C'mon let's get high

Ye know, I don't get it. All these people who have no stake in the game and no experience in the sport telling me what's up and what ain't. Well, this is it boys and girls, I like to travel. I think it's fun. I get some good experiences and some better perspective from it. I've learned more in traveling and working than I ever did in school and I can speak from experience rather than from second and third person accounts of the world. I believe what I believe about certain parts of the world because I've been there, I cannot say I know there completely or even mostly, but I've glanced them. (Disclaimer: if this sounds bitter it's 'cause it's been bothering me a while). It's like when all these peeps are like "Oh no! You're going to South America!? You're gonna get kidknapped and die!" And then I'm like: Hon, when was the last time you went to South America? Ye know what I did in South America the other night? I went to a fly resturaunt in the plaza de armas of Arequipa with my friend Zoe (Ah, it's nice to have company again). We had a huge plate of amazing ceviche for not even 10 bucks while the table next to us was having a grand time playing their guitar and drums. Then they invited us over and bought us beer all night while laughing and taking turns playing songs. And that's what I'll remember about South America, not that I was gonna get kidknapped and die :)

Arequipa

Now that I'm off my soapbox, this is what the blogpost is really about. El Misti. The active volcano behind Arequipa. Standing at a staggering  19,000+ feet. Does anyone else get that thing where they see a giant mountain and immediately think 'I gotta climb that thing'? Well I do. Ever since I heard about it back in Ica I was like I gotta climb this. That is SO HIGH. The highest I'd ever been before was 15,000 feet and that was a couple weeks ago on this very trip. I remember walking a mile at that altitude and huffing for it too. What would it be like climbing a mountain that was over 4,000 feet HIGHER than that!? Jesus it must be breathtaking (pun intended). So me and Zoe set out to find out about this our first day in Arequipa. You either do it in two days or one. We went for the one.

Now there are a few things I must admit before I tell this story. First, I'm terribly out of shape. Second, I was NOT acclimated for that altitude. And third, it's SO HIGH. (Also, kind of by accident, but not by my fault, I had more than a full pack on 'cause the guide peeps wanted me to take more than needed). That being said, let's continue. 

We left Arequipa at midnight in a 4X4 because there is no other way to get there. It takes around an hour to get there. Getting to the bottom you can see Misti looming over you. And I mean looming in every sense of the word. We're about to attempt to hike up 7,000 feet over 10-15 km at a HIGH altitude. Am I ready for this? I don't know. Actually I do know, and it's no haha, but I'm gonna give it a shot because that is who I am.

The morning hike through the sunrise was gorgeous. Absolutely amazing. But needless to say we could feel the altitude from the beginning. And it took us 5 hours to get to the base camp. 

Sunrise over the neighboring volcano 

Unfortunately at base camp Zoe was not enjoying the altitude and optioned to chill there while me and the guide pushed for the top. The base camp is still really really HIGH, but still 6 or so hours from the top. So off me and the dude went. Now this is no mountain in America. There is no trail. This is go. Go up, switchback, do what you gotta f'n do because you're forcing your way through a mountainside of snow at an altitude of higher than you've ever been before by thousands of feet. 

I was feeling good for a while. But then there was a point. Around 17,500 where I couldn't breathe. I couldn't breathe sitting, resting, and sure as hell not hiking through the snow up a mountain. But I kept going. A little at a time. A switchback at a time. A little more. A little less. Fall over and rest. A little more. Until finally I didn't know if I could go on. But I knew I could. I knew I could force my body to do it. I was at over 18,000 feet and so very close. We had two hours to make it, and I knew I could but it would take the full 2 hours. And then I thought about how out of shape I was and how I hadn't even attempted at getting acclimated and how I still had to go down, and I said 18,000 is good enough for me haha. Plus I didn't want Zoe waiting too long at the altitude in the cold if it wasn't doing her well. And so that's how I almost climbed El Misti, but was still happy with almost climbing it :)

At this point I was pretty wrecked though. Fighting through knee deep snow up thousands of feet at that altitude had done me pretty good. And going down is always hardest... So I basically rolled down the mountain.... 

My roll trail

Which was fucking exhausting as well. The many rocks I threw myself into didn't help either. But, as I said, I was fairly wrecked. We made it back to Zoe at the base camp and started heading down through the volcanic sand and the mist that must've given Misti his name. 

El Misti

When we got back to town, we got a hotel room ($20 a night haha), a hot shower, and collapsed into exhausted sleep.

Be happy all, 

Beacon

PS I woke up today with a raccoon sunburn feeling like someone'd pushed me down a mountain. Which, basically, is what I'd done to myself.