Training Log Archive: Dolf

This is the last full day of our holiday in Bali. Just another cruisy day drinking & eating by the pool.
The one thing that I really wanted to do while in Bali was to trek to the top of Mt Agung, the highest mountain in Bali at 3142m and an active volcano. The plan was to hire a guide, start just before midnight & climb through the night to get to the summit to watch the sunrise. I met the concierge to arrange the details but to my disappointment he told me that no one was able to climb the mountain until May 5th due to ceremonies at the main temple. Usually these may only last a few days but unfortunately our holiday coincided with a 10 yearly major ceremony... Bummer.
I asked what other mountains were able to be climbed and my best chance was Mt Batur, about 17-1800m depending which map you get (about 700m climb from the lake). I was told I would need a guide and because I was going alone the cost would be $220 USD. I asked if I could just get a driver to take me there & climb it alone but they said nobody does that and it wouldn't be safe.
So I went away, downloaded a GPS app for my phone & preloaded a map of the area that had the trails marked and went back to the concierge asking again to get just a driver. I showed them the map & GPS & explained that my watch had a track back function so I would be able to find my way back to the starting point with no problems. They arranged for a driver ($50) to pick me up at 4:30am the next day (2-3hours drive to get there from the hotel).
I had packed plenty of water, a few gels, some wet weather gear and my gopro & met my driver nice & early. The drive out there was quicker at that time but it was too dark to take in any scenery. It's a gradual climb until you get to the Batur caldera then a steep descent to a lake where you can start climbing the mountain. As soon as we started descending we came to a stop at a major traffic Jam. A truck had broken down coming up the hill and no cars were getting in or out for a long time. The driver apologized for the delay but thought he might have a solution. His brother lived not too far away and could bring his moped & we could go the rest of the way on that. I had already said a few times there was no bloody way I'd get on a moped in Bali after seeing plenty of close calls however I could see the Mountain from here & really wanted to climb it so I agreed.
The moped ride down this hill would have to surpass any of the other activities you could do in Bali for sheer terror. If you combined the zig zag rd from the Perth hills with the steepness of Gooseberry Hill rd, made it longer and filled it to the brim with cars & trucks, then tried to ride down with dozens of other bikes weaving in & out of the cars in both directions on a road that is in dire need of repair then you'd have an idea what it was like. I had two very close calls, one when I looked over my drivers shoulder only to see my face in a truck mirror before just pulling back in time & another when we slowed right down to almost stopping & I automatically went to put my feet down but there was nothing under my right foot but about 50m of air. By the time we got to the lake my arms were so tired from holding on that it felt like I'd done a thousand push ups.
I got dropped off at a corner that I could easily find my way back to & the driver said he would bring the car back as soon as he could & wait for me. He gave me strict instructions to just say no to anyone who spoke to me as they would all be trying to get money from me. I started running up the road and a farmer tending his field on the side of the road said good morning. "No" I replied & kept running.
After running past some fields growing various crops I turned onto a muddy path that looked like the right path. Soon I was standing in a small quarry with some locals walking up to me & telling me to go away. I asked if they could tell me if I was on the right trail but they just told me to turn around & go away. One of them then told me he could help & asked if I was climbing the mountain, I said yes & he asked where my guide was. When I said I didn't have one he told me I wasn't allowed to climb without a guide but he would take me to the top for $700,000 (roughly $70), I just said no, turned around & started running back until I was far enough away to consult my map again & quickly found the right trail again. Soon I was running up through a rainforest on a pretty clear trail & I only had a couple of turns to get right before it was pretty much straight up. After running through the forest for a while I came to an old temple that had been damaged from a previous eruption & was no longer used. It was overgrown with vines & could easily have been used as a set for an Indiana Jones movie. I had a quick look around then continued up the trail. After a while the forrest stopped & I was climbing up an eroded lava field with plenty of slippery sections and lots of small ledges to climb up. I ran into some other climbers who where coming down who after seeing me running told me to be careful as it was very slippery. Their guide asked me where my guide was & I just smiled, pointed back to the forrest & kept climbing.
I had a short break not long after to admire the view & take a few pictures. Back to climbing & my GPS was starting to auto pause and start again over and over whenever I'd get to a very steep section. After the lava field there were more trees and the trail started to go around the mountain a bit, I missed a turn off and noticed the trail was starting to head downhill so I checked the map and found my way back to the turn off.
At the top the trail split & went in opposite directions around the crater rim. On either side I could see a small hut but couldn't tell which was higher so I went to the left one first where there were some locals selling hot tea & took a few more photos/videos then went to the other hut. The trail around the crater was at times less than a meter from the edge, I could see steam coming out of a few cracks & smell the sulphur but there was plenty of vegetation in the crater as it hasn't erupted for quite a while. The view from the top was amazing & off in the distance I could see Mt Agung which I will hopefully be able to climb next time.
I was able to run a bit around the ridge on the top but most of the trip back down through the lava field was a bit too slippery & after a couple of falls I was a bit more careful, especially where the trail goes pretty close to a deep crevasse. Once back in the forest I was able to run again although I had to be very careful of all the tree roots. Not far from the bottom I passed the climbers again that I had seen on the way up, they must have started before dawn to see the sunrise from the summit. With a guide the climb will take about 5-6hours total with plenty of breaks. I was up & down in just over 1.5.
The run back to the car was uneventful other than being chased by a stray dog for a while.
Once back at the car I grabbed a nice cool drink (it was cool on top but I was sweating heaps on the lower parts of the mountain).
On the return drive we found ourselves in another traffic jam on the same road from a different truck breaking down.
By the time we got back to the hotel I had used up my full 8 hours with the driver to get to & from a run/hike that was less than 8km total but it was well & truly worth it.
Good times.

Other than the climb I've managed to get in about 3 short runs up & down the path in front of the resorts & a little exploring of some side streets, plus 1 gym session. Unfortunately I have also put on about 3-4kgs with all the eating & drinking & eating.
Time to stop writing as the waiter is coming around again, I want another drink from a coconut & I've got a hankering for some more Nasi Goreng ayum.
Did I say good times?