Climbing Acatenango Volcano

This last weekend I decided to climb Acatenango Volcano – one of the highest peaks in Guatemala, towering over Antigua at a height of 3,976 meters (13,041 feet). I went through a travel agency with a very international group that consisted of a couple plus another young lady from Norway, a couple from Australia, two people from Belgium, one from Germany, two from England, and myself plus the guide from the United States. Everyone in the group was in their late teens to mid-twenties so it was a really energetic and fun group.

On Friday evening we all packed our huge hiking backpacks with warm clothes, tents, sleeping bags and food in preparation for an early departure the next morning. Saturday morning we met at 6AM and, after a drive to the base of the volcano, started climbing at 8:30.

While I have hiked quite a bit in my day, this was probably one of the more challenging hikes I’ve ever done because of its a) duration, b) altitude, and c) incredibly difficult terrain; we were hiking very steep trails of loose pebbles, sand, and volcanic ash, which required extraordinary effort and the use of sturdy hiking sticks to keep from slipping and falling (although we all inevitably did so multiple times over the course of the hike). As the altitude increased, the going got slower and a few members of my group started struggling with altitude sickness (characterized by dizziness, severe heart-pounding and headaches) in addition to exacerbated conditions of gastrointestinal problems, dehydration, and nausea. Being both my mother’s daughter and an experienced Peace Corps volunteer well accustomed to the arrival of unexpected ailments, I had come well prepared with pain medication, pepto-bismol, oral rehydration salts, and Immodium which were passed out and received with great appreciation as they helped recuperate many members of the group and allowed us to keep moving.

We first hiked through steep farmland before entering the “cloud forest” – an incredibly lush jungle of plants that are watered simply from the constant presence of clouds that linger at that altitude. While it was a refreshing break from the upward trek in the sun, the downward trek through it the next day was quite difficult as the trails of loose ground interwoven with roots caused many a fall and twisted several ankles. We proceeded in both directions with caution as the area is notorious for hiding local robbers who often rob trekking groups at gunpoint. For this reason we had paid extra to have two armed police officers hike with us and luckily had no problem at all.

Continuing upwards, the next terrain we encountered was the area of high alpine forest that took us above the clouds into thinner air. It was much colder at this height and the wind was gusting especially hard that day, so we had to start bundling up in our hats and down jackets.

The closer we got to the peak, the worse the weather became, and our guide ultimately made the decision to make camp in the shelter of one side of the volcano instead of in the crater on top, where we had originally intended to camp. By the time we arrived at this destination around 4PM, the temperature had dropped significantly and a very dense fog had descended on our campsite – preventing us from being able to see any more than 10 meters in all directions around us. We were all bundled up in hats, down jackets, fleece, and as many layers as we could find to keep warm, although we were all still freezing as we set up the tents and heated up a pre-prepared dinner of curry. Our faces and clothes were streaked and matted with black volcanic dust and, lacking soap and water, we ate our curry with absolutely filthy hands as we had no other choice. We were in our tents and bundled in our sleeping bags to go to sleep by 7PM.

The next morning we were up at 4AM to head up to the peak. At first we were nervous because there was still quite a bit of fog around our campsite, but as the sun began to rise, the fog grew thinner. As we hiked towards the crater, we emerged from the clouds to a gorgeous sunrise that illuminated the cumulonimbus clouds below and took my breath away. When we finally got to the top we were all absolutely exhilarated. Acatenango is a dormant volcano that overlooks the neighboring active Fuego Volcano; we sat on the ridge of Acatenango's crater, bracing ourselves against the fierce wind but bathing in the sunlight from the rising sun, watching the smoke pour out of Fuego and getting a thrill out of its eruptions, which occurred several times an hour. As a challenge, I ran the 900 meters around Acatenango’s crater, and because I didn’t faint or stop (despite the difficulty with the altitude) I was awarded a t-shirt for the feat. It was an awesome, awesome morning and an incredibly rewarding finale to a tough climb. Definitely one of the best hikes I’ve ever done!