Sumatra May 2007

Beautiful hands

will — Sun, 13 May 2007 10:50:29 GMT

Beautiful hands

We rode in a long-distance bus from Sungei Penuh back to Padang. During one of the rest stops, in the heart of the tea plantations that stretch through the Minang Kebau highlands, I noticed this slender, manicured hand that, from time to time, emerged from this bus window to flick cigarette ash. It belonged to a young Indonesian man.

Pelompek

will — Sun, 13 May 2007 10:47:22 GMT

Pelompek

Descending from Danau Gunung Tujuh back into Pelompek village, the jumping off point for our three days of backpacking, we were accosted by four local men who grilled our guide, Pak Juharli, for half an hour. The gist of their complaint seemed to be that wealthy, foreign tourists were climbing Gunung Tujuh and they weren't getting their fair cut of the money. Juharli had to pay them off. As part of the payoff, he hired them to take us from the base of the trail back into Pelompek village on their motor scooters. Here two of them wait for us to climb aboard. Gunung Kerinci rises in the background.

Gunung Kerinci

will — Sun, 13 May 2007 10:44:40 GMT

Gunung Kerinci

Kerinci Seblat National Park is named for Gunung Kerinci, the enormous volcano that dominates the valley that the park surrounds. The valley is a tremendously productive rice farming area due to the accumulated volcanic soil, and beautiful area. Someday the volcano will annihilate it all. But, of course, in doing so, it will recharge the soil for generations more Indonesian farmers.

Here Gunung Kerinci is photographed through the gulley where a waterfall cascades out of Danau Gunung Tujuh. You can just make out the farmland at the base of the volcano, at lower left. Steam streams from the caldera at the summit.

In the mist again

will — Sun, 13 May 2007 10:41:37 GMT

In the mist again

After hiking from the summit of Gunung Lumut back to the shore of Danau Gunung Tujuh the mist and rain followed us. We watched the mist spill over the lip of the mountains surrounding the lake and wash across the water before it overwhelmed our camp site. Wayne tried in vain to build a fire, and once again we were condemned to an afternoon in the tent listening to the rain. The mist gave the forest a powerfully unearthly look, rendered in shades of grey. Here a tree, covered with epiphytes becomes a colorless silhouette in the mist.

Suggestive flower

will — Sun, 13 May 2007 10:39:17 GMT

Suggestive flower

Maybe it's just me.

Fungus

will — Sun, 13 May 2007 10:38:36 GMT

Fungus

In the absence of animals, I was reduced to photographing fungus. On the other hand, it is colorful fungus.

Mountain flowers

will — Sun, 13 May 2007 10:37:46 GMT

Mountain flowers

Bright yellow, orchid-like flowers sprouted everywhere on the rainforest floor. We didn't see many animals other than birds and insects (except for a brief sighting of red monkeys on our last day) but we saw plenty of plant life.

In the perma-mist

will — Sun, 13 May 2007 10:36:30 GMT

In the perma-mist

After a bone-breaking, vertical hike through thorny vines and along a mud-slicked trail while carrying fifty pound packs, we finally arrived at the summit of Gunung Lumut. The summit is cloud forest. An hour after we arrived it began to rain, and did not stop for eighteen hours. On the down-side, we spent eighteen hours in our tiny, two-man tent. "This must be what space travel feels like," said Wayne. On the up-side, we were able to collect water to supplement our diminishing supply, heavily consumed on the sweaty hike up.

Wayne's expression captures exactly how we felt.

Wayne

will — Sun, 13 May 2007 10:33:07 GMT

Wayne

My favorite portrait of my traveling companion, Wayne, from the trip. Taking a break during our wearying hike from Danau Gunung Tujuh to the peak of Gunung Lumut.

Across the lake

will — Sun, 13 May 2007 10:31:19 GMT

Across the lake

Wayne sets out across Danau Gunung Tujuh on a local fisherman's canoe at dusk. I had to wait an hour for the canoe to drop off Wayne and come back for me. Fortunately I had those ten Indonesian kids for company, and a pack of Dji Sam Soe clove cigarettes to break the ice.

Welcome to the lake

will — Sun, 13 May 2007 10:29:35 GMT

Welcome to the lake

After a backbreaking climb from Pelompek Village to Danau Guning Tujuh, the lake that was our key camping ground, we ran into ten Indonesian kids camping for the night. Everyone took photos of everyone else.

Buying a parang

will — Sun, 13 May 2007 10:27:36 GMT

Buying a parang

Pak Juharli, our guide, and Wayne negotiate to buy parangs (machetes) at the market in Sungei Penuh. We wanted to buy good, local parangs, but failed to communicate this and ended up with pretty tourist parangs. Nevertheless, we carried them up and down the mountain. Wayne's saw a little action. Mine never left the sheath.

In Sungei Penuh

will — Sun, 13 May 2007 10:25:29 GMT

In Sungei Penuh

At the provisioner's shop in Sungei Penuh a local consults with us on the exact location of the well-hidden national park office.

Neighborhood kids

will — Sun, 13 May 2007 10:24:12 GMT

Neighborhood kids

At a provisioner's store in Sungei Penuh, four neighborhood kids pose for the foreign photographer. It's a toy gun.

Sacked out beneath the passionfruit.

will — Sun, 13 May 2007 10:21:57 GMT

Sacked out beneath the passionfruit.

At one of the rest stops on the long road from Padang to Sungei Penuh, one of the ubiquitous local docs sacks out under a row of hanging passionfruit.

Awestruck Imagethief

will — Sun, 13 May 2007 10:19:23 GMT

Awestruck Imagethief

Imagethief does his best telegenic nature show impression in the rainforest of Kerinci Seblat National Park.

Photograph by Wayne Arnold.

Imagethief in the forest

will — Sun, 13 May 2007 10:17:59 GMT

Imagethief in the forest

Never stick your hand into a hole in a tree in the jungle like Imagethief is doing here.

Photograph by Wayne Arnold.