Four weeks I have been house hunting in Bali, without any success, I needed a little break. I might even “wait” (or passively looking for houses) until the tourist season is over. Hoping the prices of properties will drop and that there will be more options on the market to choose from.

On this break Ayu and I decide to go to Java to climb two, active, volcanoes. From my trip to Yogyakarta last year, I know a local guy that I contacted to organize this trip. This time I opted for ease in preparation. So, I did very little regarding the preparation and research on both mountains. My only requirement was doing a two-day hike in the mountains with one night camping in a tent. I did not ask for any specific mountain or area, nor did I make any other request. I put all my trust in the experience of this person (who works as a driver and organizes trips for a living), this was a mistake. I also trust that he charges a fair price, this was another mistake. Or at least in my eyes it was not a fair price, but more about this later.

We are in Yogyakarta and our alarm goes off at 3.30 in the morning. The hotel had prepared a take-away breakfast and our driver picks us up at 4.00 a.m. sharp. It’s a three-hour car ride to Garung basecamp office, where we will register ourselves and start the hike. Given the fact it is still very early and we have a long drive ahead; we close our eyes again as soon as we sit in the car. After a long and bumpy ride, we finally arrive at a small warung (a small and simple street café), close to basecamp. They serve me a strong and refreshing Javanese cup of coffee while we waited for our guide to arrive. The guide is late and we stretched our legs by going for a short walk through the farm fields behind the warung. It is a beautiful place with mt. Sumbing as the backdrop. The farmers are working on the fields, where they are growing potatoes.

From the basecamp of Sumbing we have two options to reach the first post. Either by motorbike-taxi, or hike up ourselves. The choice is easy, we are here to hike, not to sit on the back of a bike. I was actually surprised that this is even an option, who would want to take a “taxi” ride in the mountains when you are here to hike. As it turns out, most locals will opt for the bike ride to go to the first post. We are actually one of the few who did not take the bike up. They must think the same about us; “who is stupid enough to walk up when you can take the bike”. During the first part of the hike, we are constantly being overtaken by bikes. They are fast, loud and stinky as they go up with a fully opened throttle to maintain their steady speed. What goes up, must come down, and so do these bikes. When going down, they kill the engine, and they might not make much noise anymore, but they also don’t seem to be using their brakes. They go back down like mad-man with high speeds disregarding any safety measurements. As this is common practice here, the farmers on this road know what is going on and the bikers know the road as well. With everybody being aware and knowing the road, apparently not many accidents happen here.

For those who take the bike are really missing out on beautiful scenery on the many tobacco plantations as far as the eye can see. It took us about an hour to reach the first post, and as a said, the views and the landscapes are breath-taking. I am really happy we chose to go by foot. We had a short break at the first post and we were pleasantly surprised that our guide, named Opik, brought hot water, coffee and hot chocolate. It is a real treat and after some snacks we continued the hike. It is a long and strenuous hike but the views in the end made it all worth it. The first part of the track goes through the woods with all kinds of various plants and trees that I have never seen before. Like red-colored trees, caused by a certain bacteria and other exotic vegetation. The air is nice and fresh and the shades protect us from the hot and strong sun. The birds are chirping as we ascended on the gentle slopes of the mountain. After several hours we take another break at the third post. We were told by the organizer that lunch would be provided, this was hardly the case though. Our guide only brought cookies, crackers and pre-packed sweet bread (not really nice). This is a disappointment since we still have a long way to go with a lot of intense activity. We didn’t have much for breakfast, and neither did we bring a proper meal. Eating a decent and plentiful meal on such a day is an absolute must, otherwise we will struggle to make it to the top.

After our second break, the path becomes steeper and rockier. The steps are bigger and harder. The fog is setting in, and this means we are going through the clouds. Our hard work and long hike would soon pay off with amazing views. As we walked higher and higher, the sun comes back and when we reached an altitude of about 2000 meters, we find ourselves literally above the clouds. The hike is getting progressively steeper and trickier but the views are also getting better and better. We are able to see the Sindoro volcano sticking out above the clouds. This is the mountain we plan to hike up tomorrow.

The hike is taking longer than expected and Ayu is reaching her limit of capabilities since we had very little food today. It is way passed noon and that meant that we were running out of time if we want to be back at basecamp before it is completely dark. Unfortunately, Ayu is not able to make it to the top and there is absolutely no shame in this. She did her utmost best and isn’t as experienced as I am. I am proud of her for trying and that is all that matters. So far we did the hike together and that is what makes me happy. Me on the other hand still have the stamina and I want to go to the top. I will make it to the top!

Ayu settled comfortably in the shades of a tree for a long rest. I still had enough stamina to go further. I want to go to the top. Opik and I leave our bags behind and only carried 1 bottle of water each to the top. Opik was not joking when he said we still have one more hour to go. But without the bags and as two fast experienced hikers we switched to higher gears and we reached the top in no time. I put on some music for an extra burst of energy and motivation, but this proves not to be necessary. Two minutes later we finally reached the top at 3300 meters. In the end it takes us about seven hours to reach the summit of Sumbing. Even I was struggling towards the end in reaching the top. I was relieved when we finally made it, but then Opik tells me that we are not at the real summit. We are at the spot where most people will stop to make photos and go back. To reach the actual summit, we need to walk another two hours (one hour forward and one hour back). If we had more time, I would do it without a doubt. Climbing a mountain doesn’t quite feel complete when I cannot stand on the absolute top. Nonetheless we have amazing views above the clouds. In the distance, we can see Mt. Merapi. Mt. Merapi is the volcano I wanted to climb initially, but this is not possible due to the high activity of the volcano. From our point of view, we can even see it smoking.

A short break at the “top” is well deserved. But since it is already 15.30 there isn’t much time left and we still have a long way to go back down the mountain. Going down is a lot quicker than going up… obviously. But this was not as easy as it seemed. Ayu is tormented by a migraine and has to go down really slow. She feels weak due to the lack of food and we are running out of water as well. The end of the hike is not yet in sight but the sun is already setting at six pm. Luckily the guide is prepared with headlights, but unfortunately not with proper food. Our guide failed on certain points, but at least he was very reactive and helpful when we told him we are very hungry and really need some food as soon as possible. When we reached a point with cellphone reception, he called his friends to order some food. His friends went the extra mile to ride to post 1 by bike and even hiked up the trail themselves until they meet us. At this moment it was already pitch-black dark. Such helpfulness and care of people can only be seen in Indonesia. These guys went out of their way to deliver and provide us food on the track. Ayu and I are extremely grateful and we felt much better and full of energy again to complete the last part of the trail. The white rice with a little bit of chicken and Tempe never tasted as good as it did now. They bring warm tea in small plastic bags; tea in a small plastic bag remains a funny thing… although I have seen this often in Indonesia (it is perfect for takeaway). The tea is loaded with sugar and normally I would not drink such sweet tea, but at this moment it is very welcome. I needed the sugar and the liquids.

During our meal we noticed fire flies flying around in the dark. We turned off our headlights to enjoy and admire these beautiful creatures in the dark. Ayu is feeling much better and her headache resided for the most part. We walk another fifteen minutes before we finally reach the first post. Motorbikes were waiting for us, to bring us back to basecamp. It is already late, dark and we are tired, we happily jumped on the back of the bike. This will save us one more hour of hiking. It is a very bumpy bike-ride over the cobble stones and I would normally enjoy such an adrenaline-fueled trip, racing down the hill. But the continuous bumps on the bike really messed up my head. It left me with a hammering headache, it makes me dizzy and I think even slightly disorientated. I could not think clearly and could hardly speak sense. It was eight pm and I was happy to have finally reached basecamp. We are making plans for the next day but I was only conscience of half what was going on. Despite a few setbacks we did have a great day and an amazing adventure with beautiful photos. Now we need a good rest, especially because we are going to do another long hike tomorrow.

The plan is to sleep in a tent at the following basecamp and start the next trip very early morning. But during our descent in the dark earlier, we decided it would be better to find a hotel or guesthouse for a better rest after such a long and tiring day. The idea of sleeping in a tent did not particularly sound interesting anymore; especially because it’s all hired stuff (I did not bring my own equipment) so you never know what to expect.

Finding a hotel proved to be the next challenge. They are celebrating the long weekend on Java and apparently everybody comes here, for who knows what? We called more than a dozen hotels, ranging from cheap guesthouses to luxury hotels but every single one of them was fully booked. We drove around for thirty minutes until our driver finally found a cheap hotel that still had one room left. It didn’t have AC, the sheets were stained (but clean I guess), the is air stale and very noisy outside. Overall, a pretty disgusting room, but at this point we were both too tired and too desperate for a room to even care. We are happy to have found a bed and a place with a shower. We went to bed as quick as we can, our alarm will go off again at 4.30.   

Last but not least, a short compilation of this day (make sure to turn on HD for the best quality):

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