The Vagabond Hiker

When one thinks of climbing destinations, Guatemala is probably not at the top of the list.  Or perhaps even on the list.  But with 37 volcanoes, three of which are active, and another that happens to be the high point in Central America, there is much to be said for spending two weeks climbing and exploring this beautiful country and meeting some of its friendly people.  My trip with KE Adventure (https://www.keadventure.com/) encompassed seven volcanoes (including two active ones) and reached Central America’s high point, Volcan Tajamulco (13,845 ft.)  We were nine climbers, along with three guides.  Apart from The Vagabond Hiker, there was one Kiwi, five from the UK (including two from Wales), one Irishman (our senior climber at 67 years old), and one Canadian. Only two women, but that was double the number of women in our Mexican climbing group.

West of Guatemala City, the highland area of the Altiplano is bounded to the south by a string of impressive volcanic peaks. Rich in Maya culture and blessed with a (usually) wonderful climate, this picturesque region was the focus of our volcano trekking holiday.  For the first half of the trip, we used Antigua as our base.  Famous for its well-preserved Spanish Baroque-influenced architecture as well as several ruins of colonial churches, it has a well-developed tourist infrastructure including a wide variety of fine restaurants and numerous hotels.  Of course, with this infrastructure the costs are correspondingly higher than other cities in Guatemala.

The first of our seven summits was the active Volcan Pacaya (8370 ft.), featuring a continuous plume of smoke drifting from its summit.  Following a gentle start, the relatively short ascent culminated in a final, steeper scree section. After some discussion with a local ranger, we were permitted to climb all the way to the summit caldera and peer down into the lava cone.  An unforgettable experience.

Guatemala’s third highest volcano, Acatenango (3976m), along with its most active, Fuego, were our next objectives.  Fuego has been active since records began in 1524 and, true to its name, is the world’s most continuously active volcano.  After a steep climb through various zones of vegetation, beginning in cornfields and traversing bamboo-clad slopes, then cloud forest and finally pine forest, we camped high in the mountains near a saddle separating the Fuego and Acatenango.  This was a remarkable (and remarkably windy) place to spend a couple of nights, with Fuego blowing rocks and dense clouds into the stratosphere.

As expected, the eruptions precluded us reaching its summit, and winds as high as 70 miles per hour reduced us to a crawl just to reach the first of the two saddles (see photo).  The following dawn, continued high winds stopped The Vagabond Hiker from attempting Acatenango, though, to be fair, four of us did make the short climb from camp to the summit.  Perhaps their motivation was greater; mine certainly was flagging after all my climbing in Mexico!

Next we spent most of a day our bus driving along the Pan-American Highway across the High Sierra to Quetzaltenango (known more commonly by its Mayan name, Xela).  At an altitude of 7660 ft., this is Guatemala’s second largest city and the center of the Quiche Mayan people.  While Xela is undoubtedly more authentic than the touristy Antigua, after ten minutes walking around its main plaza, there was not much more to see.  I quickly returned to my frigid closet-sized room to work on this blog. While the guides managed to find three decent restaurants for our dinners in Xela, that expended the dining options in the center of town.  On the plus side, prices were only 60-70% of those in Antigua.

Our next objective was Volcan Zunil.  A short drive led to our trailhead in the village of Xecam. From there we hiked for two hours up to a grassland plateau before meeting up with the ‘Siete Cruces” (7 Crosses) ridge trail. Here we entered a forest of rare Pinebete trees, an endangered species of fir endemic to Guatemala.  Sadly, we witnessed several locals carrying the tops of these rare trees down the trail to either sell or decorate their homes for the holiday season.  The threats of huge fines and imprisonment didn’t seem to deter these poor people.  An excellent article on the demise of this wonderful fir tree and forests can be found here: https://news.mongabay.com/2015/12/guatemalas-christmas-season-isnt-nice-to-the-native-pinabete-tree/.

We stopped to camp on a saddle, protected by trees but with beautiful view on both sides: East to the Atitlan and Panchoy Valley Volcanoes (San Pedro, Acatenango and Fuego) and West to our next objectives – Santa Maria and Tajamulco.  Since we had plenty of daylight left, we hiked up to Zunil’s summit and back before dinner.

After the short descent to Xela the next day, the following day we ascended our next objective, Volcan Santa Maria (12,370 ft.). Leaving on our bus EARLY on Christmas morning, we quickly reached the trailhead at 8200 ft.  The trek started with a gentle climb through fields to the base of the cone then more steeply up on a dirt trail that was quite peaty and slippery in places, especially after all the rain. The summit would have provided spectacular views of the active Volcan Santiaguito if the clouds and smoke from the burning cane hadn’t obscured it.  With poor visibility, tons of garbage along the trail, and the necessity of taking along a (quite friendly) police officer for protection, Santa Maria was definitely my least favorite summit during the trip.

Next day we made an early start for the 3-hour drive to the trailhead for Volcan Tajamulco, the highest in Guatemala, lying close to the border of Mexico.   While not difficult, the hike up from the 10,000-ft. trailhead to our camp at about 13,200 ft. was certainly long.  We had tons of company as many Guatemalans seemed to be making the climb to honor some saint or other despite the poor weather.  Trash along this trail and in camp on Tajamulco was as bad or worse than on Santa Maria, exacerbated by the numerous vendors selling packaged snacks and drinks along the trail.  A major cultural shift is needed –  starting with school children – if the scourge of litter is ever to be successfully fought in Guatemala.

After setting up camp we decided not to continue up to the summit as we were completely blanketed by clouds.  Instead, the decision was made to make an early morning start the next day to reach the summit for sunrise.  One would think that by this point on the trip the guides would know how long it would take our group to climb to the summit.  But one would be wrong.  A 4:30 AM start brought us to the summit through rain and high winds at 5:15 AM, at least one hour before sunrise.  Of course, ensconced once again in cloud, we would not have seen sunrise from the top of Central America in any case.  The Vagabond Hiker, however, wisely did not wait around in the wind and rain for this hypothetical event, instead quickly descending back to camp and the warmth and dryness of his sleeping bag.

Once back to the trailhead, the rest of the day was spent in a long bus and boat transfer to San Pedro, Atitlan.  This town, across Lake Atitlan from the popular expat haven of Panajachal, must be a key stopover on the hippy trail.  Much cheaper than Antigua, with beautiful lake and mountain scenery, various water sports, numerous hiking trails up the surrounding hills, a wide variety of restaurants,  and a decidedly low-key vibe,  despite its infestation of long-hairs, San Pedro is definitely be worth an extended stay.  Our hotel, Sakcari (http://www.hotel-sakcari.com), with its lush grounds and numerous rooms on the waterfront (though notably not mine), is highly recommended.

Our final volcano was the town’s namesake, San Pedro, quite popular with both locals and tourists alike.  We completed our seventh volcano in Guatemala, hiking along a steep path, winding our way, first through a large plantation of coffee and then between cornfields, before entering thick cloud forest.  Although heavily forested, summit views towards the lake were quite fine thanks to several large boulders on the rim of the volcano. (The true summit was on the opposite side of the crater, with neither trails nor views; no one goes there).

The two weeks climbing and exploring in Guatemala with our KE group were quite enjoyable.  We had great food, thanks in part to our guide/cook Emmie.  The group was quite simpatico,  getting along very well together and enjoying many laughs.  After my (also simpatico) German group in Mexico, it was nice to be able to listen to English again.  Guatemala is a beautiful, mountainous country, with very friendly people.  By all means visit and explore this amazing country.  If you can overlook the tons of trash everywhere (outside of some more progressive towns), it should be a great experience.