Today was the first training hike. We started with our breakfast briefing and a final gear check. Our objective: a nearby peak, Cerro Ilayo.
The climb is steep. 2600 feet of vertical over five miles. The trail is a slick, rutted mess. A good start. Our group of 3 (just one other guest and me) moves like a single unit. We made a slow but steady push to the ridge line and then the summit.
All along the way, we met so many stray dogs. They have a unique place in Latin American culture and are regarded as communal pets. We met the nicest stray dogs at the summit (welcoming committee) and fed them little pieces of our snacks. They seemed so grateful.
The descent is my background with snowboarding and skiing came in handy. I got to help my partner from Miami get her weight forward so as to avoid slipping and falling. Weighting your feet gives you more traction.
Transit to our lodging for the night. I’m expecting a hostel. It is a palace. It’s Hacienda Cotopaxi Pungo with views of Cotopaxi (tonight in clouds) and neighboring volcanoes. (By the end of this trip, I hope to learn all of their names.) A fireplace in my room. An en suite with three hot pools and a cold plunge.
I feel so lucky to be here. This is a really special trip and it’s turning out to be five stars!
Thank you Ian Taylor Trekking for this awesome trip!
This post is part of my “Unsmallable 60 Project.” It’s my misogi, and let it be your permission slip.
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Whatever your edge looks like — the trip you haven’t booked, the conversation you haven’t had, the life you keep meaning to start — you’re not done.
Neither am I.
— Susan