Mount Sibayak... My 1st volcano

Gunung Sibayak
Berastagi, Nort Sumatera
Wed, 8 Feb 2012
4.30 a.m

Elevation : 2,212 metres (7,257 feet)
Coordinates : 3°12′0″N 98°31′0″E
Location : North Sumatra
Geology Type : Stratovolcano
Last eruption : 1881

Things need to bring (if u start very early)
- Small back pack
- Headlamp/Torchlight
- Windbreaker (very cold up there)
- Drinking water (about 1 liter)
- Energy food
- Hiking shoes
- Camera (to capture unexpected moments)

Seawal 3.30 pagi, kami dah bangun bersiap sebab janji nye pukul 4 a.m, everyone dah kena ade kat lobby hotel. Biasa lah janji indon kan... pukul 4.20 a.m juga lah baru kami start gerak nak ke Sibayak from Berastagi Hotel. Luckily by the time we arrived at lobby, the breakfast already prepared for us. Ingatkan dia orang tapow kan roti jer... rupa nye complete breakfast. Maybe dia terlebih faham apa yang aku minta malam tadi or... aku salah bagi instruction ke or... dia yang salah dengar. Maybe because we speak two different language... could be. Nampak sangat slang Indon aku tak cukup power... hehehe.

Memandangkan nak panjat tak boleh amik heavy meal... so, kita orang sepakat bawa roti & telur je naik. The balance we left inside our lovely van... to be continued once we back from Sibayak.

Our breakfast @ 4 a.m

From Hotel to Sibayak took around 20 minutes jer. We arrived around 4.45 a.m at a height of 1900m a.s.l. So, this height is our starting point. We only need to walk around 20 minutes on the TAR road to reach the beginning of the track. Depend too, if you walk fast you can reach earlier than that.

Before started, we're already at 1900m ASL on Sibayak... another 2 hours to reach the peak

Beginning of the track... kena panjat batu sikit

This time is around 5 a.m

It was very dark at this time

Aku gerak agak lambat kali ni sebab menemankan Cik Gojes yang agak kritikal di belakang. Sesekali jalan kat belakang terasa juga kelainan nye... terasa bagaimana syahdu nye ditinggalkan. Maybe, selama ini aku kat depan je kan... so, semangat nak cepat sampai jer yang aku fikir kan tapi hakikat nye orang kat belakang, berusaha keras mengerang kesakitan nak sampai ke puncak. Tapi aku takde lah menahan sakit... sihat walafiat cuma terasa nak gerak slow & steady jer... sambil2 menikmati keindahan Sibayak di kala gelap. Scary you... tapi dalam hati tak henti-henti memanjatkan doa semoga dipermudahkan perjalanan kami. Alhamdulillah, semuanye selamat.

When we almost reached the peak, aku dah start bau-bau yang memang aku tak harap kan ade. This is smell from the sulphur... opps, I already started felt a bit dizzy. Meaning... kami dah nak sampai. To certain people yang tak tahan... this smell may cause symptom yang macam aku alami or maybe to some people it can cause more drastic effect. I'm not sure... but it could be. Tapi maybe on the next volcano trip hiking, I will make sure I will bring mask or anything else that can cover my breathing.

Awesome... sunrise from peak of Sibayak

We arrived @ the peak around 6.30 a.m. Sempat juga solat Suboh on the way nak ke sini tadi. Alhamdulillah, sampai juga... betul lah cakap most of the people yang dah pernah ke sini... exactly macam naik Broga dahhh. So, korang boleh imagine, how's the track looked like. Dan sebab itu juga lah aku berani nak ke sini without any hard core hiking preparation. Memang sangat leisure & tak susah sangat pun. Even beginner pun boleh jer naik.

Alhamdulillah... sampai juga

Yeahhhh... we did it

Mount Sinabung already covered with thick fog

Masa kami sampai tu, kabus sangat lah tebal sampai cover view Sinabung dari Sibayak. Agak kecewa juga lah tapi hukum alam kan. Insyallah, akan ke Sinabung juga satu hari nanti. Tapi, the awesome view of Sinabung cuma boleh tengok dari Sibayak jer lah. Insyallah, after this maybe boleh plan nak ke Sinabung pulak.

With Pak Arman... our very sporting & nice guide

Area sekitar puncak Sibayak... awesome

Subhanallah Awan Carpet... from top of Mount Sibayak

Time to go back... bye bye puncak Sibayak

Kawah gunung Berapi Sibayak

Kawah Gunung berapi Sibayak close-up mode...

The small explosion still active

Effect of the sulphur on the rocks

Peneman setia saya

Demonstration by Pak Arman... the smell was really bad

On the way nak balik, we followed the same route where we came. So, this time barulah kami nampak exactly, apa yang ade disepanjang jalan yang kami lalu pagi-pagi buta tadi. Actually, we're supposed to follow different route on the way back but since condition of one of our friend not so good, so, Pak Arman suggested that we follow the same route where we started.

Hot water from Inside...

Laluan balik

Nak balik dahh...

We follow the same route we came

Stay alert!!! Batu-batu di atas tu bisa jatuh... so be extra careful while you were here

Track lead to the Sibayak peak

Track inside the jungle... tak nampak apa pun pagi tadi

Rock staircase also part of the track

Laluan ke hutan... photo taken on the way back

Welcome to Sibayak

Beginning of the track... ni yang kami panjat pagi-pagi buta tadi

This road lead you to the beginning of the track

GGK

We reached down around 8 a.m. Then, proceeded to Hot spring for our next activity... tak mandi pon cuma rendam kaki jer.

View Sibayak from the Hot Spring