It was supposed to be a simple and save adventure and more like family picnic to me. What we had planned was just spend a couple of nights install a mini tent somewhere around the camp spot in Dlundung Waterfall district of Trawas west side of Mt. Penanggunan (1650 m, East Java) riffing a guitar, sing along...and get drunk of course. We were 4 young disturbed boys, tried to get rid off the boring home situation.
Mantri, the coolest guy among us. Not a big talker and he like to listen what people saying but when he says something it must be the funniest thing in the world. He play guitar more often than I do. Kliwir, aggressive good looking guy do stupid thing sometimes. What I remember about Kliwir since we're a small boy that he is not so energetic. I always beat him for sprint. Mantri and Kliwir are friends of my childhood. Bowo, he knows everything and is smarter than anyone of us. Live in my environment after he moved from Surabaya a year before we do this trip. He suffered some kind of long term complication. We spend bunch of time together at home till one night we decided to do something else. Go camping.
Day 1, an hour driving takes us to Dlundung waterfall. At the camp spot we install our tent just next to other camps belongs to high school students, not so good though. We feel ridiculous to be honest but when I start cook some instant noodles and cups of coffee everybody seems happy then. We drink alcohol because of freezing temperature, play a guitar under the strong moonlight get wild and enjoy the night.
Day 2, we decided to move for new place and try to get the hell out there. 3 hours walking, comb the bushes climb the hill takes us to the other waterfall. Guess what, we meet again those high school students with their trainer do some kind of stupid unification. We can hear they're screaming from hundreds of meters. The students were forced to stand right in the falling-spot waterfall. I can't believe it, we were tried to stay away from them and now after hours walking we still meet them there. Bowo and Kliwir were so ready to join the waterfall so they straight away take off their clothes and jump into the water. Mantri and I choose to wait the students leave and not so long one by one they're leaving and finally gone. Once again I make sure they are all disappeared then I can start do whatever I like. We are all enjoying the fresh cold waterfall and everybody is happy.
Around 1pm.
We got an extra energy and feel rejuvenated to continue seeking new shelter, 4 young men take a walk down the passage next to abyss and only fit for one person. Bowo, Kliwir, Mantri and I were the last person who leave waterfall.
There was something strange out there. Along the way we walked my mind keep telling me to look back. It’s like there’s something following behind. Slowly I turn my head back and got nothing, it was definitely my hallucination only. I try to remember who exactly the last person at the waterfall was and of course no one but me. This feeling keeps haunting me up on and on and I looked back again many times after all. I didn’t tell anyone about that even my self. I try to ignore it.
Less than an hour trekking, I catch a beautiful spot on the way. It was a green clean land about 5 meters height in top of us. I think it might be a good idea to install the tent up there and it is not so far from the source of water. I talk to anyone what I got in my mind and come up with the idea to climb that land. We start to going up climb the land and after 5, 6, 7 meters we have the land is cycling and is impossible to install a tent right there. Try to climb few meters higher hoping there’s a flat one so we can stop and start install the tent but we could not find it. Again, there is a better one I can see up there and this time I am pretty sure this is what we looking for, another 5 meters climb up and still we didn’t find a good one. This thing happened several times and we still have a chance to take pictures, do a little bit fun. 5 meters more, 6 meters more, 10 meters more and still we got nothing till we reach hundreds meters of height. I was shocked when I figured we’re so far away left our last passage down there and it’s like impossible to get back.
We stop climb and think. We have no idea what is in up there yet but then again we never want to get back down there, it’s too risky. All we can see is the deadly abyss just next to a very narrow alley down there that almost unseen from the top. We decide to keep climb and find another land to install the tent and try to find the new way home.
After a few meters more with empty-hand we climb, there is something bad happens. Bowo slipped and fell down. He was lucky there is a small tree he can hold immediately and survived but he lost his backpack that was just attached in his right arm. There is nothing we can do about that. We are all quite and watching his backpack rolling down the hill for seconds and disappeared. Mini stove, food, tent and the other stuffs was just gone, finished. We’re not going to get that backpack down there so we continue to climb. Now, we’re just completely lost and tired. We’re fucked up.
Around 3pm.
Finally we reach the top of the hill and there’s no fucking way to do anything up there. Bunch of mossy rocks is everywhere and we couldn’t get through without some proper equipment. We stop climb and pray. Rain is falling and we start to shiver. I can see the others face looks pale. Nothing is easy.
After 10 minutes silent, finally we decided to go back down. A plastic rope, we tie it into a big tree and stretch it down along the hill. We’re going to drop our self down through the rope. We doubled the rope just to make sure it is strong. Bowo go first, smoothly and seems works. I follow him 10 meters right after and I think we’re all going to be okay. Kliwir catch me up with guitar attached on his shoulder and he looks overwhelmed with his position. Bowo is about reaching the ground, the narrow alley where we used to walk. The last person is Mantri, he’s about waiting and watching Kliwir do something with his difficulties and suddenly something is up, shocking me off. Kliwir is falling down; his body was struggle with guitar still attached, he is trying to grab anything on the way he fall. His body was right in top of me and is about coming to me. I am panic, I prepare my self to catch him by stretching my leg so he can grab it but he was just passing by. I only can see him rolling down like a ball. I said to my self that he must be dead if he fell into the abyss after the narrow alley down there. Thank God his body stuck on the small tree just a few meters before he gets into the alley. I go down faster with my little prayer wondering he is just okay. I see blood is all over his body and he is just sitting silent. As soon I get him then I try to help and guide him to get the alley just another few meters down but he can’t even move his legs. Down there, I hear Bowo calling a help. So, I go down to find out what is going on and leave Kliwir sitting and bleeding up there.
I found the guitar with Bowo’s backpack stuck on the alley and its good tough but Bowo is collapse on the ground just next to the abyss and groaning. He got his complication relapsing and shivering badly. I cover him with double matt, mine and his but that’s seems not enough to keep him warm. He is in pain; I can hear his little prayer while he is groaning. Everything was just perfect. I got one is suffer from a serious complication down here; one is sitting and bleeding after fell down from hundreds of meter and another one I almost forgot, Mantri.
Around 5pm.
Mantri didn’t even make any movement. He seems never want to go down after he saw Kliwir falling. He is so scared to do anything wrong so he just standing still holding a tree hundreds of meter up there where I barely can see him. I yell to him and ask to go down here so we can get out of here but he barely can hear me even I scream louder with all energy left. I keep yelling up to convince that he will be okay if he just go carefully down through the rope but sound of the rain make us hard to communicate. Its getting late and we really should get out of there otherwise the dark will cover the alley. It takes a while to make him understand the situation till finally he starts moving. As Mantri start moving I keep trying to communicate to support his courage. Meantime, I ask Kliwir to come down as well but still he didn’t say anything and I got Bowo keep groaning. Mantri moves very slow and when he catches up Kliwir, he takes him down together. As they both coming I prepare anything to start walking and carry Bowo with me. I do anything to support my self and anyone of us.
On the way back to camp spot, we are all quite. No jokes, no talk, nothing. We should be very careful with our steps on that narrow alley.
Hours walking and I feel tired, shaky, starving and forgot the way back. Many times we get stuck if there is a deviation on the way. I pray to God to guide us through His land. Not so long after that something is up. There is a voice of azan, Muslim call to prayer echoing in distance and its coming from a small village not so far from a camp spot. Now we walk faster with the correct direction. Kliwir and Bowo start walking by them self .
On the camp spot we meet students’ trainer and he let us come into his tent. He lives alone there and his students already left that day. As we have a conversation he gives us a paper, a newspaper sheet and asks us to rip it into small pieces and stick it into our bleeding skin. We just realize there are so many leech stick all over our body. He feels sorry about what happen to us and with his kindness he makes us some Indomie noodles.
We spend the night on his tent. I feel sorry for having a bad thinking about him.
Day 3, we really missed our home since what happened to us up there. We decide to go home and forget everything.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I want you guys to keep it quite.
I don’t want anyone talk about it!!???" -Kliwir-
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"There was an evil on you who control us up there…" -Mantri-
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"That was unforgettable shit we have up there and
I will tell my boy the story one day..." -Bowo-
Read more!
