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Published: June 26th 2008
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2 am, heading up the mountain
Wearing my headlamp to see the ground and I'm ready to conquer Agung! Seriously, how do I always get myself into these things??!! This endeavor was the most physically challenging thing I have ever done and I will never, ever do it again!! I would not recommend this to another traveler unless they are into mountain climbing. I thought I was going on a sunrise hike with my new wonderful friend, Robin. Robin and I are picked up at midnight, so basically had to be up at 11:30 pm and we were only able to get in a couple hours of sleep to start off. We drive an hour and a half and arrive. We were like, What?! We're here and we're supposed to hike now? Our driver explains that this is best so that we make it to the top in time for sunrise. What time is sunrise? 6:20 am the driver translates from the hiking guide. I had actually researched and put work into planning this and was under the impression we were hiking 2 1/2 - 3 hours up and then obviously less on the way down since it tends to go faster, but now it seems something is off. Ok, well, we strap on our headlamps and start off in
I've seen the light!
Finally sunrise! We can see where we are going! the pitch dark to quickly realize we are in trenches up to our wastes that we continually have to climb or jump up out of. We also soon realize that there is no trail and it's truly verticle! After only 40 minutes, my counterpart asks the non-English-speaking guide if the whole trail is like this and he says yes, when she suggests turning around. I figure hey, i'm here and I didn't get up in the middle of the night and already miss all these great sleeping hours for nothing, so let's stick with it.
Three more hours into it, we still seem to have a ways to go and we are exhausted. We stop to take a break and discuss our situation. Robin doesn't want to go on, gently reminding me that we still have to go down. She has a point, but we have come this far and I want to see the damn sunrise or at least some type of view since I put this much work into it already. We hike a little more and break again and I know she wants to stay put, but when we sit still I get super cold and
I'd rather hike/climb and stay warm than sit and be cold. The other option would be to hike down now in the dark and miss the view, so I want to push through. So we continue and it's tough.
The sun starts to come up just enough to shed a little light. Holy Crap!! This is so dangerous. Every step we could lose our grip and it is hard to hold on from rock to rock as we climb with our hands and feet to make our way. I know she hates this and I ask gently if she will still be my friend. The sweet blond bombshell laughs and tells me yes. She then decides though that she has had enough and can't go any further; she has kids and a husband waiting for her back in Singapore (she's American, but living in Singapore) and she will wait for me at this spot. She has already hiked (rock climbed) 4 hours straight up. Ok...I'm off with Katut our trusty guide to continue on. The top looks so near that I can't stop now.
However, another 10 minutes and then another 10 minutes and the top I keep
Sunrise at the top
I'm making it to the top and the sun is coming up! Amazing. seeing seems to keep continuing. I arrive and then see that there's more. I'm trying to ask the guide, Are we close? How far? He can't speak my language and just tells me yes...all the time! My legs are shaking so badly that I really don't want to go on at this point either and I try to tell him. He urges me that it's only 10 more minutes. Ugh! Now that I'm this close, I figure I have to make it to the top and see the other side. Well it's an hour from where I left Robin and it's rocky and verticle and scary, but I make it. He sets out an offering to the gods of this holy mountain and we say a prayer. I am actually just praying I make it down alive at this point!
Who would've known that going down is actually way worse!! Seriously! It takes me an hour to get back to Robin. I am thinking that I would pay any amount of money to have a helicoper pick me up right now and just take me down. It's 7 am and I've been hiking since 2 am, I barely slept
Top of volcano
We gave an offering to the gods of the mountain, as done by our guide. This is standard in this part of the world and this paritcular volcano is famous for being holy ground. and the hiking was so challenging that I am wiped out. Going down is all rock that is slippery and loose and again, verticle. I am so happy to see Robin waiting. I think that we can get through this together and hope the next few hours will go by quickly...surely we can make it down in a few hours. Wow...was I wrong! We have to take a lot of this by sliding on our butts and grabbing rocks with our hands below us and edge our way down the mountain. This is going to take forever!! We are both near tears! And then...the monkeys!! There is one that is chasing me and I can't get away. He must smell the snacks in my backpack. Robin tells me that they can get fierce. Great!! I am scared to go faster down the mountain lest I fall and break a leg or much worse and now I'm scared of going slow because the monkey is after me!! Oh My God! I am screaming at the Indonesian guide to protect me from the monkey. He is laughing and do his best, as it is obvious without knowing each other's language what is
happening here. He gets between me and the monkey for a while, but that doesn't last. I look up to see Robin's face at first surprised and and then laughing, not knowing what the change in her expression is, I turn around....only to see that now there are a ton of monkeys all behind me! AHHHH! This is the worst predicament ever! I just want to get down and off this damn volcano! I keep going and just tell myself it will be over soon.
The problem is that a few hours later it's still not over. Robin and I are dying now. My legs are shaking worse than ever and feeling so weak like I can't take another step and then not only are there steps, but I'm in the trenches taking 3-4 foot steps at a time, as I crawl on my butt to use my hands to help the weak muscles in my legs. Robin twists her ankle and can hardly walk. I keep trying to find her walking sticks. I go back and forth from trying to make jokes to being the cheerleader here, "We can make it. It's not far now", etc., but really
we are both so miserable. As she hobbles down the mountain, clearly in extreme pain, she asks the guide, How much further? Katut answeres, "10 minutes". This is the last straw for her, as she falls to her knees crying, with a shriek of frustration, "It's always 10 minutes!" The poor thing! She seems like she is living most dramatic scene in a movie...reminding me of "Gone with the Wind" when Scarlett falls to her knees after the war and screams, "As God as My Witness, I'll never go hungry again!" ....Robin screams, "It's always 10 minutes!!!"
So, an hour and a half later, we finally arrive at the bottom at 1 pm the next day! Yes, we started at 2 am and spent 11 hours on the volcano from hell...called the holy mountain. I make it down a little before her and I can do nothing but lay down flat. I am so thankful it's over. Looking back I can say I learned something....sometimes it's ok to be a quitter and not always make it to the top. Robin says she has seen heaven and hell all in one experience. It all comes out later that she did
the whole thing for me knowing I really wanted to. I also learned, friendship grows stronger quickly when you go through tough or memorable moments. Sticking by one another's side makes all the difference in the world! Thanks to my sweet, good friend who taught me about being a true companion!
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Lisa
non-member comment
My legs are shaking after reading this!
Ouch, that sounds like hell alright. Well done for doing it, I would have quit - actually I prob would not even have made it out of bed! Where to next? I'm back in Ireland and it is soooooooo depressing. Lx