Written by Jedediah Watkins
Read Time: 20 Minutes
Introduction to the Majestic Mount Acatenango
If you want to know how you will react in life when things
get tough, the mountain will show you. The adversity that can only come
from fighting gravity for hours and hours on end will lay you bare and
give you only yourself as a source of inspiration and fuel to reach your
destination.
I remember the first time I laid eyes on Mount Acatenango.
Its towering presence was both intimidating and alluring, luring me into
a silent promise of adventure.
This grand volcano, standing just shy of 4,000 metres,
is a sentinel overlooking the Guatemalan landscape. As I gazed upon its steep
slopes carpeted with lush forest, I understood that Acatenango is more than
a mountain—it's a rite of passage for those who dare confront its
challenges.
Its twin peaks, cloaked in clouds, whispered
tales of the sweat, ash, and awe that awaited. I was ready to answer its call.
To travel where all travelers must go if they wish to truly experience the
height of Guatemala!
Preparing for the Ascent: Training and Gear Essentials
As I set my sights on Acatenango, I wish I had immersed
myself in rigorous physical training, focusing on endurance and
strength. There’s a need to learn a resistance to the incredibly taxing ascent
into the altitude on the softer ground you find higher up the
mountain.
A little bit of training would have gone a long way.
I took a single hike (about 3 hours) just a few days before, and that
definitely wasn’t enough. Acatenango’s taxing terrain would teach me
that valuable lesson.
Essential gear for the mountain checklist:
High-quality hiking boots: Vital for the rocky
paths. I took Nike Trail running shoes, which had the perfect breathability
for the hotter temperature at the start of the hike.
Thermal clothing: A must to combat the biting cold at
higher altitudes. Once you get to the top and stop walking, the chill sets
in.
A sturdy backpack: To carry supplies without adding undue
strain. Most tour groups provide four litres of water for the trip. You’ll
need a good bag to carry that and the rest of your supplies.
Plenty of water: Hydration couldn't be overlooked,
alongside high-energy snacks. The heat and altitude make water a
premium supply.
Walking poles: They became my trusty companions,
steadying my stride. I only used one walking pole. I would highly recommend picking
up two, especially for stability on the descent.
Equipped and determined, I was ready to face
Acatenango's challenge, step by unyielding step.
The Journey Begins: Setting Off at Dawn
As the first tendrils of light crept across the Guatemalan
horizon, I shouldered my pack, brimming with anticipation and a hint of
trepidation. The ascent of Mount Acatenango promised to test the limits of
my strength and willpower.
But in that quiet, ethereal dawn, the world seemed
hushed and reverent, as if nature itself was pausing to draw in a deep,
grounding breath.
With each step, the stirring of the forest awoke around me, a chorus of life heralding the day. I was embarking not just on a physical journey to conquer a towering stratovolcano, but on a personal quest for the awe-inspiring vistas and the inner silence that comes from standing atop the world, alone with the sky.
Javier my humble tour guide there to support and lead the way when things go tough. Believe me was he needed!
This was the beginning, the
first stride into a tale of sweat, ash, and awe.
Encountering the Elements: Navigating Through Weather
and Terrain
As I ascended Mount Acatenango, the capricious
weather was a relentless adversary. Sunrays pierced the morning mist,
offering fleeting warmth before clouds swelled, ushering in
bone-chilling gusts.
Adjusting layers became a rhythmic dance – on with
the jacket, off with the gloves, a scarf wrapped and unwrapped.
The first thirty minutes hit you hard. The ascent is steep
and the ground soft, a combination that makes for tricky trekking.
The soft ground collapsing under every step while descending hikers fly past
you offering encouragement and an experienced smile.
I knew this was only the initial shock of movement in
tough terrain and to continue would be to make every step easier. Gusts
whipped volcanic ash into mini whirlwinds, a gritty ballet against the
skin.
The terrain, a mosaic of lush forest trails and
treacherous loose scree, required constant vigilance. The forest truly
surprised me. The brilliant greens zigzagging through the mountain. For
a second you forget you’re thousands of feet in the air and feel like you’re
lost amongst the Amazon Rainforest.
At high altitudes, each breath was a laborious gasp,
the thin air scarcely filling my lungs.
With each step, I battled not just the mountain but
the very elements themselves, each one testing my resolve to reach the awe-inspiring
summit.
The mountain is dotted with rest-sites along the
route. Some offering coffee, tea and other snacks. Others just a lonely
bench amidst the heavens. Certain stops are a lot closer together.
Providing regular benchmarks for progress up the steep slopes.
There is a single stop that’s 50 minutes from the
previous resting place. That leg was easily the toughest. Scattered
along this leg is long stretches heading uphill with rocks to climb and trees
to work around.
With base camp in sight the route flattens out.
Offering not just a sweet respite but incredible views. The best views in
Guatemala I would say, as an unbiased observer 😉
(allow me to change perspective for a second just to get a little poetic)
The slope angles away from you. The trees clear away
to blue sky. And there it is. The Volcano standing tall and brilliant
against an azure horizon.
You continue to walk along this flat winding path to base
camp with eyes locked onto the volcanic cone, hoping to see something
you didn’t realise was possible until just now. Then just as you get
comfortable, your eyes dip down to the path and you get back into your stride
it happens.
A tremor lifts the ground you’re on. A sound wave
blows past you. You feel the air around you gasp. You look up to see a dark
brown bouquet billowing from the volcano.
Large smoke clouds with what looks like tiny rocks
floating out from the cone (these flaming hot rocks are meters wide but
look so small from a kilometre away).
Once the initial shock is over you realise what you
have just witnessed. Mount Fuego, a volcano less than 2,000 meters away.
Just exploded, a small explosion. But nonetheless impressive and awe inspiring.
I looked back to tell the guide Javier about it and he just shrugged
it off. Informing me of just how regular these things are. And regular
it was.
For the rest of the night there wasn’t longer than thirty
minutes without an eruption. Some were just plumes of brown smoke blowing
skywards. Others were roars into the very atmosphere, with lava flying high
and sounds loud enough to wake sleeping beauty.
As the initial shock of seeing a volcano erupt wore
off, base camp was in sight. Finally, after four and a half hours
hiking, it was time to rest. For a little while.
Mount Fuego: A Journey into Madness
Once I reached basecamp Javier told me he’d give me thirty
minutes to relax, to feel the mountain and to sense check myself. He said
he’d offer a secondary hike, to summit Fuego (yes, the active volcano
that keeps erupting).
Of course with no hesitation, I jumped at the intriguing experience.
And so began the maddening voyage into volcanic ash, and deeper into my own
mind.
I was feeling pretty good after the initial four and a
half hours it took to get to basecamp. After the short break and a good
snack I was ready to rock.
Javier also pulled out some instant noodles which completely
boosted my mood. Yet nothing could prepare me for what came next.
The start was fairly innocuous. A steep decline in
soft ash (that I remarked at the time would be a handful later on) which had
become par for the course after the first hike. A decline that went on
for almost an hour, to reach the valley for our Fuego summit.
The ascent is where the true trials began. As before
every step upward was a step into thinner air and heavier gasps for it. Mount
Fuego sits at 3,768 meters above sea level. Making it for tricky trekking
at the best of times.
The winding path of soot falls away with each step,
dragging you endlessly down when all you want to do is head up. Fortunately for
this part of the journey, reaching Fuegos summit took less time. Roughly
45 minutes to get to visibility of the cone, which now stood only a few
hundred meters away.
As I reached the desolate dusty volcano top. I sat at
peace, amongst the grey wasteland covered in smoke and ash from previous
eruptions. It felt truly surreal to be sitting atop an active volcano.
Somewhere just two hours ago I saw erupting. As the volcano
continued to erupt, being this close felt so powerful. So beautiful
(if not a tad frightening). Fortunately for my fear there wasn’t a massive eruption
while I was up there. I still wish I’d felt the true force of the mountain
in that moment.
To lose myself in the power that sits below. It does
get pretty cold up on Mount Fuego, so I wrapped up. Three layers,
gloves and a hat just to be sure. After twenty minutes of enjoying the
show, it was time to head back to basecamp.
This, was where the trouble began.
It’s always easier to let gravity take you than to fight
it, so naturally the only option for descent was to run down the
mountainside. Something that started off as a fun little ride if not a
little worrying (I need ACL surgery on my right knee so stability isn’t all the
way there).
Nearing the bottom of Mount Fuego my hands started to go numb, with a slight tingling sensation. A wave of dizziness hit me and I took a seat. Knowing I had at the very best, an hour of uphill hiking to come this was not a good sign.
Javier slipped me some of his finest altitude sickness
pills and told us to VAMOS! And Vamos we did. We got back into our
groove and for the next thirty minutes everything felt okay.
As the sun had finally set and the darkness had taken a
hold, as poetically as pathetic fallacy can be, the mood took a nosedive. Altitude
sickness hit me hard.
I started to lose energy dramatically. Every twenty
steps or so I had to take a mini-break. Those mini-breaks became minutes
long, dragging out this endless odyssey back to base camp. Javier
encouraged me every step of the way, I just had nothing left in me.
Before long I started to hallucinate. I couldn’t
trust my own feet to keep me on the mountain path. Fearing that one stray
step could lead me down the mountainside I opted for more frequent and longer
stops.
Within my head I counted five by five steps as often
as I could. It was difficult to maintain focus but finding regular rhythm to
the lack of cognition I was having helped a lot. Somehow, after a grueling
hour and a half. I reached basecamp.
The Evening: Rest and Relaxation
In a flash a campfire was burning beautiful bright orange,
akin to its twin flame just a mountain peak away.
A meal was prepared by Javier in less than twenty minutes. Chicken
with vegetables, all the nourishment needed.
Not only that but after gulping down as much as I could (for
some reason, after an accumulated nine hours hiking I couldn’t eat that much)
Javier had a little treat in store. Sitting at the campfire he brought out hot
chocolate and marshmallows. The perfect end to an incredibly hectic and at sometimes
traumatising day.
Summit Success: The Final Push to the Peak
In the morning, I mean EARLY morning (around 3:30AM).
Javier, as if he hadn’t just hiked for nine hours less than half a day
ago, was up and ready to go.
He banged on the door and with it I was awake after
roughly thirty minutes sleep (altitude sickness messes with your sleep
too). It was time, to reach the summit!
The air was fresh and my legs felt somehow anew. The
trauma of the previous night faded into the distance as step after step took
me closer to the summit.
A much easier ascent was in store. Piling up mileage
like it was nothing. I felt renewed and my spirits hit the roof.
With the summit within grasp, I dug deep into unwavering
resolve. The crunch of volcanic ash beneath my feet beat like a drum,
propelling me upwards. Thin air whispered through my lungs, a constant
reminder of the altitude's challenge.
I couldn't ignore the burn in my muscles, yet the
ache felt like a rite of passage—a herald of my impending triumph.
As dawns first light painted the sky in hues of
hope, I found a rhythm amidst the rocky terrain. Step by step, I conquered
the deceptive incline, the taste of potential victory sweeter with each
breath.
Lighting up with the sun's rays, the summit's silhouette
beckoned, and with a surge of adrenaline, I embraced the final push, the
peak now a mere heartbeat away.
Eyes on the horizon, feet relentlessly moving forward,
the summit drew closer until, with one last step, I stood on the roof of
Acatenango.
The world expanded below me in an endless panorama,
and for a moment, I was infinite.
Embracing the Summit: Moments of Awe and Reflection
As I finally surmounted the crest of Mount Acatenango,
a profound silence enveloped me. The vast Guatemalan landscape sprawled
below, cloaked in the light of the hour.
I was breathless, not just from the climb but from
the sheer majesty that unfolded before my eyes. Each step taken was a
dialogue with my innermost self, dotted with whispers of perseverance
and echoes of inner strength I had tapped into along the way.
Standing at the pinnacle, the horizon seemed infinite, and
so did the potential I found within. This was a moment of awe, a
testament to my human will, and a reflection of life's grandeur -
an unforgettable chapter in my book of existence.
Descending into Reality: The Journey Back to Base
As I began my descent from Mount Acatenengo's peak,
the monumental effort of the climb began to sink in. Every step down the ash
carpeted trail was a mix of relief and latent vigilance. My legs, now
weary and leaden from the ascent, occasionally skidded on the loose
gravel, a stark reminder of gravity's unyielding pull.
As I said before, to let gravity take you is so much
easier than to go round for round with it. Flying down the mountain felt like
it took mere moments. In a flash I was down the mountain.
The descent took less than two hours total. A stark
contrast to the day before. This felt smooth and easy. Like the mountain was
giving back what it had taken.
Surrounding me, the landscape transformed subtly,
from the barren otherworldliness near the summit to the lush tapestry of
life at lower altitudes.
With the mighty volcano now at my back, I felt both
humbled and invigorated by its looming presence, a silent witness to the
human spirit's resilience and the raw beauty of nature.
Lessons Learned and the Call of the Mountains
Ascending Mount Acatenango was a profound journey,
both physically and mentally. Here are some insights gleaned from the trek:
Respect the Mountain: Its sheer might reminded me of
nature’s grandeur and the respect it commands. Every step taught me humility.
Embrace the Challenge: The struggle uphill, battling
fatigue and altitude, was a testament to the body's resilience and the
mind's fortitude.
Preparation is Key: I learned that thorough
preparation, both in fitness and gear, makes a significant difference
to the overall experience.
Small Steps Lead to Summits: When the goal seemed
distant, focusing on one small step at a time proved to be the most
reliable strategy for success.
The Mountain Community: Shared struggles forge the
strongest of bonds. The camaraderie amongst fellow hikers was both unexpected
and heartwarming.
In the silence that the peaks offered, I understood why
the mountains call. It’s a call to find oneself amidst the vastness
and to witness the world from above the ordinary.
The Tour:
To hike Mount Acatenango I used Tropicana tours
(a hostel that runs different tours around Guatemala). Based on what other
travelers had said I knew I could trust them.
Almost all tour companies run from Antigua, a beautiful
smaller town that deserves an article of its own.
Tropicana offer multiple tours;
Couple private tour - $269 USD (2 people)
- A private tour guide
- Three meals (Lunch, Dinner and Breakfast the next day)
- Private cabin
Group Sunrise Tour - $300 USD (5 people)
- Local tour guides
- 1 bag of snacks
- Breakfast after the hike
Group Day Tour - $300 USD (5 people)
- Local tour guides
- Lunch
They also offer individual entry to the park through larger group tours!
If you liked this blog, buy me a coffee to support my writing endeavours;
https://buymeacoffee.com/micielotravels
0 Comments