We wanted to climb the Mount Rinjani in Lombok. The Mount Rinjani is the highest mountain in Lombok with 3726 meters high. In addition to that it is also an active volcano. For the hike we have to get to the small village of Senaru. Here a few tourists come everyday for exactly this reason. In Senaru you can also see two tremendous waterfalls that you can check out. Sally wanted to reserve her energy for the hike. I checked the waterfalls by myself. I went down to the Jungle and the first waterfall was easy to reach and just a few steps below the entrance. I was facing a green wall where the water would fall down on several parts. The second one was a bit more difficult to reach, crossing the river mouth several times. Usually this is not a problem for me however I got a fresh tattoo and it was not supposed to get wet. So I tried my best by crossing the river in an unconventional way of not getting my left leg wet. It took me a while and must have looked really funny to some people. Eventually I found my way. The waterfall was one of the better ones I visited during my travel and I almost had it to myself. I always love the micro climates of a waterfall. The air is so moist and the surroundings are always in a lush green. It always feels like it is raining from all sides at the same time. However after visiting so many Waterfalls during my travel I can also say, that they loose it’s magic sometimes. So far no waterfall could beat the one in we found in Costa Rica. Anyways it was still gorgeous to be in the jungle.

And then it was time to ascent the volcano. We got picked up at 6 a.m. and we went off to the entry of the park. It is the peak of the season to climb this mountain. This made the entrance quite busy and everyone was ready to ascent. The weird part was, that a lot of locals skipped the first part on a motocross bike. So while we were hiking a dirt bike would zoom past us every few minutes. The first day was a 1700 meter ascent to the base camp. This took us the whole day with several breaks. This was already a bit tiring, but totally managable. Spirits were high and the group was in a good mood. When we made it to the camp we would be greeted by a beautiful sunset and the clouds were flying into the crater below us. My utmost respect goes to the locals, who get all the tents, food and equipment up here in a self made bamboo rack with the weight of around 30 to 40 kg. They were also climbing this mountain with flip flops and are the true heroes of this story!

We watched the beautiful sunset. With the sun gone it got cold pretty fast. We went to bed and on the next morning we had to get up at 2 a.m. to ascent to the peak. This is a tough climb because the dry volcanic sand is acting like fresh snow. You go up three steps and you slide two steps down again. We were cold, sweating, dusty and exhausted at the same time. Once you started climbing you had no other option than to move. This became the balancing act of the night. If you would rest too long you would get too cold. If you would hike too fast you would be out of breath because of the altitude. So step by step we made our progress guided by the cloudless night. Not too fast and not too slow. It was especially cold in the segments where the wind blew the strongest. Luckily the stars would guide us through the night even as my headlamp was getting weaker. Through the darkness you couldn’t see the steep ridges, which would have been another demotivator. We kept climbing until the first daylight hit the mountain. Finally…

We were pretty miserable at this point. My hands were completely swollen from the cold. The last segment was called zombie part by the locals. This was not without a reason. It was so steep in the end, that you could even take less steps than before. Every two steps forward you would slide one step backwards. At this point I was completely questioning human behavior in general. Why does it always has to be the highest peak for a sunrise? Why do so many people try to climb the same mountain? Why would I torture myself with this useless task of climbing up a mountain in the first place? All these questions popped into my head until the light came out and bathed the surroundings in color, these questions would partially stop. Answers would slowly come in. The questions would completely stop once the sun peaked out on the horizon and we finally made it to the peak. The land would fill with beautiful colors of all ranges. You could suddenly see the vast landscape and it’s massive volcanic edges. The unseen mountain parts of the night would turn into visible vast landscapes. Shades would fill in the gaps in between the mountains and it was creating this beautiful light show. We were filled with joy and the warmth of the sun!

Clarity came into my mind. After climbing a mountain I always feel incredibly small. Look at all that land! There are so many things in the universe bigger than you! Climbing a mountain also gives you an incredible feeling accomplishment. You were miserable for some time. However you did not give up and kept pushing and fighting. You are rewarded by the beauty this earth has to offer. Just like in life you will if you reach your goal you get rewarded by a good feeling. The craziest part here, is that you could see so many Indonesian islands from up here. You could see Bali, West Nusa Tenggara and even the Komodo Islands. The rest is covered in the ocean, which made it even more beautiful as the sun was also reflecting in it.

After the short rest and the incredible feeling it was time to descent. All you think about is always how to get to the top. Never how you are getting down. On the way down we noticed what a long way we actually climbed. At some parts the track was just a meter wide with steep edges. I am glad I didn’t see this in the dark! Now instead of being cold and miserable we were sweating and miserable. We reached the base camp at around ten in the morning. We got some needed breakfast and were happy to rest for a while. The rest wouldn’t last long and we had to keep going. We would hike to the lake and then to the other side of the Rinjani ledge. From the base camp we saw the hiking path down to the lake. Exhausted and defeated Sally looked at me and admitted that she booked a tour for advanced hikers. I stared at her with disbelief. I asked what made you think we were advanced hikers? She said well I don’t know, we climbed one volcano already didn’t we? I sat there in silence, realizing that we had some serious hiking in front of us…

We were only half way done… We had to get down and then get up again on the other side. So another full day of hiking. Now each hike separately would have been no problem. The two combined was an absolute limit to the body. We went through vast landscapes, that changed by the minute. By the time we reached the lake everything hurt. There were hot springs nearby and some people jumped into the lake or the hot springs. I did neither of that because of the tattoo. Instead I took a nap. I felt like Frodo in Lord of the Rings….

After lunch we had to go up again for three hours. Hiking this trail I can tell you, particularly these three hours never felt so long in my life! It was so torturous. You just had to take step by step. Every inch of my body was telling me to stop. Everything hurt. That’s the great and miserable part about hiking at the same time. Once you commit there is no turning back. You just have to keep going. Step by step.. Stone by stone… Otherwise you get stuck. This will always push your strength because you literally have no other option.

Oh how far we have come already… The same morning we were at the peak. And still more to go… There were a narrow paths with a hundred meter ledge directly next to it. Some stairs and ropes were mounted to help us. The sun was already on the other side of the ledge. We had to hurry up. With our last strength we climbed over the ledge. The setting sun was smiling into our faces and we were smiling back. You can see how thrilled we were. The land of Lombok is glowing in an orange color. ‘It’s over Frodo’ we jokingly say to each other. We finally made it! What a day! We instantly laid down in the tent, had some dinner and fell asleep right after sunset.

The last day of descent can be described with this picture. No more words needed. Sally was literally on the her limit and took every opportunity to nap. We made it down safely.

After this torture we went straight to the Gili Islands. These are small islands in the north of Lombok. Here a lot of turtles and tourist reside to enjoy the stunning beach as well as many tourists do. The perfect place to relax after the hike. We got picked up without a shower and went straight to the harbor. At this point we must have looked like coal mine workers. I bet we were also smelling like that as well! Sitting on the boat and reflecting on this hike. This might have been the hardest hike I have ever done in my life… It sure was Sally’s hardest hike.

It was finally time to relax. Once we were relaxed enough after a few days we tried to find some turtles. They are usually close to the beach and it didn’t take us long to find them, but this is a story for next time!