Volcan Pichincha

The people who you are with can really make or break the experience. Last Sunday, they made it the best day so far in Ecuador.

Ecuador is known for their numerous outdoors activities and phenomenal hiking. It is a country that prides itself on its impressive and diverse wilderness. Finally, after 4 weeks, I got to fulfill my intense craving for hiking.

One of the great things about Ecuador is that you can literally step out your door and a few minutes later, there will be something to do. In this instance, it was hiking up an active stratovolcano. From my door, it was a 5 minute cab ride up the side of the volcano that my apartment sits on to the base of a gondola that takes you farther up. We had to start bright and early (for a Sunday) and we began hiking at 9:45am. Although it was quite warm in the valley of Quito, it was cool at the top of the gondola. Suddenly, the weather warnings and hiking horror stories I had heard from my host mom about Volcan Pichincha for the past two days were starting to make sense...

 

 

The first part of the hike carried us up some hills at the base of the volcano. These were covered in alpine grass and little shrubs as we were past the alpine tree zone. The hardest thing about the hike was the altitude. We were already much higher than Quito, and the air was even thinner than what we were used to. We had to stop frequently to let our breathing slow and our hearts stop pounding. It was quite an experience already fighting with your body to do something that would be easy in Canada. As we made over the hills, we could see strange lines of tiny trees growing in the hillside. We realized that these were actually overgrown terraces that the previous inhabitants of the volcano had left behind. It made us realize that when you are in South America, you are never far from the imprints that people long before you have left behind. The history of the continent is long and rich, with many small details that could be overlooked but are really a gateway into the past.

 

 

 While we were making it through these hills, the clouds started to descend. In this moment, two large birds (maybe eagles) began playing on the wind above us. I took it as a good omen and it was rather fitting as it was Sunday. The volcano became my sanctuary and I said thanks to her for bringing me to this wonderful place and for her creation, and finally, I asked her to keep us safe.

 

If we thought the hills were hard, we were in for a treat. The next part had steeper hills and the volcano introduced us to some mud and we scrambled up a few small rock faces. Even though this was exhausting and difficult, the surroundings were absolutely gorgeous. Lying peaceful and innocent in the valley below is Quito, stretching on forever in both directions (North and South). At one point, one of my group members remarked that the city looked like a disease, taking over the green spaces with grey cement. I would have to agree, especially from the bird’s eye view we were getting. The valleys and volcano’s landscape was very beautiful and in contrast to the city below, giving the impression of being untouched. It was a relief to be out of the city, the crowds, the noises and especially the smell, and to be enveloped in fresh air, the pulsing of your heart beat, and your laboured breath as you climb higher and higher.

At lunch we sat under a ledge of a rock face and feasted on peanut butter and jam sandwiches, mandarins, and various other treats we had brought to boost our energy. As we were all preparing for the next leg of our journey, we sang “The Sound of Music”. It was very fitting and set the mood for the next half, with optimism and teamwork. By this point, we had already been swallowed by the clouds and so the view was gone, but the plants growing on the side of the mountain were gorgeous and some quite bizarre.

 

As we moved along, the terrain became harder to manage and the ground became wet (from constant precipitation). The third phase of the hike was a scree slope of ash and large, loose rocks. It basically felt like we were walking up a large sand dune. You would take a few steps up and then you would slide down a bit. It was exhausting! This was also compiled with the fact that we were getting extremely close to 15 000 feet above sea level (Edmonton is around 3000). At this point, it doesn’t matter what shape you are in, it gets extremely hard to breathe. 

 

 

The next, and final step, was some actual mountain climbing up a rock face. There were large rocks to hang onto and it wasn’t a sheer rock face, but it was extremely difficult none-the-less when the rocks are wet and you are labouring for breath. After about half an hour of, “You are almost there, only 5 more minutes!” we arrived at the summit. It is the most amazing feeling, pulling yourself over the last rock. You then see the sign, you feel all weight left off your shoulders, and joy takes over every thought in your head. It is unbelievable to think that you gained an altitude of around 5000 feet in 4 hours and even more so at high altitude. When all 8 of us got to the top, all there was was sheer joy, exhilaration, and a feeling of group accomplishment. There were a few tears of joy and many, many hugs. 

 

 

Liam, Meg, Me, A random guy who joined us, Sarah, Mike, Constance, and our guide, Cesar

After the token group photo and a long rest with munchies, we made our way down, some of us on our bums down the rock face. At around this point, it had started to rain and hail so we had to go as fast as we could without falling which was exhilarating and challenging, even though my fingers were numb in their mitts. After that, we jogged or ran down the scree slope, which was definitely the most fun part of the hike. It felt very close to skiing, which is also a sport that I am missing very much. After that section, we started to realize our breathing becoming less laboured, which was a huge relief. The rest of the trip was easy in comparison. Once we got below the clouds, the view was stunning again and it was a relief to know that we all survived the hardest or one of the hardest hikes we have ever done. 

 

 

There is no way that we would have been able to do it without the support of each other. We all kept in good spirits and although we were at the limit of our body’s abilities, we maintained excellent attitudes. It was really inspiring to be a part of this hike with these fantastic people!