Hiking acatenango volcano

Talk about a tough but incredibly rewarding hike!

We started our hike around 3:00 pm after our bus dropped us off at the  trailhead of Volcan Acatenango. (We started later in the day as we are wrapping up our medical mission in town. If I were to hike it again I would start earlier in the day) We hoisted our backpacks, full of cold weather clothes, snacks, and at least 3 liters of water, onto our backs and immediately experienced the steep incline that would be our trek for the next 4 miles up.

The weather had a mind of its own to say the least. It was windy with gusts of light rain just enough to soak your clothes. To keep us dry and warm we hiked with rain coats, a long sleeve, a puffy down jacket, quick drying hiking pants with thermals underneath, semi-waterproof hiking shoes, and a FrogTog rain poncho (This was the best as it was durable and covered not only myself but my huge backpack). Below, I have put together a list of things I HIGHLY recommend you pack!

“One foot in front of the other” and “Just keep your eyes on the ground” were two phrases I kept telling myself as some parts of the trail seemed to be getting steeper and steeper. Many of us were losing traction as the hard, predictable dirt turned into slippery mud. As we neared the last hour of hiking our guide, Warner, told us “this last mile is nice and flat” which gave me the much needed motivation to persevere. To my excitement the trail finally flattened out and my thighs and calves were screaming with gratitude. Though, suddenly the flat terrain turned into steep, loose gravel and one step forward turned into two steps backwards. At this point I wanted to cry with tired frustration as rain and wind persisted, attempting to penetrate our layers. The sun was now gone and so was the last bit of my mental strength. Though tired, we could hear the powerful thunder-like clap Fuego  released after each eruption which was a huge tease since clouds created a thick blanket between us and Fuego.

One more turn up the daunting slope and alas our tents were in reach and a warm, smoky fire awaited our arrival. I looked down at my phone and the time was 7:30pm. Our great guide, Warner, was equally exhausted but put that aside to make sure we filled our stomachs with a hearty soup of chicken, rice, and veggies. He also pulled out a glass handle of whiskey that he had trekked all the way up to camp so that we could “warm our stomachs” he said and also numb our throbbing legs. He quickly let us know that if there weren’t any clouds present we would have a direct view of the erupting Fuego volcano. At this point I had my fingers and toes crossed and was praying that the clouds would clear up and the rain would stop to catch a glimpse of exploding lava! But…the weather had a plan of its own and after waiting 2 more hours, inhaling smoke from the burning wet wood, getting pelted by wind and rain, our group finally gave up and headed into our tents.

4:00am consisted of the BEST wake up call from Warner (our guide) yelling “Hello chicos, Lava, Lava, Lava.” I burst out of my sleeping bag in a flash, ripped open the tent and pushed my head through just in time to see Fuego spraying orange and red colored lava hundreds of feet into the air. Finally! My dream came true! I was grinning from ear to ear. After the lava settled, I quickly threw my layers and shoes back on and jumped outside so to not miss any more eruptions. I felt like a little kid on Christmas seeing the incredible power of each eruption and seeing the beautiful contrast of color against the early morning black sky. Warner, quickly set up another fire under the tarp canopy to keep us warm as we stood there waiting for Fuego’s beautiful eruptions. Then as 6:30am rolled around the sun decided to greet us with beautiful colors of orange, red, and yellow in the horizon which bounced off the puffy clouds below. While we stood there taking in the beautiful volcano and now sunrise Warner froze his butt off to prepare a great breakfast of slices of banana, strawberry, and apples mixed in with cornflakes and warm powdered milk.

8:00am finally rolled around, the sun now bright in the sky, and previous eruptions of orange lava now just puffs of grey smoke, we packed up our backpacks to make the steep trek back down the mountain. It was beautiful to see the area that we previously walked through in the dark, absorb the suns rays. We were amongst large pine trees that turned into a wet rainforest covered in moss and vines as we made our way back home. Those that struggled with previous knee injuries were quickly reminded of this as the steep decent and hard ground were a terrible combination for bad knees. As we made our way down, along comes an arthritic hobbling yellow mutt that made it his goal to be our leader for the first 30 minutes of our trek. Warner quickly informed us that this “mutt” was known as Tarzan and at 9 years young was one of the most “famous” dogs in Guatemala. So famous that Chile wrote an article about him! I was honored to share a few bites of my granola bar with the famous Tarzan! 3 hours later we hopped into our bus to head back to our hostel and waved our goodbyes to beloved Volcan Acatenango and the beautifully erupting Volcan Fuego.