Climbing Mt. Batur in Bali

“Do something every day that scares you”. Have you heard that saying? I’ll be honest, it sounds good in theory, but when you get right down to it, it’s scary to think about doing something, well, scary. It’s easy to get into a safe rhythm and routine – predictable, quiet, productive. It’s easy to say “next year”, or “next time”, or “when I have more money.”

And right now, in the world we are living in, in the space between pandemic and, let’s face it, vague notes of panic, it’s actually really easy to put off that dream trip, because you almost have to.

But what if?
What if you committed, with hope and foresight into the future, to doing that ONE epic journey you always wanted to do, or to at least planning it with a mindset to actually take the trip?
Maybe not this year, because we may all still be reeling from what’s happening right now, but soon.
Sooner than maybe you would have.

Because doing something every day that scares you might not be your way, but doing something that you’ve always dreamed of doing, even IF it scares you a little, may be the way.

Now is the time.

I didn’t go to Bali last year, but my past trip to Bali falls into the “doing one thing that scares you” category. I committed to going with a fellow photographer named Jan Brezina who is based out of the Czech Republic and who plans photography adventure trips.

He asked me to go along as a special guest to teach the photographers about portrait photography. How could I say no?? For once in my long history of travel, I was headed somewhere I never thought I would go, and I didn’t have to do one bit of planning.

All I had to do was book a flight, show up on time, and go along for the ride.

Talk about a leap of faith.

I didn’t even “Google” Bali. I didn’t look at how long the flight would be (roughly 14 hours to the first layover spot in Taiwan and then another 6 hours from there to Bali). I didn’t even look at Bali on a map (and how shocked was I to find out how close it is to Australia – 4 hours by plane!) Literally I packed my gear and went.

The one thing I did know, because Jan asked me ahead, was that I was going to climb an active volcano…in the middle of the dark morning hours…to get to the top at sunrise….while carrying my 50 pounds of photography gear.

He needed to know ahead if I wanted to be part of the group so he could let the guide know.

I had to decide.

I had a moment of panic….climb an active volcano? In the dark? What if it erupts? What if I sprain my ankle? What if it erupts? (you see where my head was). 

But despite ALL my inner voices screaming at me to be cautious, I said yes.

And so, halfway through my 10 day trip, besieged with stomach cramps thanks to something I shouldn’t have eaten, wearing a headlamp and carrying a heavier-than-a-small-child camera bag, I set out with a group of people at 3am to forge uphill through the jungle for two hours to reach the 5,633 feet peak of Mt. Batur.

The climate at the top was cold and the guides and tourists were warming themselves by the steam vents from the hot, spewing volcanic activity. In fact, they cooked us toast and eggs over the heat from said volcano.

The monkeys were plentiful and didn’t mind the cold, or the elevation. And the sunrise….well, epic doesn’t even describe how it felt to have accomplished that hike, in a foreign land, feeling under the weather, and finding myself face to face with something from a movie – cotton candy clouds of mist over green and gold and blue, parting to reveal the rays of the rising sun.

The topography, visually, and the bright greens of the valleys below reminded me a lot of the Isle of Skye, another epic trip I have made (more than once). And the extra special amazing bonus was that we hiked the 2 hours back down the volcano and were able to soak in the volcanic-heated hot baths of Batur Natural Hot Spring to relax the tired muscles.

I experienced so many unusual and once-in-a-lifetime moments in Bali in those brief 10 days, but the most harrowing, and the most rewarding, was absolutely the climb up Mt. Batur and the feeling that came after of knowing that the things that scare me, when overcome, become the things that sculpt me into the person I want to be. So maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but make a New Year’s Resolution, make yourself a promise and keep it and do something that scares you…a little. You might be surprised at what waits on the other side!