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Month: July 2018

RINJANI VOLCANO CLIMBING TREK TO LOMBOK

Arriving in Lombok, Sylvain sees his first cars for two months. But it does not last. We head straight for the village of Senaru, at the foot of the Rinjani, the Lombok volcano, which rises to 3700 meters. Here, there is no question of leaving alone to attack the summit. The path is not very difficult to find, but it is mandatory to be accompanied by a guide. We leave the next day with three other French and one English. Our theory is verified once more: as soon as there is a place back and many pebbles to climb, it is stormed by the French, as in Nepal. This time, we even have porters for tents and food, luxury! Finally, we will realize later that it was not so much luxury that it …

The first day of walking is quite hard: 1500 meters of positive difference in 6 hours is hard. And then after Gili, we are not very good. But the surprise that awaits us at the top is well worth the effort. We arrive in time to see the sunset on the huge crater of the volcano, magic!

On the second day, we descend into the cratere towards the lake that fills it. We stop at noon at a hot spring. In fact, it is more than a source, it is a small stream run through several basins at different temperatures and waterfalls: our first hot shower for months and above the clouds. We go back to the edge of the cratere to sleep before the final climb of the next day.

On the third day, you have to get up early to get to the top before sunrise, very early. We leave at 3 o’clock in the morning. We were warned that the climb was difficult. Indeed, it’s really difficult. In the ashes of the volcano, it is two steps forward for a step back. The French who were with us eventually give up. There is even one who vomits so much she can not anymore. Finally, we arrive at the top just in time to see the sun rise. We have a great panoramic view of the island of Lombok. Francois, who had lingered at the top to enjoy a little more of the view, attend a beautiful shouting. A group of Belgians has hardly arrived, begins to insult themselves surrounded by an incredible panorama that they do not even see. C ‘ is worthy of the movie The Hikers. One of the Belgians is away, very calm, she said to me: “today is my birthday, they forgot”. The situation makes me laugh. The descent is long, very long. In total, we walk 10 hours today: 900 meters of positive altitude, then 2600 meters of negative altitude. We arrive below creves. Francois swears it’s the last time he’s done a trek (in fact he’s bluffing, it’s over).