 |
| Foggy headlamp shot as we made our way up Gunung Batur, overlooking Lake Batur |
April 2014
Back on the mainland in Bali, I was itching to do some hiking after being on the relatively flat islands (and not so flat surf) for three weeks. We left Ubud at 2am and donned headlights for a surprisingly chilly little sunrise climb up Batur Volcano. I was in a group of about ten "gringos" with a local guide who grew up in the nearby town. The hike was much easier than expected - even my new friend Judd, who had recently crashed off his bike and had surgery for a clavicle fracture, practically skipped up the trail. Judd is from -believe it or not- Utah! and actually got hit by a car up Emigration right before he left the states. Leave it to me to meet someone who lives in the US... in the same state... about 1.5 miles from me in Salt Lake City... on a Tuesday morning... on a trail up a random volcano... in Indonesia!
I rolled my ankle about 5 times because I was staring at the amazing 360 degree panorama instead of the trail. I guess I haven't done a lot of nighttime/sunrise hikes - but I vowed to change that after this breathtaking photographers dream (still kicking myself for not bringing my SLR on the trip!) On the way back down, I befriended a few monkeys and was blown away by the terrain that we had unknowingly hiked up hours before. Again, just completely mesmerized by Indonesia - what a spectacular place! Was this hike super on-the-beaten-path touristy? Sure, there were tons of hikers/guides up there with us. But still a unique, memorable experience and another reason that Indonesia is one of my favorite travel destinations in the world.
 |
| Judd, not the best jumper, though he was 2 weeks post-op ;) |
No comments:
Post a Comment