Volcan Blanco

Another morning, another same breakfast buffet. With another 7:30am departure there still wasn’t enough time to order from the kitchen so it was the same meal yet again. Today, I am doing the Volcan Blanco hike, but the name is a farce, it’s no volcano, just a nickname for a little hill along the hike. I did not know this until yesterday and it was quite a disappointment. Volcan Blanco is another full day hike but only about 5.7 miles with a max altitude of 14,458’ and an “advanced” rating. So far I have not had any of the common side effects (constantly having to pee and tingling in the hands or feet) of the diamox altitude medication I started last night so I’m pleased.

Sitting down for breakfast today I somehow found myself in the conversation of the two tables closest to me. At one sat two women, Jill and Sumeet, and at the table next to them a solo man, James. Jill and Sumeet are friends traveling together from Houston, maybe in their late 40s and early 50s and James is traveling solo, currently based in Monterey, and I’d guess the same age. Jill and Sumeet met James on a hike yesterday and adopted him for meals. By the end of breakfast I was adopted as well with promises that we’d see each other back at the lodge later in the day. Poor Sumeet is not feeling well so they are hanging back this morning. James, it turns out, is the other guest joining me for Volcan Blanco. Towards the end of my breakfast Lynn came in so I was able to exchange numbers with her and say goodbye before she was transported to the border to continue her travels into Bolivia.

After grabbing my pack and filling up on water and snacks I was introduced to my guide for the day, Christian, who goes by Tian. As with every exploration, he started by taking James and I to the large map to explain where we’re going, info on the drive, and info on the hike. He strongly suggested two hiking poles and since he was taking two I grabbed two. On the 90ish minute drive to our first stop, the Tatio Geysers, I learned that James does government contract work. He recently finished a contract, realized that he has done a great job saving for retirement, further realized that who knows what he’ll physically be capable of doing when he’s ready to retire, and decided to take a year off to travel the world before accepting his next contract. He’s been based in DC but is now using his sister’s home in Monterey as home base. He’s a very nice man and one of the biggest nerds you could imagine, I feel like human interaction makes him a little nervous.

But anyways, our first stop was El Tatio Geysers. Tian asked us to make sure and keep a distance so we don’t end up dead because that would be hard on his soul. The geysers are a popular destination and had the most concentration of people that I had seen in one place outside of the lodge. Maybe 50. Which is a lot when you’ve not seen more than five other people in any one place in the desert. And they weren’t that impressive. I’ve seen impressive geysers, these were cool as all geysers are but kind of a snore in the grand geyser scheme of things. It didn’t help that it felt touristy with rock walls formed around them to keep people away, so we don’t die. I tried not to look too bored as Tian told us about the geothermal activity that I already know about but not sure I stifled all my yawns. To be fair, Tian himself was also not impressed by them shrugging his shoulders at them but nonetheless suggesting we should take a couple pictures because we were there; and agreed that there were too many people around.

Before leaving, he led us to a shallow stream to look for some special black frog that lives there. We looked for all of about 10 seconds, saw some tadpoles, and Tian declared that there were no frogs to see today.

A few more minutes in the van and we arrived at the start of our hike, which again was our van going off road and then stopping to drop us in the middle of nowhere, this time the top of a mountain with a geyser field au natural in the valley below. I was a little confused though, I couldn’t figure out where there was to go from there, the road was on one side and the mountain dropped of our other side. And then it became clear, as Tian told us, “Ok, I’m going to be pretty quiet the first 15 minutes, this is the most dangerous part.” Oh, ok, yah, we were going straight down the side of this steep mountain. Awesome. With Tian leading us we switchbacked our way down the steep hillside. My thoughts jumped between wondering if it was stupid of me to have not put on my knee support straps today and trying to not kill myself tripping over the trekking poles because I’m not used to using two, and I wouldn’t to end up dead and leave that on Tian’s conscience. In many spots, the surface was gravely and slippery. I was moving a bit slow to make sure I didn’t eat shit, but not because I couldn’t handle it. The only trouble I was having was maneuvering the second trekking pole, Tian even stopped to make fun of me, telling me I was being an R2D2 because I wasn’t moving my arms naturally. I also took my time stopping to take in the truly awe-inspiring view of the geothermal geyser floor below. It’s not every day you get to climb down to one in the Andes Mountains and I wanted to appreciate it.

Vicuñas judged me as I took my last steps off the hill and found myself on flat surface again. I’m pretty sure they shook their heads, “rookie,” but that’s ok. Tian was moving ahead pretty quickly and kept asking if was ok. I was fine, perfectly fine, I felt like a million bucks actually, diamox is like having a super power, but I wasn’t going to rush. Just because I wasn’t going quick didn’t mean I was having trouble. I assured him I was ok and told him he was just quick. We were now walking through a field of geysers and I was going to enjoy every moment of it and also take care to not step in one! The magic of walking across an open geyser field and feeling the magnetic pull to the earth touches the soul; tempting me to get lost in its power instead of paying attention to where my guide was rushing off to up ahead. I did almost get actually lost in a boiling pool as I stumbled trying to kneel for a picture! The earth is wild and I was getting to experience its power in its most wild and primal form.

As we hiked out of the main geyser field, a delicious (as the Brazilians would say) little stream was flowing through. I asked Tian if the water was hot, a fact I was deducing as the stream led to the geysers and had interesting bright green moss formations, and he confirmed it was probably pretty hot. Reading my mind as he saw my eyes dart to the water he told me not to touch it, it could be hot enough to burn. How’d he know I was tempted to stick my hand in and see for myself?! I shot him a mini snarl and trudged on reluctantly. A few minutes later he excused himself and turned his back on us to use the Inca toilet and all I wanted to do was touch the water. I wiggled my fingers towards it and used all my might to stop myself. When Tian returned I boasted how I used all my self control not to touch the water and he finally reached down and slowly touched the water himself to test if it was safe so I could get that annoying urge out of my system. It was hot but pleasant hot not boiling hot. It would make for a perfect bath.

Tian continued to hike far ahead of us, trying to rush. He was not a gentleman or a helpful guide like most of my others had been. Claudia or Adrian would have stopped at all the sheer spots to make sure we didn’t need help. He hiked so far ahead at times that James and I were left to figure out our own path over rugged uneven terrain, and navigate steep scrambles as we narrowed into a canyon, with no help. Tian would stop and wait and at first I figured when we caught up with him then we’d take a water break but as soon as we’d get to him he’d take off again. Every time he’d ask if I was ok and I would tell him I was great, he’s just going way too fast and should slow down.

A couple hours into the hike, we found a scenic spot, with some shade and a view, to stop for lunch; Tian setting up a picnic blanket for us and brining out extra chicken, bread with dip, and thermoses of hot water and soup. The sandwiches were dry but the romesco dip was perfect to smother on them. Lunch was set against an enchanting backdrop with the narrow river snaking past us, and was the only time Tian was not in a hurry.

After lunch we passed the unimpressive sulfur hill for which the Volcan Blanco hike got its name and then the terrain opened into a wide valley floor. A hunting ground for the pumas and a burial ground for the vicuña as evidenced by the many herds of vicuña and the dried bones of vicuña past. James and I studied the bone structures, looking for full skeletons and other pieces of interest as Tian continued to forge far ahead of us. Towards the very end of the hike my heart broke at the sight of a juvenile vicuña who had obviously been attacked. One of its front legs looked ravished and it had a piece some part of itself hanging from its chest. It moved enough though to put weight on all four legs and distance itself when it saw us so James and Tian assured me that this should mean it’s not in too much pain. Then Tian again took off full speed ahead.

Rounding a corner, James and I found that we had finished the hike as we were met by Tian already at the van with our driver and the usual post-exploration picnic. Sincerely, Tian asked me if I really thought he went too fast and I confirmed for him that he was annoyingly fast and didn’t allow the time to properly appreciate the nature and connect with it. I also pointed out that his going too fast and pushing us was evidenced by the fact that it was only 2pm and the guides had all told us we wouldn’t be back until close to 5. Tian didn’t react to this much but did tell me that I did good on the hike and I was cleared to climb Toco tomorrow! Toco is the tallest ascent available to me this week. Tian did finally admit that he likes to push people a little and I told him that not everyone needs to be pushed and pushing distracts from enjoying the hike. I truly feel that his rushing was a real distraction and hampered my ability to enjoy this hike as much as I’d have liked so I wasn’t going to back down and excuse him.

The drive back was gave us scenic views of the crater of a snowy volcano and my heart ached that I couldn’t climb it. Damn impending eruptions. But I was brought out of my grumbles by a vicuña knee-deep in a wetland happily snacking.

Since we would be getting back to the lodge so early, James and I discussed that maybe we could both get in an afternoon exploration since there are some that leave between 4 and 5pm, and we’d be back by 3. Tian told us that was not possible because one you complete a full day excursion you can’t go on another the same day, but we agreed we’d both push some more.

Back at the lodge, we did the usual post-exploration check in at at the exploration center to confirm our next days. Tian had already confirmed that I was cleared for Toco in the morning and confirmed that I was also scheduled for another hike in the afternoon. He tried to talk me out of the afternoon, telling me I’d be too tired for it after the Toco summit. So annoying. I told him that I would be fine and to keep the afternoon hike on my schedule. I pushed again on trying to get out for an afternoon exploration today and he still wouldn’t budge, saying they were full and it was too late to get another guide. Argh. Besides, he told me, “You’re tired and you need to rest to do Toco tomorrow.” I assured him that I was not in the least bit tired and told him that I know my body better than he does and when I need rest. But thanks for telling me how I feel.

Walking back to my room, and trying to figure out what to do with myself now, I ran into Jill and Sumeet at the excursion meeting point. They had been lounging around all morning and were heading out for an afternoon overland exploration. The overlands are the least physical of the explorations, they basically drive around to a couple different attractions with short walks at each. Maybe 30 minutes of walking for every hour driving. They weren’t excited for their outing as it sounded boring with a lot of driving and not a lot of doing.

After a few minutes back in my room, I stepped outside to set some hand-washed socks out to dry and was surprised to see Jill and Sumeet standing there. Turns out Jill is in the room next to me. I looked at them with surprise and they quickly explained that they ditched the tour. It sounded boring and there were way too many kids. So now here they were, also trying to figure out what to do with themselves. We decided to join forces and walk into town together. It was only a short walk from the lodge, I hadn’t seen it yet, and they needed to stretch their legs.

Dust swirled as we walked the dirt road into town. The town is small with one main street, lined with restaurants, bars, and shops; both high end hiking clothing (but was it all knock offs?) and tchotchke souvenirs. Nothing interesting. The most interesting thing was all the dogs, a fat dachshund sunning himself right in the middle of the road, a haughty Shepard trotting along and lifting his leg on everything he could. We walked into one art gallery that had caught my eye each time I was driven past it but I glazed over and lost interest when the tiniest little llama statue was $300 USD. In less than an hour we were back at the lodge.

I cleaned myself up and took a bath to kill some time. With still well over an hour before dinner I remembered to finally take some pictures of the lodge before I grabbed my iPad and settled into my now normal spot in the lounge to hang out. My little go-to hangout spot is right by the exploration center and I could hear a woman in there being a complete demanding biatch to the guides. She was supposed to do a hike tomorrow but it’s downhill and she’d rather go uphill so she wants to do the hike in reverse. The guides explained to her that there are other guests signed up for the hike as well so they can’t change it just for her. She demanded that they call the other guests and see if they were willing to change the hike to do it her way. This woman was a piece of work.

Sumeet and then Jill idled into the lounge and joined me. My eyes widened when Sumeet asked Jill what was up with Nacho (one of the guides) calling about changing their hike?! Apparently, the hike that rude biatch lady was talking about was Penaliri; Jill and Sumeet had already told me they were doing it the next day so this made sense now. Nacho actually agreed to make the calls like rude biatch demanded and his first call was to Jill, who told him no they didn’t want it changed, so they stopped making calls. I explained to them what I had overhead from rude biatch and the story was complete to all of us now.

As we were chatting, another man I had spoke with a couple days ago, who I knew was supposed to be doing Toco this morning, walked by and stopped to tell me all about it. He confirmed that Toco was awesome, it took him 90 minutes to get to the summit, and he wasn’t too cold, he didn’t even need to wear a hat or beanie under his helmet. Helmet? Come again? It’s always a good sign for an adventure when they give you a helmet!

Other folks stopped by and chatted with us as well. I love the sense of community in the lodge. With only 50 rooms it’s small enough that within a day you recognize people and everyone is eager to chat and share stories of their adventures. It’s a certain type of clientele that stays at a lodge like this, a clientele that has a strong sense of adventure or else they wouldn’t be here, so it feels like everyone has a common ground.

James showed up in the lounge and joined Jill, Sumeet, and I for dinner. This is my fourth night here and I haven’t eaten a dinner alone yet! When Jill ordered a green salad my eyes lit up with a smile of joy, they don’t have salads on the dinner menu so I had no idea you could do that, just order one! My green salad was the perfect fresh accompaniment to my pumpkin soup and octopus.

Tomorrow is the test that I am most anxious for. Tomorrow morning I will summit Voclan Cerro Toco. At 18,400 ft elevation I am so anxious and scared to see how I will handle the altitude. I felt amazing today compared to yesterday so I think the diamox has been working.