The Pajoka Blog

Yesterday evening we had a chance to really challenge ourselves by climbing Mt. Merapi. It is a very active volcano just north of Jogjakarta which has erupted numerous times in the past decade. As with any volcano in Indonesia, reaching the peak for sunrise affords the best views of the surrounding countryside. So at 10pm my mom, Kiky, Ben and I set out for the 2 hour ride up to the village of Selo, closest to the summit.

A neckbreaking ride to the top brought us to a chilly town about 1300m above sea level. That left 1700m of elevation for us to climb using our legs. We rested and relaxed, Ben and I playing chess in the middle of the night. Both of us noted that our cognition was far from perfect, with a lack of sleep obscuring good strategy. Soon enough though, we were off walking.

I quickly was left in the dust, since I wanted to walk with Kiky. It was her first time doing a substantial climb, and so I wanted to make sure that she enjoyed it as much as possible. I was really worried because after only half an hour of climbing, she was complaining of exhaustion, dizziness, and overall malaise. However, we kept on going and soon enough Kiky got her second wind, plugged in her ipod, and did not seem to have any problems following that.

After a couple hours of walking through mist, we finally came out above the clouds. The stars were dazzling, and where the clouds parted below us you could see the ultra populated plains of Java. At this point, the path took a turn for the worst and started to ascend at ever increasing slope. Soon enough the vegetation disappeared, leaving a barren landscape of rock. We had reached the cinder cone of Mt. Merapi. Our guide told us that this was as far as we could go, since the volcano was spewing out a lot of smoke. He said that halfway up the cinder cone we would likely become nautious from the sulfur venting from the volcano. So we sat down and rested until the sun rose.

Indonesia is generally a really warm country. On top of a mountain like this you quickly forget that warmth ever existed. Each person had their own way of conserving heat, and patiently bode the time needed until the warth of the sun would allow our muscles to move once again.As it peeked over the horizon, we gained perspective of where we were. To our south rose a moonscape with a fuming chimney. In the east the rising sun, and the west the twin volcanoes we had passed through a couple days before. To the north was the most amazing site, the large peak of Mt. Merbabu rising out of a sea of clouds.

While heading back down the hill, we could continuously look up and be rewarded by the sight of Merbabu’s slopes with deep relief. Soon enough we passed into the clouds, offering a whole new environment to get used to. The silence of this area was wonderful, although soon enough we could hear the sound of motors resonating through the mountain pass that would be our final destination.

In the final hour of the hike, we were greeted by many of the locals, heading up to their steeply slopes plots of land, where they eked out a living growing vegetables on the small patches they had cultivated. Joining us on the way down where people carrying loads of grass as big as themselves, having harvested it that morning as we were on our way back down.

Upon completion of the hike, I was delighted to hear Kiky pronouncing her joy of completing such a challenge, and her ambition to hit up other mountains both in Indonesia and Canada. I will surely take her up on this offer. My mom and Ben also seemed to enjoy themselves thoroughly, and so all of us left Selo, our starting point, with smiles on our faces and a great sense of accomplishment in our minds.

Mt. Merapi

Climbing the volcano, Mt. Merapi in Jan 2010

20 Photos