1 am, the alarm goes off, it’s time to go. Hayley and I each have a quick shower, put on some clothes, grab our backpacks and head out the door.
At 1:30 am we meet our driver who proceeds to take us to Mount Batur at the north end of Bali. After a dozy two hour drive we arrive and meet our guide, Giday (I have no idea how you spell his name, so I’m making my best guess).
At 3:30 am we start walking through the pitch dark. We have no real reference points to see where we are. We can’t yet see the mountain we’re going to be climbing and sometimes can’t even see a clear path ahead.
It takes us about two hours to reach the first lookout point. We’re hot and sweaty from the walk but quickly start to freeze once we stop moving. After a quick banana, we decide to keep going. We want to make it to the top before sunrise.
Another 30 minutes go by. The terrain is tricky. There’s a lot of loose rock and gravel and we continue up the mountain at a snail's pace. As we look down the mountain we can see a long line of torch light from the other hikers slowly making their way upwards.
At about 6:00 am we arrive at the very top, just in time for the sunrise. It’s breathtaking. The sun rises slowly behind the other mountains in the distance. The sky changes from dark red to yellow and blue. Finally, we get to see what we’ve climbed. We look down the mountain and only then realise the extent of what we’ve achieved. The mountain is far bigger and the slopes a lot steeper than it actually felt. It’s an awesome feeling.
Sometimes it pays to ignore the big picture. Instead, focus on the little steps. At the end of the day, it’s these small increments of progress that actually get you up the mountain.