Now it starts to get a little rough.

After sleeping through the night having dreams of a clear day of trekking, we ate breakfast and made our way up the mountain. This ascent would prove to be much steeper and challenging than the previous afternoon's. After breakfast it promptly started raining, which didn't really matter since my clothes were still wet anyway. We were getting higher up and the temperature was dropping. The most severe of the conditions was the intense wind, which blew the rain sideways where I was constantly pelted in the face. Yes I wore a pancho, but it served only to keep my bag relatively dry. My clothes, through mix of sweat from laboring steeply uphill with a twenty pound backpack and the constant barrage of rain, were already soaked at this point. We walked over a series of hills like this, with seemingly no end. Every time I'd think the next hill was the peak, there would be another one farther away and higher up, invisible until I reached the ridge. The wind continued to howl and we dared not stop and rest because we'd freeze if we quit moving.
When we finally reached the ridge, we descended down toward the crater lake. The wind ceased immediately as we descended into the crater, and there was a light mist. Clear days grant a spectacular vantage of the lake with the new volcanic cone, but it was barely visible on this day. Still I didn't mind as the rain made it more challenging and the mist gave the crater a mysterious air. The pictures don't do justice to what was truly breathtaking in person. The path down went down gradually for the most part, as we zig-zagged our way down this very steep cliff. The path was easy enough to navigate, but I took caution to watch my step.

There were times when we had to use ropes or roots to climb straight down. This was particularly treacherous as the rocks were wet and I had a cumbersome pancho. I took extra care to make sure I didn't snag anything on the rocks. Often throughout the course of this day I marveled at the way the porters make this trek every week carrying 50+ pounds of supplies. As if that isn't amazing enough, they do it wearing flip-flops. Both porters and the guide wore beach sandals this entire trip. I don't know how they do it. It struck me as funny the way Koreans get decked out in serious mountaineering gear to walk up glorified hills with clear and easy paths (think stairs) while the Indonesians casually lope up and down this mountain in t-shirts, shorts, and sandals.
Pictured on the left is the crater lake shrouded in mist and clouds. The air was much warmer in the crater and the mist made the air very favorable. It was a welcome change from the harsh freezing wind and charging rain on the other side of the rim. We had been walking for about three hours at this point and were ready for a rest. We descended another half an hour to the base of the lake and walked half way around the lake to the shelter area, where we would have a well-deserved lunch. I have to say that it was difficult to get many pictures since it was raining and I often stored the camera in the backpack to keep it dry. This would happen a lot in the next day and a half.
Here we have a picture of the new volcanic cone coming out of the lake. This cone last erupted in 2004. Unfortunately, or probably fortunately, it didn't erupt while I was there. The morning had been quite difficult and the break was needed. The second half of the day would be even more difficult, as we went to the peak. Before I describe the rest of the day, I should mention that this day was Christmas. I had completely forgotten about that until my guide said something. The second leg will be coming your way soon. Before that, I will digress in the next entry and discuss a topic that hasn't gotten its proper coverage and was of great significance. Stay tuned.