Crossing the Land of Mordor

Bromo crater is to the left of the front cone

We left PPLH in the afternoon, heading east through Java, then turning south towards the high mountains.  Our minivans passed through dozens of villages, climbing higher and higher in elevation.  The air became thinner, colder, and the vegetation changed from tropical to alpine.

We arrived at Yoshi’s Guest House, a quirky mix of Alpine and Balinese architecture (yes, I know we are still in Java).  We settled into our even stranger rooms, multiple stairs and lofts for the boys in the group.  Candles in the dining room kept things cozy during a brief power failure, and we tucked into a wonderful group dinner once the lights came on.

We were up at a very early 3:30 AM, had a quick coffee, and bundled up to protect ourselves in the cold mountain air.  4 wheel drive Jeeps were waiting to take us even higher into the mountains on some very rugged and narrow roads.  We arrived at the lookout hike parking lot, and put on facemasks to protect our mouths and lungs from the swirling volcanic ash (thanks Nova, our guide).

Ponies were an option, but we all chose to climb, huffing and puffing in the thin air.  I had on my wonderful new “headlight”, and the whole thing was quite surreal climbing in the dark, ash kicking up from all the people and horses; it felt like we were in another world.

Mt. Bromo lookout

Sunrise over Mt. Bromo crater

The sun rose over the crater basin, and the whole Lord of the Rings Land of Mordor came into view.  The entire morning felt like the scenes of Frodo and Sam heading towards Mt. Doom, including crossing the plain, and climbing the caldera.

Thousands of pictures were snapped as the light increased, and we continued to gasp from the cold high mountain air, and the volcanic ash.  Entrepreneurial vendors served hot coffee, and we got what turned out to be the best group picture on my camera (future post).

People and horses clambered down the lockout trail, now visible in the morning light.  We found our Jeeps, and snaked down the switchback roads toward the Bromo crater plain.

 Crossing the Bromo plain

We zipped across the ash swept plain, passing people and horses, heading towards the Mt. Bromo caldera.   I should clarify that Bromo is the lower crater in the picture, not the high cone.  It was still quite the challenging climb, especially considering the conditions.

After the Jeeps parked, we crossed the plain on foot, then headed up the trail and stairs to our destination.  As I was climbing, I looked to my left, and could swear it was the exact same slope the Hobbits climbed on Mt. Doom.

Gusts of wind kicked up fine volcanic ash as we climbed, and we had to stop and close our eyes, choking and coughing in the hellish conditions.  And yes, it was great fun (in that adventurous way!).

 

Swirling Ash on the Bromo caldera climb

We arrived at the top, and the smell of sulfur and steam greeted us.  We peered down into the deep crater, steaming with an occasional rumble.  We heard that some time ago a couple of French tourists went past the boundary markers at the top, and tumbled into the steaming crater… how horrible.

We descended through the gusting ash clouds, completely covered.  We now had fine dark grey volcanic ash in our hair, ears, eyes, nose, mouths, lungs, shoes, socks and all over our clothes.

The Jeeps zipped us back to our hotel, where we had what felt like the best showers of our lives.  All the clothes had to be wrapped in plastic for cleaning once we got back to civilization.

A hard climb… yes… but also a true sense of accomplishment!