Santa María Volcano
After doing some hikes on my own, it was time to face a big challenge, and the hike in question was the Santa María hike. The peak was over 3,700 meters, and I didn’t feel very confident going to that altitude by myself. For this one, I needed a group. However, finding a group was more difficult than I expected. It turned out that Quetzaltenango is not as popular as I thought it was, and even more so during the rainy season.
After asking around the hostel, and looking into different tour operators, the only thing I could find was not as soon as I wanted it to be, but I felt like there was no choice. I still waited, thinking things might change, and at the very last minute, they did. One of the operators got back to the hostel I was at, and had not one, but two options for the hike, one in the middle of the night and the other early in the morning. Wanting to get some sleep, I opted for the second option.
I got up, packed some food, and waited outside the hostel for less than two minutes before I was picked up, not in a shuttle like I expected, but in a car. Talking with the driver (who was also our tour guide) and confirming my name, it turned out the group was a small one, only four people, and I was the first one to be picked up. One by one, we picked the other members of the group, and then headed to the beginning of the trail. It didn’t take long to get there in those early hours, and after everyone got out of the car, it was time to start.
Immediately, I was confused. Our guide said he needed to consult the map, as he wasn’t completely sure that he remembers the route correctly, which wasn’t the most reassuring thing, but also not a big deal for me. But at the beginning of the trail there was a split, with two ways to go. As I was there before, when I went to the viewpoint overlooking Santiaguito, and consulted Maps.Me at the time, I expected to take the road to the right, while the guide headed straight. Following him, I asked about the other road, and he said that is a road that normally the locals take. He then added that some tourists can get lost along this path easily, which wasn’t a bit of a surprise to me. While it could be tricky, for the most part it was a single path, especially when I followed the map.
I decided I should at least try and trust and guide, and didn’t push with any more questions about that trail. The group settled into a quiet walk up into the woods, with nothing particularly interesting happening for a while. Then we got to a clearing, which I was sure I passed when I was on the mountain on my own. It occurred to me that it’s possible the two trails in the beginning end up leading to the same place, although I didn’t try to verify it.
In that part of the trail we also met a European family, accompanied by their own guide. We chatted with them for a little bit before proceeding. For the rest of the day, I didn’t see them (even on the way back down). As we kept going up, we met a few more people going up, but mostly people who were climbing during the night and now they were making their way down. Occasionally our guide would talk with them in fast Spanish, which I didn’t completely follow, but it was never a long conversation.
As we settled down into a rhythm, I found myself in the back most of the time. It didn’t surprise or bother me at all. I had no idea about the fitness level of the others, but I knew my own level, and I knew the altitude will have an effect on me as well. I didn’t feel bad about being at the back, the important thing was to not push myself beyond the limits. While at a few points I was in the middle of the group, and in one or two moments I was right by the guide, for the most part, I was comfortable in the back. Every now and then I would stop to drink some water and catch my breath while the other waited for me up the road. At a random spot, where the others were resting, when I finally got back to them I sat down to eat my breakfast. It was a pretty boring place to stop, but I was hungry and had no idea how long it would take to get to a better spot. On top of that, I needed the energy boost.
Whenever someone else had to stop, I waited too. It was a chance to give myself another break, and on top of that I didn’t want anyone else to be left far behind. At that point a thought came to my head, that perhaps I would be able to do a good job as a guide myself, if I were to stay in the area for long enough.
Occasionally we would talk to each other, but for the most part we were quiet, focusing on the hike and on our own thoughts. The silence was broken mainly by other travelers who passed by us. The road didn’t feel like it’s getting any more difficult at that point, and it wasn’t as steep as I expected. However, it wasn’t a sure road, and it did keep going up, and the altitude was taking its toll on us.
That marked a shift in the position of the group, with me somehow ending up in the middle for that section of the hike. Two of the other hikers in the group were getting tired and had to stop more often. I still waited around, giving myself plenty of short breaks, but it did make me feel a bit better to see that other people started to find their limits as well.
Roughly at the same time, we got to a spot along the trail with a small gap between a couple of trees, which gave us the first view of the area below. It was mostly covered i n clouds, but it was beautiful nonetheless. I found myself smiling, with a morale boost, and wondered what views are waiting for us at the top of the Santa María volcano.
We climbed higher and higher, with the road gradually changing to be a bit more steep and rocky. Every now and then, I stopped next to another gap in the trees, resting, drinking, and taking in the view which was just getting better and better.
I found myself in the back of the group again, although this time I remained pretty close to the others. It was nice to be rewarded with views while still being quite some distance away from the top. As the road became rockier and the trees started to disappear, the wind got stronger and soon enough we were all wearing more layers.
As I stopped to take some pictures, perhaps more often than the others, I fell further behind everyone else, although I could still see them up the mountain, and they still waited for me to catch up whenever I was too far behind.
Close to the top, it was me and another hiker struggling around at the back, while we lost sight of the group. We wondered which path to take along the rocky terrain, and it took us a few minutes to get to the top of Santa María, which was a larger area than I expected. We headed over to where the other members of the group were waiting, got congratulated for making it to the top, and looked around us.
As incredible as the view was in the middle of the road, at the top of Santa María it was so much better. There was a clear view almost all the way around, and I stood there in awe, taking in all the different sights. I could see far away and far down, and enjoyed being so high up, towering over all of it. The cities, and the mountains, the green fields, and the clouds that blended in so perfectly with all of it, making the experience feel so much more.
The only downside that on that day, at the time we were up the mountain, the clouds completely covered Santiaguito, so were not able to see any eruptions for the most part, although at one point we did hear it (thanks to our guide pointing it out), and even saw a bit of smoke coming up (before it was quickly covered by clouds).
The downside of that location was that we were completely exposed, and the freezing winds hit us relentlessly. After taking a look around and sitting with the group for a few minutes, I decided I had enough and told them I’m going to look for a lower place to sit and rest in, where the wind doesn’t hit as hard. Within a few minutes I found a spot. It was near the trail, and I still had a great view when I sat down to look around me, mostly shielded from the wind and the cold. About ten minutes later I felt like I rested enough and enjoyed the view, so I headed back to my group members and asked if they were ready to go back down. Thankfully, they were. We talked with our guide, and after taking a couple of group photos at the top, which lasted more than it should have, we started our descent.
This time, we reversed the order of the group, with me at the front while the guide was in the back. I was a bit surprised, but didn’t question it. For me, the goal was simple- Get back to the car as quickly as possible, safely. Getting to the top, and staying there, was just half of the journey. Nothing bad happened, but the second half just started, and as we weren’t as fresh as we were at the beginning, things could change quickly. Along the trail, it was practically impossible to keep everyone in sight, so I counted on our guide to make sure everything is okay at the back of the group.
I still stopped occasionally, to rest, drink, and let the others catch up (next to a viewpoint, if I could), but I guess my drive to get back down made me just keep pushing. And of course, it was easier to breathe on the way down, as we descended into lower altitudes. The trees were getting closer apart, and soon enough we were in the thick of the forest again, going down a path with little to no view. While the altitude was less of a problem, the mud was a bigger one. At times the road was quite slippery, and I lost my foot more than once. It was a reminder that I shouldn’t be so hasty, and slow down a little bit. It didn’t work very well, and for the most part I kept going at a steady pace, even after I scratched my foot on a random rock.
We kept going, and at some point we came across a dog. While it quickly disappeared behind me, others were seemingly excited by it. Whether it was related or not, when I looked down to rest along with another hiker, we noticed no one else was behind us. After a couple of minutes we could hear someone shouting, and wondering if it was the guide calling for us.
We went back up the trail, and then down a side trail in order to find the rest of the group waiting for us, and wondering why we didn’t keep going. After a moment of confusion, we resumed our walk. This time the guide took his place in the front while I was in the back again. It didn’t feel like we were slowing down, so I didn’t really care in what position I was. Being deep in the forest, after the road started to open up a bit, I was sure we were not far away from the trailhead. However, a little while later we got to a big clearing, which made me realize we were a lot further than I thought.
At that clearing, after a bathroom break, we sat down to relax. For some reason, at that point our guide started to have a bit of a philosophical discussion, which wasn’t bad or annoying, but I wasn’t sure what brought it up.
After we had rested enough, it was time for the final push down Santa María. That was another point where I felt I just wanted to get it over with. While the experience was great, the final stretch was not very fun. I’ve seen what I came to see, came down without a problem, and from that point it was just a matter of making it back to the car, so we can go back to the city and rest.
It took a while, and as we got closer to the end the road became less green. While not as nice to look at, it was a good sign. Eventually we saw the road, and the car. I nearly ran over to it, and was the first person there. A few minutes later the rest of the group got there as well, and after congratulating each other for completing the challenge, we made our way back to the city, happy and tired.