The main reason for us to travel to the remote mountain of Berastagi, Sumatra was to climb the two volcanoes that reflect each other on the opposite sides of the city.

Our first day hiking up Mt. Sibayak we opted to go it alone without a guide. Good decision on our part, as the trail was easy going up and close to town. The most difficult part of that hike was we had to walk up a paved road a few km's from the "ranger station" to the "trail head."

Once we located the trail entrance, which of course, wasn't marked, we had to climb almost on our hands and knees through the jungle, Indian Jones style. It all felt very "Raiders of the Lost Ark" until we reached a clearing where we had a beautiful view of the lush Sumatran jungle.

As we reached the summit, the smell of sulfur became incredibly strong... but that didn't prevent some of us from getting close! There weren't any danger signs or information at the top, but we know is hasn't blown in the last 100 years, though it is still active.

The following day, we hired a guide through our guesthouse to take us to the top of Mt Sinabung, the other active volcano in Berastagi. The weather was a bit cloudy, but our guide told us that it would be clear later on. As we started off, we were shocked at how cold it was. Kenny had only a tshirt and shorts, Neil had a long sleeve, and I was so cold when I woke up that I'd packed my fleece.

On the way up, we walked thick into the jungle and up into the clouds. Hiking thorough clouds may sound fun, but it was windy, so the water from the clouds made us all quite cool.

After we made our way out of the jungle, we emerged onto a sheer rock cliff. If we were back home, there would be a warning signs with something like "Danger: Falling Rocks. No Climbing." However, in Sumatra, you just climb right up. I thought our guide and Neil were like monkeys, but Kenny was an even better guide and took his time telling me where to go and making sure I was alright. No way was I gonna go any faster up those rocks! That would have been the worst place to get a sprained ankle!

When we made it to the summit, we were still engulfed in clouds. We couldn't see but 10 feet in front of us. We were soaked, freezing, crabby, and hungry, so we quickly ate our Nasi Goreng, and when our guide asked us if we wanted to trek to the other side of the crater, we immiedately all said "No!" We all couldn't stop shaking from the cold and we wanted to get down as quickly as possible.

On our rapid decent, it really started to downpour. I was extremely worried about my camera, and I didn't care if I had tons of leeches on my feet after, as long as my camera didn't get water damaged. Kenny was mostly worried about me falling off the trail (hey, mud is slippery!), but thankfully all three of us made it down relatively unscathed We thought since we were down, all our problems were over. Then, our guide told us we had to hike to the lake, where a local bus would take us back (we'd thought it was a private transfer to and from our hostel). The bus didn't come for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, so I'll just let you imagine the mood of the three of us: soaked, mild hypothermia, hungery, soreness, and bumps and bruises. The men in the restaurant where we took shelter were quite nice, and fed us numerous Cup Noodles and Coffee. When that didn't warm us up, they lit us a fire inside the restaurant on a grill about 45 minutes later. Finally, our mini bus turned up and even though we were still soaked to the bone, the idea of a hot shower at the guesthouse boosted all our spirits.

When we made it back to the hostel and all had hot, long showers, and determined that Neil and mine's cameras both still worked, we were able to laugh about it (a little). Lesson learned: Make sure to ask your guesthouse what all you should bring (we think a change of clothes/socks, and a plastic bag to keep your valuables dry) and if it includes transportation both ways!