Day 21: Acatenango Puts Me in My Place

Well I had one of those experiences this weekend. A kind of experience that pushes you on your ass and tells you to slow down, stop thinking, and just look… look at everything around you, what is really important? 

On Saturday me and Ozvaldo woke up at 5am…actually he woke me up and then we dragged our camping gear 3 blocks to OX (Outdoor Excursions). After meeting the people we would be climbing with and packing our trekking backpacks we loaded up in the van for an hour long ride to the volcano they call “Acatenango”. On arriving to our drop off point I had already decided that my monster calves and newly found athletic abilities would suit me well…WRONG. Starting up the steep trail I felt like the fat me of 3 years ago. Yeah, the first few thousand feet in elevation were fairly easy but then as we approached the cloud forest zone I really started to feel the effects of high altitude…Acatenango was nudging me. Up, up, up we went and at a snails pace we got closer and closer to the camp site. After one last push through what was essentially volcanic sand and dust we arrived at our camp site. It took us 8 hours to get to camp and, oh yeah, we still had to summit. After quickly setting up our tent and prepping camp we headed straight up…and I mean UP. It looked like the landscape of mars. Nothing alive, just black and gray rock. This was the hardest climb I had done. Acatenango was kicking my ass and I loved it. Oh and how could I forget the most epic and frightening detail, winds of 45-50 mph were pounding into us the whole time. Taking these pics was pretty scary simply because I was blowing all over the place already. Once we got to the crater there was still a small stretch to go. We climbed up towards the summit and the wind was at its strongest…I’m not making this shit up. Best pictures ever. It was truly beautiful, inspiring, and made me take a moment to just thank the people who put me in that very spot. After half an hour of staring into the distant volcanoes we made our way around the crater for a view of the active twin volcano Fuego. Unfortunately, Fuego was being tame, sad face. After a few pics, the sun was making its way under the horizon…not good. Here we were entering the darkness and the wind was still just as strong as before. Grains of sand hitting us in the eyes, me and Ozvaldo rock skied down the ridge and this quickly became one of the scariest moments in my life. Luckily the rest of the group was waiting on us half way down and we made our way back to camp just in time to see the fire lit. That night I slept horribly…figures because when I camp I never sleep. Luckily on this night it allowed me to hear something that sent chills down my back and put a big grin on my face. Fuego didn’t show us any action but it let me know it was still there. As I layed in my tent with my eyes wide open I heard what sounded like thunder but much much lower in tone and then I felt it in my chest. Fuego was erupting and I was listening to the volcano purr. After waking up 8 times during the night, the sun finally showed and we started to pack our bags and make our way down the volcano. It took only 3 hours to descend compared to the 8 hours to ascend and as bad as I wanted the walking to be over I wanted to stay just a bit longer and maybe, just maybe, hear Fuego again or see that amazing view one more time.