I knew we were getting close to the starting point of our journey when our guides turned on the music in the van. Complete silence and sleepy eyes turned to widening grins and tapping feet as “Eye of the Tiger” began to resonate through our adventure carriage. We were about to do something amazing. The Rocky theme song got louder and louder, forcing us to sit up quickly to look outside, ready to start the challenge.
Our plan was to hike up to the top of Acatenengo volcano outside Antigua, Guatemala with a local adventure company in the hopes of catching some incredible views from 13,000 feet as well as live volcanic activity on the neighboring Fuego volcano that had been spewing molten lave and ash intermittently over the past few weeks. The sunsets and sunrises are notoriously gorgeous, but seeing Fuego erupt up close was going to be absolutely amazing.
The overnight trip up Acatenengo is less than a five mile hike, but it takes between 8-10 hours to get up the steep incline and reach the ridge. I did a bit of research on altitude and volcano hiking a few weeks earlier and started working the stairclimbing machine at the gym to get prepared, but still really didn’t know what to expect from this adventure. As far as mountain climbing experience, I had very little. Adam had “rucked” in the military quite a bit and described it in a slightly lack-luster tone, but the idea of hiking a dormant volcano with a very active volcano in its shadow sounded incredible and we were going to do it!
Our group of 16 hikers began to follow our leader up the first trail with high spirits and energy-filled steps. However, those steps QUICKLY began to drag as we all realized what it really felt like to have 35 pounds of tents, bed mats and water on our backs while hiking straight up a hill. It was early, so pants seemed like a good idea, but the sun began to permeate pretty fast and the whole team was warm. The option of hiring a porter to carry your backpack was available, but the cocktail of pride and inexperience prevented me from seriously contemplating the thought. We can do this, I thought, we’re as prepared as any of these other people.
Adam and I hiked together, in the front of the group line to start with, then we got passed here and there, then finally we pulled up the end. I want to say it was because we were taking pictures, but there were other forces at hand. My legs were exhausted in the first hour. I’ll admit it. The preparation seemed nonexistent and I was feeling stressed. I was drinking water by the liters. Legs were cramping. Jokes were nothing but annoying. I kept readjusting the straps on my pack, thinking that the weight must have been distributed wrong. There was a point when I wanted to empty out the contents of my bag on the trail…just to figure out what was SO heavy! Did I bring a couple of bricks with me? A bag of mercury? Stowaway?? Adam and I got into a dehydrated spat at one point, something about an empty Gatorade bottle and a cookie that was missing…basically, things were looking grim. Even my helpful walking stick was causing a thumb blister. This uphill battle was tough and I needed a lot of breaks!
However, one of the benefits of taking breaks every few steps was getting the opportunity to look around–the views going up Acatenengo were magnificent. The terrain changed quite a bit throughout the day. We started by hiking up past farm land, then through wetter, more forested area filled with draping vines and trees covered in moss and flowers, then up through more low-lying bushes and grasses, all reflecting the soil and moisture changes on the volcano. The whole day was filled with intermittent clouds, but they often were crossing through our path, leading to a misty, ominous feeling that made you want to stay a little closer to the group.
When we finally hit base camp, there were a variety of reactions from gratified to physically destroyed. Adam and I were about seven hours past being on the fatigued side. We set up tents before temperatures began dropping. Mother Nature’s cotton balls were blocking our views from base camp, so it was hard to catch any of those amazing views…or really connect with why this was such a great idea. Again, we were TIRED.
Two hours after arrival at base, we caught wind that we were going to summit the ridge that night for sunset, rather than do it for sunrise. Yippee. More hiking. We gathered ourselves for the final climb, the ultimate battle of the day, but “Eye of the Tiger” was no longer playing. Some sad song from Charlie Brown was whisping through the air, along with the sound of feet dragging towards the next trail. It was getting cold and we were about to go up another 1,000 feet. The clouds were really rolling in. Adam’s smile seemed to be lost somewhere back at base camp.
The hike to the ridge was overwhelmingly crumbly, covered by molten sand that seemed to disintegrate upon each step, often sliding you down further than you had originally stepped up. Awesome. My legs really weren’t in the mood. Speaking of moods, Adam felt it was a good time to get altitude sickness. This was all made better by the fact that when we reached the top, we actually didn’t know it because there was only a few feet of visibility through the cloud wall that had dumped onto our apex vista. The team sat down together, looking into the clouds, wondering what to do.
Adam and I sprawled out on the steel grey ash, pretty disheartened by the weather. Then, out of nowhere, the sky opened its envelope of light to display how incredible this volcano really could be. Five minutes after we had given up hope of a sunset show, there was a brief period where the skies cleared and we were finally allowed to frolic the vast ridge basin, taking in the splendor of sunset at 13,400 feet. The sky was painted insane colors of pink and blue reflecting off of the puffy cloud blanket below us! In all the beauty, our guide Lucas topped the moment by pulling hot pebbles out of volcano steam vents to fill our cold hands with steaming, freshly baked black stones. All of this was the reason we came and it was beyond worth it!
Hiking down from the ridge was the exact opposite of hiking up. The sun was down, and we were no longer making slow, careful steps around the volcano. We were FLYING! The path was so steep and the gravel so loose, that one foot into the dirt took you down a volcano elevator, cruising recklessly down the ash road. We were in the middle of thick clouds, reflecting the light from our headlamps, making it impossible to see more than a few feet in front of us. At one point, I stopped to tie my boot and was completely alone, no other hikers in sight as they careened down the cliff. Adam pretended to ski, shifting left and right, having a blast in the darkness! What took over an hour to ascend took only a few minutes to descend.
Once back at camp, the night’s dinner came and passed with 16 exhausted hikers reveling in boxed wine around the campfire, barely moving. Then at five a.m., with the first hint of light creeping in the tents, the camp began to come alive again. Sunrise was coming.
The first peek out the tent was like nothing I had ever seen. The crescent moon was hanging above us, the lights of town glowed far below, the clouds rose to meet the glowing sun…then the sun jumped up and greeted us all with a resounding, “hola!”
Then, as if on cue, Fuego Volcano erupted right next to us, spewing ash high overhead to announce the new day! It was noisy and the ash billowed in poofs every few seconds! I could hear “Eye of the Tiger” once again. Fuego trumpeted all morning long, making the trip even more rewarding with each explosive blast.
The grandiose beginning was met with an awesome descent off the volcano, sliding down the hills that we fought so hard to summit the day before.
My hands were permanently full with the camera, so Adam took both the walking sticks and continued to ski his way through the gravel and dirt, laughing all the way down the hill as we slipped and tumbled through the loose gravel. We earned a fair share of dirt on our bums as well.
The journey was demanding, but so worth it. Summiting the volcano was an accomplishment to us and we can’t wait for the next challenge, as humbling as it can be.
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