wide valley that is protected on both side by high mountain ranges that tower up to 3000 meters. The range on the left is part of the Leuser National Park in which Gunung Kemiri as well as Gunung Leuser are located. The wide-open fertile valley is mostly flat and covered by large rice plantations, miles of cornfields and signs of civilisation that is rapidly moving into this far away region. Signs of recently constructed infrastructures can be seen everywhere, schools, churches, mosques, new settlements as well as skeletons of recently chopped down trees.
Kerbulan – Karo, Welcome to Aceh
25 km into the valley we pass the village of Karo, gateway to the Aceh province. Just like any other provincial town in Indonesia here one finds everything that is required in every day life. Basic commodities, transportation’s and countless food stalls which are filled with chain smoking males that are debating the latest regional and domestic gossip. Every traveller has to go passed this checkpoint where heavily armed police officers inspect every vehicle. For what exactly is not clear and uncertain. In our case they were not at all interested in our bags but more on the fact that we were tourists who are still not as common as in other parts of the country. A small talk later and after a fare bit of an English lesson we where back on the road impatiently awaiting our days final destination.Passing Perbulan rewarded us with one big surprise, as all of a sudden we felt like driving on urban city roads. From one meter to the other, road conditions improved tremendously enabling us to travel at an incredible pace of almost 40 km an hour which felt like high-speed comparing to the 15-20 km average speed that we managed for the past several hours. After a further two hours or about 70 km we reached totally exhausted our overnight stop Ketambe at 10 p.m. from where our real hiking adventure started.
Katembe
On arrival at the Wisma Cinta Alam Guesthouse, P Box 30, Kutacane – Blangkejeren Jalan km 32, Aceh, Indonesia, we where welcomed by our Eco guide T.Y Johans, HP # 0852 7086 4580 who then become our leader for the next four days. He was assisted by Pak Jally who is the leading guide at the Leuser National Park HP # 0813 6229 1844. We received a quick update and briefing about the days ahead, followed by a quick bit of reasonable good fried rice. After a rejuvenating shower we spend a most comfortable night resting in one of their clean and simple guest rooms. Early the following morning we finally took out our cameras and were able to capture many terrific early morning images from the surrounding rain forest and the river.
Just like on any other adventures in Indonesia we then repacked our bags and prepared for an early morning departure to our next destination Gumpang, that was another hour and 20 minutes drive away. The road wound through a very hilly and narrow valley that offered spectacular views of the surrounding mountains and remaining rain forest.
The valley was divided by a large river, which offers fabulous rafting adventures through pristine rain forests. We tremendously enjoyed our journey neatly packed like sardines into one of the public busses. Full it certainly was and as there was not enough space in the bus half of our bags as well as our guides enjoyed the trip in lots of fresh air on top of the heavily smoking diesel truck.
Gumpang
On arrival in Gumpang hikers need to obtain a permit to enter the national park and to climb Gunung Kemiri at the local Military office. We were told that this is simply a formality and would take a few minutes as we already filled out the necessary paper work earlier. 
To our disappointment this simple formality then took forever. First a bit of small talk, followed by an army style interrogation. Why do want to climb Gunung Kemiri? Why Kemiri? Why all the way from Bali to Sumatra? Do you have any other interests, or intentions? How long are you already in Indonesia? Married? How many Kids? Why only one child? Girl friend – none of your business. As well as many more questions which were completely not relevant to our hiking adventure. This first meeting ended in a verbal approval from the army. However to follow the proper procedures we needed to get further approvals from the local police office, which was another kilometre down the road. 
Just like during our first interrogation by the Army the police obviously needed to know pretty much everything about our private lives as well which ended after passing some cigarette with a positive go-ahead. However for us to do so we needed to produce copies of our identifications. Easy to get one thinks, but not in Gumpang on a Sunday when the local power station shut down for the day. After a bit more small talk, and a promise that we would hand over the copies upon our return from the mountain, we were ready to start our adventure towards Gunung Kemiri.
The assent, Gumpang – Camp 1, 1271 m
Marching down hill the small road passed many simple homes was like departing for a major adventure. The road was lined with everyone, from infants that barely could walk, to elderly folks who spend most of the day sitting on the front porch watching the world go by. We are almost certain that nobody quite understood why we wanted to climb this very tall mountain, then as per our guides, they virtually know nobody beside a few guides in the whole village that even thought about getting to the top of Gunung Kemiri. The farthest away they would ever venture into the rain forest was determined by the size of trees they are able to chop down and then bring down to the village. 
The first two kilometres of the flat track lead through rice and cornfields and eventually over a hanging bridge across the large Simpang Kiri River that separates the valley.
After the river crossing the path gradually starts to climb passed very recent agricultural plantings that continue to creep crawling deeper and deeper into virgin rain forest. The fields are littered with skeletons of giant trees whichwhere simply chopped down and then left to rot. During the easy one hour hike passed the foothills of Kemiri I could not stop thinking how recent the hack down of this incredible jungle took place and how much more will have to go before people realise what treasures this forest protects. Eventually the difficult to spot track gradually starts to get steeper and with it the forest more dens and with every step more picturesque. 
The first campsite is reached after a comfortable 2 ½ hours. Often, because of all the formality and late departure from Gumpang hikers spend the first night at this impressive campsite, which is surrounded by giant rain forest trees in which we were able to spot many overnight camps of orang-utans.
Camp 1 – Camp 2, 1736 m
After a 10-minute rest we continued our journey towards higher elevations. From here onwards the track was no longer clearly visible and often was separated by falling trees that required detours through very spiky bushes, as well as steep intervals of over rooted terrain. It is interesting to notice that with every meter gain of altitude, not only the temperature starts to get more comfortable but also that insect life changed from meter to meter.
At one moment we where covered with flies, then surrounded by swarms of bees and at one stage two leeches stuck and sucked themselves comfortable on my leg. The removal of this rather unwelcome passenger looked like a serious bloody injury. No, it was not painful but interesting enough, the bite wounds where still very itchy weeks after our return to Bali. After a slow but still very pleasant 2 hour scramble through very wet, moist and humid high altitude rain forest that was in large areas covered with a thick and spongy coatings of moss we reached our overnight camp.
Camp 2
This overnight campsite is small and offers just enough space for two tents. Still sitting in the midst of dens rain forest protects the area from strong winds. To our great surprise the two nights we rested here were perfectly comfortable warm, unlike on many other mountains on this altitude. An additional bonus for spending the night here is the fact that only about 150 meters away is a terrific waterfall. Make certain to be very careful when having a shower in this crystal clear and very fresh mountain stream. The path to this perfectly hidden narrow river is very steep and most of the time extremely slippery. Unlike your guides who will make their way bare footed down the slop, keep your hiking boots on which will offer the necessary grip for a safe climb.
Camp 2 – Camp 3, Five hours of hard work
Without doubt this is the toughest stage to reach Kemiri, especially if you carry 25 kg of necessary camping gear on your back. If, however you are lucky and have porters that take over this task then even this part of the journey is most enjoyable. After 45 minutes of slow progress an opening in the jungle offers spectacular views of the mountains surrounding, and is well worth a stop. Now the fun starts, as it gets really steep and very slow going, often seemingly vertical up, across ,through, and under fallen trees, passed oversized roots, through nasty thorny bushes up a track that, because of the daily downpours very is slippery, especially on the return journey. After a good 1½ hours, another most welcomed rest point is reached.
At this point guides will often break for an hour or more and start to cook rice. Never forgetting to inhale several clove flavoured cigarettes. It is during rest stops like this, where one is able to find out plenty of information as well as gossip of the local scene. Our guides where extremely knowledgeable of the local fauna and flora. For the first time on our quest to reach as many mountain tops as possible in Indonesia we were supported by a team that carried digital cameras as well as binoculars.With an altitude close to 2400 meters and only about 400 meters of climb to go it becomes increasingly easier for the mind to conquer the last 1 ½ to 2 hours to the overnight camp sight. 
As you get closer to the next stop, the forest gradually is getting thinner allowing more sunshine into this densely forested surrounding.
At the same time the steepest part of the seemingly endless struggle is behind and suddenly the going gets comfortable and within a couple of hundred meters the next camp site is reached around lunch time. Here we set up camp for the night. There is plenty of space for four to five tents and the views are stunning. We spend the afternoon lazing around in the bright sunshine, playing cards and taking in the magnificent mountain world. However we could not quite understand why we did not continued our hike for another three to four fours.
Camp 3 – Camp 4, 3173 m
After a good night rest and a most colourful and picturesque sunrise we left for our final leg to reach the summit. Only carrying a small backpack loaded with a raincoat, water, and a few snacks allowed us to make rapid progress. The first couple hundred meters led through densely bushed and rather flat grounds, where to our surprise we spotted several large and very recent tiger tracks that stimulated our excitement all over.
The track then tropes for 150 meters into a steep, deep valley that is once again covered by very tens rain forests. After only 15 minutes to the bottom of the valley and a short 20-meter detourthere is a magnificent small little crystal clear spring that offered perhaps the best drinking water we ever discovered on any of our trips. 
After a quick wash and a refill of all water bottles we continued our early morning adventure up the small creek that is littered by fallen, and slowly decomposing trees, interesting rock formations and many small pools of water. Eventually the going gets gradually slower and slower as it often difficult to see the path which gets steeper and steeper. With every step higher the trees are getting smaller and eventually giving way to high mountain bushes. With the smaller foliage more and more pockets in the foliage start appearing with miles of stunning views of the mountains surrounding.
An hour later after pleasant progress, the next mountain top just over 3000 meter is reached and from here on the going gets very pleasant and breathtaking as every ridge and corner offers new and more exciting views of endless mountain ranges where one hikes from one top to the next. 
A further hour later camp 4 is reached that offers plenty of space to accommodate at least six to eight tents. Being on top of the ridge, this site can be exposed to the elements and the very frequent weather changes. It is advised if camping at this site, to bring very warm clothing as well as a good water proof jacket. The soft, spongy and very moist grounds are a singe that heavy downpours occur here almost daily.
Camp 4 to somewhere around 3211m
Once again the thought come up, why we could not have continued our hike the previous day and spent the night on this site. There was plenty of time and lots of energy left in us. It is also crucial to keep in mind, that in this vast landscape the only way to go somewhere is with your local guides. Under no circumstance lose sight of your leaders as the path in this region is barely visible. 
There seem to be countless possibilities to reach any of the many mountain tops. As on any other mountain in Indonesia it is smart to record every meter walked on a GPS, which will guide you back even in the thickest of fog, bad weather, or emergencies.The answers to our many questions come then barely 30 minutes later after continuing our path along a mostly flat wide valley that is covered by very soft spongy grass. The going was easy and extremely pleasant with the early morning sun warming the air and painting the mountains surrounding with lots of warm colours.
Before we realised what happened, somewhere on top of yet another small ridge our guides announced that we had reached our final destination, short by a good 150 meters from the top of Gunung Kemiri. This final stop however offered terrific wide views of seemingly endless mountain ranges with the summit of Kemiri so close and yet so far. It would have taken from here another four to five hours of good hiking to reach this third highest mountain peak in Sumatra.Unfortunately, the reason that we where not able to reach our aimed goal was simply because of our guides, and their terrible physical conditions, which comes by no surprise if you consider that they find it almost compulsory to smoke one clove cigarette after the other one. We simply did not bring enough water and provision to attempt to conquer our actual destination.
For the first time in our quest to reach every mountaintop in Indonesia that is higher then 3000 meter we were beaten. But not as often expected by nature or its fast changing elements, but this time by the unwillingness of guides to take us up in four days and not as it seems compulsory in five days.
Conclusion
Just like every other mountain in Indonesia Gunung Kemiri is very special in it’s own right. Not as spectacular as the steep slopes of a volcano, but seemingly endless, wide and somehow timeless offering a chance to get an impressions of how our planet looked before mankind started with the destruction of the massive rain forest in this area. Despite the many challenges we faced with our guides, Kemiri will remain as a very different and special mountain in our minds.
Especially for the fact that we entered one of the last remaining rain forest in Sumatra that is home to tigers, orang-utans, rhinos, elephants and many other creatures that are all on the endangered species list. Come well prepared and bring several copies of your passports or identifications. Wear at all times long pants and protect yourself with plenty of mosquito repellent. Under no circumstances attempt to venture into this mountains jungle if you do not have enough time. Keep in mind that the weather here changes at no notice many times a day and that tropical downpours occur frequently, requiring serious rain protection handy in your back bag.
Direction to Gunung Kemiri
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