Fool's Journey

The flashlight dimmed before it went out. I fumbled in the dark to change the batteries and called for help. Another climber stopped and directed his light at me. Out of breath, I sat under the stars. A shooting star passed and I made a wish. My equipment is a joke and I was freezing. How could you be cold and sweating at the same time? Why had I agreed to come when I could've been home sleeping?

It all started with a tweet. I saw some friends planning a trip to Lombok on Twitter. I jumped in and invited myself. When I thought of Lombok, I thought of diving in the Gilis. By the time the preparations were well under way, it became apparent that we were not going there and it was too late for me to back off.

On the evening we landed in Lombok, our guide took us to a local restaurant. We had stir-fried water spinach and chicken in hot sauce between the seven of us. Coming from Indonesia, I'm used to hot sauce and expected it to be more or less the same around the archipelago. However, I got a shock when I tried the hot sauce that came with the chicken. The sensation was more of pain than taste or heat.

The next morning, we begin our climb. We came upon an open field with Mount Rinjani in the background. The hills were so green that I almost broke into a song. As we walked on, the green gradually turned to a more yellowish hue. At some point we stopped to rest and we realized we were already above the clouds. It was starting to get dark and colder. We could already see some brightly colored tents dotting the green hills at a distance.

At 2 a.m. the next day, our guide woke us up and we had some biscuits for energy. Having a flashlight was a proof of what an inexperienced climber I was. More experienced climbers had head lamps so they had their hands free. Other groups of climbers had set off before us and left a trail of lights leading to the summit. I couldn't keep up with my group and was soon left behind. My feet were wobbly and they refused to cooperate.

As dawn was breaking, I pushed myself further. The plan was to be at the summit at sunrise but obviously that was not going to happen. I tricked myself to just make the next step and not to think how further it was to the summit. When I finally arrived at the summit, I felt so drained. I saw couples embracing and kissing. People taking pictures with a look of joy, pride and victory in their faces but I didn't feel a thing, only sheer exhaustion. I still couldn't believe it. How did I end up here?