Didn’t I Swear Never to do this Again?

With memories of Volcan Acatenango fresh in my mind from our June hike, I approached a new volcano hike with enthusiasm and, more importantly, valuable experience and mental preparation.

A roughly 6 hour hike uphill to the top of the volcano? Sure. A cold night camping at the volcano’s top at nearly 3,800 meters? Great. A 4.5 hour descent down the steep volcano-sides in the drizzling rain? Awesome.

While none of that sounds appealing by any stretch of the imagination, having gone through the torture and personal mental strain before while climbing Acatenango, I felt much more equipped and ready to tackle the challenges that lied ahead with Volcan de Agua. This, and only this, is what kept me relatively positive as we approached our hike this past Saturday.

Volcan de Agua stands at 3,760 meters above sea level, only 120 meters shorter than Acatenango. Inactive since the mid 16^th Century, it got its current, Spanish name “volcano of water” after the 1541 eruption wiped out the former capital city of Guatemala, which is now the quaint town of Ciudad Vieja, or Old City. Mudslides from the 1541 eruption took out the old city and given the abundance of water, the new name stuck in place of the old, Kaqchikel name Hunapú, meaning "place of flowers."

Volcan de Agua on a clear day from Antigua

Starting the morning spry and lively, we boarded a large military truck for a quick 40 minute drive to the nearest town around Volcan de Agua, Santa María de Jesús. We were greeted with a clear morning, which allowed me to break a sweat 1 hour into the hike as we felt the intense Guatemalan sun beating down on us. Fortunately we were able to eventually escape the sun under the volcano’s cover of lush forest as we began our steep ascent.

On our way towards Volcan de Agua

Stopping occasionally for breaks and for lunch, I ignored all other estimations while chatting about how much further we had to go. Having endured the heartbreak on my last hike regarding foolishly optimistic ETAs, I instead overestimated how much I thought we were yet to climb or, better yet, avoided making such estimations altogether. While it’s only natural to question how much pain lies ahead of you on this never-ending Stairmaster, I’ve learned it only leads to disappointment and it’s much better to focus your mind on getting over small chunks at a time. Rather than focus on the end goal that is physically not in sight (and almost never is), it’s better to attack each new path, turn, or hill individually and reward yourself for each small step conquered as you make your way to the top.

View from Volcan de Agua

Making our way to the top was a blessing as I left the previous 6.5 hours behind me as a painful memory. It’s amazing how the constant struggle over a 6.5 hour period of time can immediately be washed away by simply reaching your goal. Our campsite was to be in the crater of the volcano, which is really just a flat, grassy field littered with rocks and trash. Within the crater it was interesting to look around and see the peaks of the volcano enveloping you inside a bowl of fog and wind. Exhausted from our hike we were rewarded with frigid weather. We layered ourselves in all the clothing we brought and set up camp despite quickly losing feeling in our fingers.

Our old-school, Army canvas tents

An attempt to start of fire was rather fruitless as the unforgiving winds and damp, misty conditions suffocated any sparks. We moved the fire into a small stone house that was on the premises, which helped our fire get started, but immediately became unbearable to enjoy as the small room quickly bellowed with suffocating smoke. Not only out of place given it was at the top of the volcano, but it looked like a decrepit, drug shelter apparently used for ditching bottles, wrappers, and other waste, while also housing a large crucifix protected by a gate. I was confused as to whether it was a place for worship or a place for squatters to find shelter from the brutal elements outside while doing their drugs. The juxtaposition had me scratching my head.

Our cloudy crater/campsite and Jesus House

The saving grace for our hike up Acatenango was the amazing sunrise and views we were rewarded with after our long haul to the top. As the sun rose above the bed of clouds lying beneath us, it melted away the pain and suffering involved in reaching that point. The serene 360 view all around us made me feel like it was all truly worth it to now be standing at what felt like the top of the world. Simply put, Volcan de Agua did not offer similar solace, which left me jaded on our descent. A 4:30 AM wake up call to climb the 30 minutes to the peak above our campsite left us with nothing more than fog and runny noses. Cursed with a cloudy day, we found ourselves right inside of the clouds that I’ve seen morning after morning surrounding the top of the volcano on my commute to work. While it looks peaceful from the streets of Antigua, being within those clouds at that moment was full of wind, drizzled rain, and cold. Not as pleasant an environment as what appears on Volcan de Agua's façade from the streets of Antigua.

Our security detail

Hoping for better weather as we packed up and made our way towards a descent we were not so lucky. The cold remained and the drizzle only became more prominent. Slipping and sliding our way down the volcano was not only dangerous, but taxing on the knees, feet, and thighs. Unfortunate to have such bad weather for the day, we were stuck in a misty cloud cover for most of the descent, only finding a break for the final 1-2 hour stretch at the bottom. As we loaded up and drove away, I took a glance back at the volcano only to see it completely swallowed up in cloud cover – just our luck.

However, despite the sore muscles and tough experience, looking back on the experience was again one I enjoyed if not for a tough workout, for the company (misery loves company!). Additionally, being able to now look at that volcano each and every day as it looms over the city of Antigua and proudly remind myself that I conquered that beast is payment enough.