Lombok -Rinjani Trek, the challenge

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Don't say after I did not warn you: This treks should not be attempted by the unfit, or city kids.. unless you are crazy, or below thirty and all your muscle cells still intact. Myself I attempted and mastered through cursing, huffin and puffin the "easier" crater rim trek.

I guess it helped that I met along the way others who suffered even more and some clearly asked themselves, what the hell they were thinking in the first place.

It was the first time i truly understood the meaning of battling a mountain. The trek just goes up and up and ..up. It starts at 610 meters and the rim is on 2600 meters above sea level, all in all 9.2 km. sounds easy, no?

8.20 am showed our watches when we passed the entry gate and as we reached Position 1 already at 9.40 am I thought it cant be that bad. I was wrong, as the trek just gets steeper and steeper.

When we finally got to our camp close to the rim, it was not only raining, but also already 4 PM. We did quite well and yet were 6 to 7 hours hiking up the hill.

The last section just before the camp is called fittingly "the crying hill" by the locals. My body seemed to burst and I could not say which part of it inherited the heart, as everything beat all the same. (Thats when the cursing came in to play).

The goal seemed so close, but what suffering. Was it worth it?? Again rain in the evening, no view at sunset and very basic tents seemed to answer this question. What the hell were we thinking??

However the next morning proofed us wrong, then despite limited sunshine there lay the shimmering crater lake in front of our eyes!

What a powerful view! All the suffering washed away with the sight of the water and ancient lava below us.

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