We spent a few days in Quito in January for our visa paperwork. We had picture-perfect weather and took advantage of the blue skies and temperate climate to hit the mountains. Quito is the highest capital city in the world at 2,850 meters (9,350 feet) above sea level, located in the Andes mountains on the eastern slope of Pichincha, an active volcano. Our plan was to take the “teleférico” or cable car up the side of Pichincha, stroll about and enjoy the views. The plan started out perfectly – the gondola line was short, the trip from an elevation of 2,950 (9,678 feet) up to 4,050 meters (13,287 feet) pleasant and the views breathtaking. We could see all of Quito and the snow-capped mountains in the distance. We started to stroll about and I pointed to a peak in the distance and said, “let’s go there.”
We have done this sort of thing before. In the Italian Alps we wanted to hike to the Ritten Earth Pillars and and set off on a trail that we thought would get us there (it didn’t). We had no provisions, and I wore sandals and a straw hat and looked like I was ready to go to an outdoor brunch, not climb a mountain. Soon we were surrounded by hearty Germans with their hiking boots, poles and rucksacks. Despite our appearance, we made it to the summit albeit a little cold and with sore feet. Similarly, in the High Tatras of Slovakia we set off on what we intended to be a provisioned hike except that our hiking lodge only sold potato chips and candy bars. We did have hiking boots and backpacks in addition to our potato chips and candy bars, but some miscalculations caused us to hike about 10 miles away from our lodge and we still needed to get back! We will be eternally grateful to the two Polish guys in the scary-looking red panel van who stopped and gave us a ride back down the mountain although we still needed to catch a train and then hike 2 miles back to our lodge. We got there… around 10 pm. But I had none of this in mind when I pointed to the peak.
Truth be told, I pointed to a peak very near us. I had no idea that the trail went all the way up the darn mountain (4,698 meters/15,413 feet)and also forgot that once we start hiking, Matt always wants to go to the highest peak. So off we set with two entirely different hikes in mind. Once again, while we had some water we had no other provisions but at least had on semi-adequate footwear.
High Peak – Where Matt Thought We Were Headed
It was a glorious day. The hike was relatively easy apart from the elevation that always leaves me short of breath. We were giddy to be back in the mountains after months at sea level. Other hikers were on the trail: just enough to make us feel comfortable but not too many to spoil the experience.
It became cooler and cloudier but we forged ahead.
And then we got to the end of the trail.
End of the Trail…for Us
It was weird how the path abruptly ended at this narrow part in the trail. We stood there looking at it and a few guys we had passed earlier while they enjoyed lunch came up behind us. We pointed out how the trail ended and they assured it it didn’t – we just had to scale this 15-foot rocky area and the trail begins again. Go ahead, we told them. Next thing we knew the 3 guys were up and over and out of sight. Hmm, it can’t be that hard, we thought. The guys weren’t particularly athletic looking and we were keeping pace with them the entire hike. We tried, we really did. Oddly, Matt was less enthusiastic than I was. He kept mentioning that if we fell we were going strait down and how even if we got up and over, we would still have to descend. I was determined but after 3 attempts was ready to quit. Then two other tourist – German or Swiss or some alpine heritage to be sure – arrived. We showed them that the trail didn’t end and in a blink of an eye, the guy was up and over. The woman offered to let us go next, but we declined. Her final tips were to keep our bodies close to the mountain and to use our arms and then she was over. She looked like she was ready to coach us through the experience but we waved her along her way. I tried one more time, thinking “close to the mountain, use my arms, 5 people just made this look like child’s play” and got stuck again. Enough was enough and we had a pleasant descent feeling only slightly loser-ish. “We didn’t have enough water anyhow,” we justified, “we were getting cold and didn’t have warm clothes.” Yeah, whatever, we were just chickens and bad climbers!
Stuck!
The next day we went for a pleasant walk in Metropolitano Park. Again at high altitude, this really was an easy experience except for a difference in opinion on how to leave the park that ended with us walking about a mile and a half out of our way via a descent to a locked gate and then back up the side of the mountain. While the views were not as spectacular as from Pichincha, it was another beautiful day in the mountains.
Our legs were a bit sore from two days of hiking, but it was a nice change of pace from swimming.
Kerry On! 