These past few months have been full of new experiences followed by me saying “that was the scariest/hardest/most amazing thing I have ever done”.
I hiked up Rucu Pichincha. A staggering 16,404 feet of uphill climbing, rock wall scaling, and crawling through sand. To reach the peak and think to myself “this is how I die” as a huge snow and lightning storm rolled in, and got stuck at the top of the volcano.
I hiked up Rucu Pichincha with someone I had only met once before, from France. Nearly giving my parents and directors a heart attack. Luckily, his English was much better than my French, so conversation was very easy, even though the altitude was quite literally taking my breath away and I couldn’t talk that much.
I had only conducted a bit of research online before my hike up Pichincha. There are two peaks Rucu and Guagua. For Guagua you need to hire a guide because you are harnessed in for almost the entirety of the trek. What I found about Rucu is that a lot of people not prepared for the hike attempt it and get altitude sickness. Also some people even carry their friends and family up the facade of the volcano as they’re crying from the pressure of the altitude. One of my friends who has lived here a few years even told me that he runs up it! After hearing this I thought "sure, I am definitely going to be physically able to hike this volcano!"
This was the scariest thing I have ever done. No one had told me that I would be scaling rock walls wondering why I wasn’t wearing a harness. Especially, at the peak of the volcano when my body was utterly exhausted from crawling through sand for half an hour and the next and last section was rock wall climbing through pumice stones and sand to the peak.
When we finally reach the cumbre, cold storm clouds rolled in bringing a thunder and lightning storm. My anxiety clicked in and we started to descend the rock wall as fast as possible. Then it started to snow. I know you’re not supposed to turn your back to a facade of a mountain as your climbing, but I had to put on another layer. So, I turned my back to the volcano, and put my sweatshirt and rain jacket on. Stupidly looked down, and thought “what the hell did I get myself into? I don’t know how to descend down this rock wall!” I didn’t even want to continue my descent and my legs turned to jello. After a moment of focusing on my breathing I went into survival mode and finished scaling down the pumice stone and sand.
This next part was my absolute favorite. I got to “ski” through sand down the side of a mountain. As I continued on my walk back down to the teleferico, I had this overwhelming sense of astonishment. I am so incredibly proud of myself. I am the first girl from World Teach to reach the summit of Pichincha!
Just yesterday, a few more volunteers went to climb Pichincha. I joined them thinking "if anyone is not able to reach the top, I would stay back with them". However, in the beginning of the trek I could tell there was something wrong with me. My chest was heavy, I could hardly breathe, and I felt like I was about to throw out my back. I decided to stay behind and only walk to the bear cave(a little more than three miles). I took a moment to sit down, close my eyes, and catch my breath. When I realized, it wasn’t the altitude bothering me, nor did I suddenly become in terrible shape. I was having a panic attack, crippling anxiety, and it was because of the fear and adrenaline I had experienced last time I climbed Pichincha.
I decided to just sit and admire the amazing views of Quito. After a few moments, my back and chest felt better and I continued to walk to the bear cave. As I was walking, I realized this was the first time, since I have been in Ecuador that I was walking alone. It was the absolute most that I have felt “at home”. I miss being able to walk wherever I want, at any hour of the day. I miss hikes through the park with Bodhi, and I long to be somewhere that I can feel this relaxed in the city. At the bear cave I laid down in the moss and practiced savasana, nearly napping for about three hours (after reapplying my sunscreen).
This was hands down, my absolute favorite day in Ecuador.
What I learned from this, is that my body is capable of almost anything. I want to climb some more mountains and volcanoes while I am here. Especially, the snow cap volcanoes. And it is really important to pay attention to your body.
Hasta la proxima.
Comments