Journey To The Outer Fringes Of The Earth

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Hat was not very keen on me leaving to go up the volcano and there was a great deal of tears before she settled down to sleep. I promised her that I would take a picture at the top of her card with Disney's Beast.
The car picked me up at 10pm and it took 2 hours to reach the guides house. The road for the final hour was shockingly bad and the suspension groaned continuously. I stocked up on the way with chocolate, gummy bears and water.
Indonesian are very quiet people and the four blokes in the guide's house spoke gently and politely to each other. The house was large, yet the floor was mud and their cows were at the kitchen door.
At 1.00am this morning I left with my guide, Ram Li. He was a wiry fell runner and he climbed the volcano 2-3 times a week so I felt in very competent hands. He wore wellies and just seemed to glide upwards, carefully placing each foot and hardly raising his breath. Meanwhile, I slipped about in my expensive hiking boots and huffed and puffed like a steam train. It was a very steep and continuous climb..
I'd never thought about it before, but the further down the volcano you are, the older the lava is and therefore nature has had more time to reclaim it. As a result, the landscape dramatically changed as we ascended. It was like going from one scene of a play to the next. First, it was farmed terraces and the path was a concrete path. Then this gave way to a wide dirt path, the foothold's were polished and slippery. This narrowed to dirt trails which meandered and had been carved into the rock by water. This section was interspersed with ladders of tree roots. Then the pebbles and dirt combo began and it required careful footing to avoid slips. Then we moved into an area that was stone passageways and stone slabs to clamber up. It was strenuous uphill walking and it led us to the first plateaux. Cloud conditions mean that 60% of climbers don't go beyond this section. Lady Luck was shining and their was no cloud so we could continue. We stopped every thirty minutes or so for a quick breather, plus water and snacks in my case. As we climbed, the air became noticeably cooler, drier and thinner in terms of oxygen.
From the plateaux we crossed a lunar-esque landscape of small stones and monster boulders and it was barren. Then the really hard climbing began. Up a huge wall of grey silica sand; two steps up, one step back. My fingers had gone a bit numb and I was feeling a bit dizzy so I used the pole they'd given me for additional balance. Once past this particularly draining section we reached a huge boulder field and balance became even more important. At 4am we stopped at a small hole in the rock, about 10 minutes from the summit. My shirt was soaked through and it was very cold at over 9,000 ft, so I stripped off and donned a new shirt, fleece, coat, gloves and hat and I just about warmed up. The hole had a little volcano sensor in and when I put my hand near it I could feel the heat of the lava coming up through the rock.
We summited at 4.40am. Ram Li hid himself under his anorak and I had the whole vista to myself for half an hour, after which point about eight other walkers arrived. The moon and stars were out behind me, where the cater stood, and far far below were towns and cities. The false dawn was spectacular as there was no mist or low cloud. There was a faint smell of sulphur from the clouds of gas which billowed up from the crater.
By 6.30 I'd seen the sunrise fully and it was time to descend. It was tough going, with the exception of the sea of sand which you could sort of skate down. I found a great pumice stone for Cas, which has a heel shaped indentation.
The heat was rapidly picking up and I can see why they do this only as a night climb. We reached the car by 8.15. I was tired but feeling very pleased and satisfied.
The guide gave me a small breakfast and began talking about his herd of cows which supplies milk to, wait for it, a tiny Dutch Gouda cheese factory that he runs in the village. He claimed that his two year old goudas tasted like parmesan, so I asked if he could take me so I could buy some for Ed and we did just that.
I was feeling cream crackered by now and wanted to get back to the villa for a kip. I was looking forward to hearing how Cas, Hat and Ed had gotten on with their Batiks and Silver jewellery making courses.

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