Acatenango Day 2 – Hiking to Heaven
Dutifully up at 4am, our group of 15 began hiking up the rest of Volcán Acatenango by 4:20. We employed headlamps (or, if you were unprepared like me, iPhones) to guide us up the steep terrain. It was a matter of when, not if, you would lose your footing. Nevertheless, we trudged upward and onward.
By the way, check out Acatenango Day 1 if you want to see pictures of erupting volcanoes.
After about an hour of waging war with steep grade, the top of the volcano finally came into view. Vibrant hues of blue and pink were smeared across the sky. I began to smile.
My smiling became uncontrollable once we reached the top of the volcano and witnessed the full panorama of the morning sky. It was pure magic.
Despite each of us having completed multiple treks recently (with Brett hiking for 12 days through the Himalayas), we were grateful we decided to push through and do one more big hike. Despite the fact that the temperature was rather frigid, it was nothing short of heaven.
At 4000 meters, it truly felt like we were at the top of the world. We were higher than every mountain around us.
The sun finally rose, with its rays scattered by the atmosphere and the clouds. Definitely the finest sunrise my eyes have ever seen.
With the sun up, we could no longer see the red lava spew out of Volcán de Fuego. Nevertheless, I decided to use my wizarding powers to coax just one more eruption of smoke from our new volcano friend.
If you are looking for an incredible experience, do this (and be sure to bring lots of warm clothes). Brett and I agreed that hiking up Acatenango was potentially our #1 experience of all time. It was truly unforgettable. That sunrise will be burned into my memory forever.
4 COMMENTS
I, and I assume others are enjoying your writing and pictures vicariously. Thanks for sharing this tremendous experience with me/us. What do you do for an encore??
Thank you! Perhaps I’ll have to find another volcano to climb!
Michael, I am a church buddy of your mom’s and asked her if I could hear more about your trip. These photos are truly magnificent, inspiring and remind me of all the good and glorious things still in a very crazy world. As I have fear of flying, such photos make me feel just a bit that I “was there” and I have never seen better sunrise photos than these in my life, including the offerings of National Geo. Your writing is poetic, sensitive, and transporting! If you can cc me in on further photos from your trip, please do to carolhstewart@hotmail.com. That was really another world “up there” amid sky, clouds, and mountains—how I envision Shangri-La, heaven, etc…WOW! And I offer you my deepest condolences on the recent loss of your grandfather. I look forward to more pix of your trip! Thank you, Carol Stewart
Thank you so much for the kind words! I post pretty much all photos here (and since you subscribed to the blog you’ll be notified whenever I upload anything). If there’s any photo you want in particular, let me know and I can email it to you directly. Thanks!
Comments are closed.