Climbing Mount Merapi
Mount Merapi is the most active volcano in Indonesia. It's name, Gunung Merapi, literally translates to fire mountain. With it's 2930m elevation and 45 - 60 degree slope, it can be seen clearly from Malioboro; pumping out its's plumes of sulfurous clouds.
Leaving Malioboro at 09:30pm, the "2 hour" drive (turned into a 3 hour drive) through winding rural roads that rise, fall and zigzag through lush countryside was enough to leave me queasy. It felt like I was on a roller-coaster ride.
Besides this, the ever-present landslides on the road, due to rain, leading up to Selo Villiage (the base from where we would climb) eventually cut off our route.
Luckily my driver traveled the road a lot and knew another way around. WAAAAY AROUND! The most hair-raising of the alternate route was crossing over a steel bridge, so narrow we had to fold in the vehicles mirrors. As you cross the bridge you can hear the steel sheeting of the bridge shift and flick up as the car passed over them, also not any car, a 4X4... Not the smallest of vehicles. The bridge was built to allow locals to cross the river safely by foot and motorcycle.
With arsehole pulsating faster than a bunny's nose infront of headlights, we eventually made it across, only to slip and slide down a muddy cement road to the bottom of the valley and then cross the river once again on a hairpin bend with a few logs laid across it.
Making it across again, this time with the aid of Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed, Saint Christopher and any other deity I could call to memory, we started the steep climb up the winding gravel hill to the entrance of Selo Village; eventually reaching cement road, then dirt again, and lastly tar! Tar! I was in civilization!
Winding through a one-car-width wide road we eventually make it to the bed and breakfast that doubles as a Merapi Search and Rescue company as well as a guide service for climbing the Volcano. It's a quaint place with friendly proprietors. Gaudily painted walls, Indonesian and Chinese statues grace the railings and balustrades of the courtyard, painted Fire Engine Red and yellow. Memento's of lava rock, interesting wood formations and behemoth shells, from the owners former job as a guide in Sulawesi, perch on shelves in the visitor's lounge with pride. The owner had lived in Selo his whole life, beside the few years in Sulawesi. He has climbed Merapi innumerable times as a child and young man. He must be in his fifties now. Shoulder length silver gray hair shines in the moon light. We smoke a few cigarettes and he shares a little more of his life-story whilst I sip on tea that tastes a little like warmed up Tehbotol - good, just the same. It always strikes me how similar Indonesians are to South Africans, friendly and welcoming, always willing to share their stories. Probably why I don't feel as homesick as other expats that live here.
My guide, Ramli is a local farmer, 38 years old but doesn't look a day over 30. He's taller than the average Indonesian and sinewy. He approaches coyishly and asks if I'm ready to leave. I finish my cigarette and tea, excitement takes over. I don my camera backpack and slip the wrist strap of my specially-bought walking stick around my hand, totally oblivious of the torture Ramli and the Merapi had in-store for me. I was lucky enough to be the only one trekking with my guide.
We set off on the road directly across from the bed and breakfast. It's 01:00am and for the first time in Indonesia I feel a cool breeze blowing.
From the onset Merapi doesn't look daunting. In actual fact, it seems like quite an easy hike to the top. I was sorely mistaken.
My misconceptions were soon made known to me. I was out of breath just climbing the cement road that lead to a Warung (an informal eatery-come-supply store) near the base. I could feel my lungs burn, the smell of cow dung - that typical farm smell - hung in the air, you could almost taste it. It took me back to my childhood days on the family farm where my great aunt lived. But the flashback didn't last long and the sense of not getting enough oxygen brought me back to reality.
After a 10 minute rest at the warung, we started the climb. OH MY FUCK! I wanted to die! Really - "Take me now, I can't feel my legs, I can't breath and my back is killing me!" My hiking stick was of no use to me and needed my hands to climb the muddy terrain.
Me, thinking I'm a professional photographer, decided to load my Canon 5D mkiii SLR camera with me on this little "Adventure".
My backpack with only a camera, 1 liter of water and two chocolate bars weighed 8kg's... And here I was hauling arse up Merapi!
There are four check-points to reach before you climb to the crown of Merapi. I struggled to reach the Warung - never mind first base.
We were joined by another guide and three Russians. It was a silent contest but I knew my guide wanted to reach the top before the others. It had rained earlier that afternoon, so we would be lucky enough to have clear skies till the morning. Suffice to say the ground below us was like slime, dodging branches and soaked undergrowth was impossible, and whilst I love adventures into the wild I seldom like the idea of getting dirty with no potential of getting clean. But by halfway I was so fucking exhausted I sat with my arse in the mud and couldn't have cared less. But one does forget about these things as you look up at the the night sky and the view of Solo City's lights in the far-off distance.
This was the first time I had seen the milky way in the almost four months of living in Indonesia. And it was stunning. The moon shone so bright one needed to squint when looking up at the stars. Shooting stars were in abundance, but the rest was short lived, Ramli ask-tells me that it's time to continue. After reaching second base the climb becomes quite steep and I found myself more on all-fours than upright. You start leaving the forest below Merapi, and it gradually becomes more rocky, by third base you're surrounded by mostly rock and trees poking out from boulders.
Besides the steep incline, my back pack was killing me. I had never had such intense back-pain as I did that morning lugging that fucking camera bag up the mountain. Besides the pack-pain, my legs were under such strain from firstly trying to balance with the backpack pulling me over backward, and also having to haul my body up on rocks and muddy footholds that would at times see my knee reach up to my stomach. When stopping to rest (for me this was every five minutes) my legs would tremble from exhaustion. Adding insult to injury, Ramli would bounce from rock to rock like a god damn mountain goat in gumboots and hurry me on from above, whilst I was left huffing and puffing perched on a rock or holding onto a tree. I did understand his haste, we needed to get to the top before sunrise.
After reaching the third base the sky becomes a little lighter and the stars slowly start to fade from the sky. I could sense Ramli wanted to get to the top faster.
I was aiming for fourth base, "The Plateau", I had given up on the summit. After third base, and shortly before the plateau we had lost the the Russians. It had been a relay situation till third base. They would pass us, we would pass them. I honestly thought they would make it to the top before we did, especially at the pace I was moving. Ramli after second base had offered to carry my backpack, but I refused. It was my fault for bringing it in the first place and my load to bear.
One notices after third base, and what feels like kilometers of climbing (which it was) that the rocks grow exponentially in size - (PS - Don't give up, this is when you're close to the plateau). The narrow foot path through, over and around boulders starts flattening out, strange fluid formations start appearing in the rock under your feet and before you know it, you're on the plateau!
It's still dark, with the morning star accompanied by a few others still visible. But there is light on the horizon, and you find yourself prepping for the well deserved photo shoot you've hauled a camera up the mountain for. I was disappointed... "Merapi Sunrise" as it's marketed, is STUNNING! But by no means justifies breaking your back to bring an SLR camera up the mountain for - Unless you're ultra-fit, leave the fucking thing at the base of the mountain! All you need is a good camera-phone. Most of my pictures were taken on my phone.
As hues of cerise pink and cyan start to spread over the sky one does however forget about the arduous trek up Merapi. I felt exhausted, but the view was justification enough. The ground here is flaky and moves easily from under your shoes, making you lose footing easily. As the horizon lightens the ground below your feet is no longer pitch black, but rather a strange mixture of gravel. Shades of red, brown and grey mix together with specks of yellow sulfur here and there.
Before the sun has even peeped over the horizon, it's light enough to explore the immediate surroundings.
As Ramli informed me, there was at one point many memorials scattered all over the plateau from people who had been killed, on Merapi, or by it's eruptions which occur about every 4 - 5 years, but after the devastation of the 2010 eruption, they were consequently all destroyed.
Today there are only two memorials, one large one, and a smaller one at the base of the larger.
More than this, dotted across Merapi's landscape one will notice many scientific stations measuring seismic activity from the volcano.
In the photo below, looking up towards the crown (not visible) the climb to it doesn't look so daunting. DON'T BE FOOLED. You have to walk around this hill before you reach the base of the crown and then begin the final ascent. One can see the sulfur plumes however, but the crown is much higher
After reaching the plateau I had had enough of Merapi, enough to not climb yet another hour to the crown. But, the sunrise shoot, the hour-or-so spent on the plateau exploring and watching the ever lightening vista open an expanse of land you never imagined seeing, is restorative. And so, much to Ramli's surprise (and my own) I decided that I had come too far to say that I never made it to the summit! I finished the few milliliters of water I had left in my bottle, stashed my SRL in a bushy outcrop at the bottom of the hill behind the memorial, and started the climb to summit.
(The valley behind the memorial)
(Mount Merbabu a dormant Strata-volcano across from Merapi)
Mount Merbabu, a long dormant starta-volcano on the left.
(Ramli's suggestion, and probably my favorite photo.)
The climb to the crown was, once again, challenging, it was an almost vertical ascent, not withstanding the terrible shale that gave way under foot. You take three steps forward and two steps back, this, before reaching rock. On the shale slope the seismometers around us started beeping and stones started rolling down the face of the volcano from above us. After a brief bout of dodging rock and a hair-raising walk around a crag in the mountain face (one wrong step and you plummet) we started the rocky climb. Ramli had asked me at this point that as soon as we reached the top I needed to take photo's as fast as possible and then head straight back down for safety purposes. He said after 2010, he had been on Merapi on two occasions, of the subsequent seven, post 2010 eruption threats, where Merapi had spat out sand and stone, and that the beeping seismometers were a sign of trouble.
Post-60-degree-rock-climb, I found myself on the summit (it didn't feel like the hour's climb he said it would be) more like a half hour, but I was in power-mode and unencumbered by my weighty backpack. The view was breathtaking, and worth it! I was dusty, dirty and tired. Armed with my cellphone camera I started snapping panorama's and taking selfies with Ramli. He's quite a good photographer and also offered to snap a few pic's of me before we descended.
After a gratifying 30 minutes at the summit, Ramli asked if we could please leave. He was in constant contact via CB radio to base camp regarding Merapi's activity. From the crown to the plateau, the decent is quite fun. After the rock, we ran down the face of the vent, but be warned, there are a few large rocks that get in your way, and you need to learn how to break fast (by turning your feet sideways and skidding to a halt). You may find your legs not moving fast enough which could throw you into a nasty tumble. When I felt I was moving too fast I just leaned back or sat on the shale slope, coming to a skidding halt, much to Ramli's amusement. Reaching the plateau again, we found ourselves in another world. Cloud had blown over from the lava-flow, south side of Merapi up over the plateau transforming it into a veritable moonscape.
The descent of Merapi was much faster the the climb. It took us four grueling hours to climb and only two to rush down.
On our descent and rest at second base (still far from base) we were treated to a Macaque Monkey, a lone male that had been kicked out of the troop. He was quite shy, and stayed between the branches of the trees but did come out to grab a piece of chocolate. With a little coaxing of fruit one would be able to get a great shot of him (I missed my chance). There was another lone male on the plateau, but disappeared as we approached.
I was grateful to eventually reach the Warung at 08:30am, and to see my driver waiting for me there, instead of at the BnB, that final cement hill to the BnB would have killed me. The continuous hammering on my knees on the decent was killer, and this was where my hiking stick came in handy for support.
In closing, an altogether painful, gratifying and spiritually fulfilling experience.After climbing Merapi one feels all-conquering and efeated at the same time.
Would I do it again you ask? DEFINITELY!!!!
If I could offer a few pearls of wisdom for the would-be climber - This would be it...
* Take at least 2 liters of water in a backpack and some kind of energy bars.
* Take a light weight backpack with a thin sponge or piece of corrugated cardboard wide enough to keep your ass dry when sitting on the ground whilst resting.
* DON'T TAKE A FUCKING SLR CAMERA WITH YOU!!! (Unless you're really fit and willing to put up with a week's backache)
* A good cellphone camera (I used my Samsung Galaxy S6 set to "PRO Mode" and HDR) and a cellphone battery-pack, just in case you run out of power, will do you just fine.
* A walking/hiking stick isn't needed for the climb, but I would recommend one for the descent. It'll help you with leverage and put ease on your knees from the constant pounding they'll get on the way down. Also the shale ground gives way below your shoes especially from the plateau to third base. I saw my arse a few times.
* Wear shoes with good grip. I wore Caterpillar's - They were SHIT!!!! Ramli went up in gumboots (I wouldn't suggest this for novices).
The locals climb Merapi in flip-flops, but they're locals, YOU'RE NOT! Any shoe with a good tread under sole would do well.
Also try wear a shoe that comes above the ankle, as I can only imagine the discomfort the shale earth from Merapi can cause if it gets into your shoes.
* Get a good afternoon's rest. At least 6 hours before climbing. And eat a good meal before you sleep.
As luck (and stupidity) would have it I sat in the bar till 7 pm drinking with a South African Expan from England and her friend. I had an hour's sleep and then left for the climb.
The downside for me is that my intestines have terrible timing and I had to clench my turd till I got back to my hotel in Malioboro (Because I have a fear of using other peoples facilities). In short - Just shit before your climb...
* Ladies and gents... When nature calls, it HOLLERS! Take toilet paper and wet wipes with you. (Just in case).
* Wear a t-shirt or those therma-cool type shirts. It gets cold at the top, but then it gets hellish hot once the sun comes out. I could feel my skin tingle in the sunlight so a small amount of suns screen is advisable (Don't put it on your face, you'll sweat and your eyes will burn). I took a zipper padded jacket, at times climbing I got hot and sweaty, I smelt like an animal by the time I reached the bottom, but keep warm going up, it was 3 degrees at the plateau.
* Take a rain coat, just in case.
* A headlamp is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, and will leave your hands free to climb.
* Tip your guide, and tip him well! These guys are mostly local subsistence farmers. A Rp300,000 to Rp500,000 tip will be much appreciated. They don't earn a lot for getting you up there in the first place.
* The best time to climb Merapi is out of season. August, September, October. My guide told me that each guide can take as many as 15 people to the top, not ideal for me as I like doing things alone.
For this trip I used fabulous "DiscoverYourIndonesia.com" Contact Firsta, (info@discoveryourindonesia.com) and she'll get your driver, guide and all sorted for you. All you need to do is climb and look pretty doing it!
If you're brave enough you can organise it yourself.
Below are the contact details of the BnB. Sony is the the silver grey haired man. He will arrange your climb. Breakfast is included once you reach the bottom. If you want to stay the night (I didn't as I had paid for my hotel in Malioboro.) you can arrange this as well.
Ratri Homestay, ☎ +62 857 02324099,+62 813 29122122 (sonyria@yahoo.com). Close to the starting point with clean rooms, including breakfast. There's a small, on-site restaurant. Sony Is the owner and is also the leader of guide at Selo. Can organise volcano and camping trips.
Happy Climbing!
(P.S - If you were wondering what happened to the Russians... They never made it to the plateau...)
Below is a link to pictures of the devistation left in the wake of the 2010 eruption. Be warned, some are quite graphic.
http://archive.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/11/mount_merapis_eruptions.html
