KAWAH DOMAS HIKE - Pit Stops 1-6

FAUNA, FLORA AND MORE

PIT STOPS 1-6

Our Hike To Kawah Domas Pit Stops

I am blogging my hike with 25 Pit stops and will post at intervals. I had to rewrite all pit stops after three days of getting all my information organised but the blog hanged and deleted my entry. I am not giving up and surging forward to post all pit stops again here.

Pit Stop 1: Tourist Information Office

The trek begins at Tourist Information Office

Terraced steps to aid your safe trek

We took the shorter hike to Kawah Domas than the longer Kawah Ratu journey. The testing of your feet and endurance began at the Tourist Information Office and ended at the crater. Three guides were assigned to us. Pak Rizki, Pak Daha and Pak Didi introduced themselves proudly as 'Orang Hutan' or the Forest People.

The three gentlemen came with a fees of RP 300 000. They are very familiar with everything found in the forest like the back of their hands. We were fortunate to amass ourselves with a lot of information about the the fauna, flora and everything nature that we came across during the two hour hike. It was simply a multi-sensory experiential learning lesson I would be proud of to conduct for my students. This time round, I was a student and they, my mentors. They were instrumental in adding value to our hike and enriching it with golden nuggets and learning takeaways to an otherwise ordinary touristic hike.

Pit Stop 2: The Black Forest

The Black Forest of Jambu Alas trees greet us


The Peace Tree. The trunks shows the two-finger peace sign

The Blacks Forest with its twisted trunks and gnarled looking hands

The black tree trunk tress with equally dark coloured burnt spread-out branches were the opening scene of the walk. The gnarled and armed-like branches seem to welcome us for a good hike. My husband's thought otherwise. The trunks according to him were screaming for help to save them because of the extreme temperatures they had been forced to endure.

If your imagination is wild and fertile, like mine, the trees may look and take the form of many interesting shapes. I saw a bear's face, a mother holding her child, an emu emerging from the rocky ground and even ghostly appearances of extra-terrestrial beings.

After descending some steps, Pak Rizki mentioned that the Jambu Alas trees had transformed to that state due to Mt Tangkuban Prahu eruptions. The heat, ashes and smoke had 'toasted and scalded' those trees to what they are now. Yet, they are still standing strong and surviving for more years to come. Their resilience and tenacity to stand upright in an environment of uncertainty was a lesson for me.

Pit Stop 3: The Changing Temperature


The refreshing air was good for the lungs

Pak Riziki was our chief guide


Pak Daha and Pak Didi helped us along the way

It began to get cooler as we hiked further down. Temperature could easily reach 18-22 degrees Celsius. The vegetation got thicker and at certain routes, the branches of the Black Forest interlocked forming an umbrella above us. That made the hike more enduring and pleasant as the cool air enveloped us.

Ferns acting as ground cover and mosses as rock caps are becoming more evident. According to Pak Riziki, the area receives exceptionally high amount of moisture during the 'Ber' months. I did a quick mental check and knew what he meant. Come September, October, November and December the meteorological station will record high amount of rainfall received. We were lucky it did not rain that day and was blessed with an air-conditioned room temperature.

At above 2076m above sea-level, it is an ideal elevation for a leisurely hike for urbanites like me who seldom succumbs to the thrice weekly exercise regime. The relief was gentle here and I was looking forward to more exciting new discoveries along the way.

Pit Stop 4: The Exotic Batik Design

The youth shaving off the Parkis plant bark

The eye-catching motif on the bark

The wood shavings remind me of a tiger stripes

Souvenir wares for your collection

A youth was holding a bark and shaving the outer layer with his parang. The transformation on the bark to reveal the next layer was like magic to my eyes. From a plain rough looking bark, the smooth surfaced trunk now displayed complementary hues of brown, beige and cream batik-like design as if drawn by a batik artist with his tjanting tool.

We were enthralled by the unique design transformation found on the Parkis (fern) plant. Where the old frond of the fern has fallen off, the frond joint leaves behind dots, spots, lines and imprints on the bark. Once the outer layer of the bark is shaved off, it reveals an exquisite batik-looking fabric print. I picked up some wood shavings and upon closer inspection thought that the design was akin to a tiger stripes.

Taking advantage of the beautiful motif on the bark, the entrepreneurial spirited youth had set up a stall to sell his wares of ash trays and vases he had sculptured from the bark.

Pit Stop 5: Gully Your Way

The gullies with the more resistant lava bed protruding than the other rocks.

Lava once flow along this channel.

The unevenness gully bed due to the piling of lava over several eruptions

Swirling fast flowing water has contoured the rocks in the gully

Running water from heavy rains has formed gullies along the side of the trail where lava had flowed during Mt Tangkuban Prahu eruptions. The ditch-like gullies of varying depth and width have been at the mercy of forceful water flow, which has caused deep vertical erosion into its bed. Soil and rocks have been removed through corrasion, attrition, hydraulic action and solution. The eroded materials are flowed further down the hill slope while the heavier and bigger ones are constantly being eroded by the rain that meanders its way into the gullies.

I noticed the gully floor has been unevenly eroded because of the different rock composition. The more resistant rocks like basalt and granite stood out like protruding bumps while the softer clayey materials have hidden and recessed themselves further on the gully floor and sides. Rushing and swirling water has meandered its way around the tougher rocks, polishing and grinding the edges to smooth finish.

Screaming oxidised orange-coloured mica rocks emerged from the deep crevices where the softer materials have lost the water battle. Oxygen combines with iron-bearing silicate minerals has resulted in the "rusting" look of the basalt rocks. I was so fascinated to see how running water has contoured and incised the gully floor in its own natural way without any form of modern technology.

Pit Stop 6: Weathering And Erosion

A forest fairy perches on a rock that has a sheeting appearance

Basalt of different sizes strewn on the ground with the flow of rain water

A dislodged piece of rock removed from its original position

Rocks from lava flow of varying resistance. The protruded rock looks like a crocodile head to me.

Rocks of different hues and mineral composition. Lines of weakness are very clear.

White silicate in between the layers of rocks.


Biological weathering on my right side. Soil erosion has caused the tree to lose its pride and stature.

I was pleasantly surprised to note that we were actually standing on once molten rocks which have cooled and crystallised the lava flow to form plutonic igneous rocks which Mt Tankuban Prahu had emitted in 1969 and earlier. I was kicking and stepping on igneous rocks like basalt, granite, andesite and quartz. Now they have been exposed to the weather elements of erosion and biological reaction of the trees and animals. Some pieces of rocks ended up as my souvenir items as I pushed them into my jeans pocket

The gully erosion where water flows along narrow channels during a heavy torrential downpour and surface runoff turbulence have left many beautifully-layered rocks smooth and rounded in shape. The exposed surface displayed different shades, indicating the different minerals found in the rocks. The bigger boulders are mainly found at the upper part of the gully while the smaller ones have been transported to the lower part of the terrain. In no time the bigger size particles would be dislodged because of the increased elevation and gravity as more soil is washed away by rivulets and streams of water on the gully floor.

I got a feeling that the falling rain has also played a part in sheet erosion of the rocks. The water splashes on the rock surface and the particles are knocked by the raindrop impact. Rock layers are detached and peeled off in a more or less uniform manner from the rock surface. It gives the rock a layered appearance as if it has been chiselled off by an expert mason.

Roots and trees have also contributed to the biological weathering of the rocks here. They push away the materials from the soil as the roots find their way deeper in the ground. Animals burrow their home in the gound, loosening materials at the same time.

More Pit Stops Coming.....