Altitude is No Joke (But Acatenango Was Worth It)
We hiked Acatenango for a front-row view of Volcán Fuego erupting. Between the altitude, rain, new friends, and lightning over the volcano, it was one of the toughest and coolest experiences of our trip so far.
Rocio & Hudson
9/26/20263 min read
No one tells you that hiking Acatenango to see Volcán Fuego is basically signing up to climb uphill through dirt for hours for the chance to watch another mountain explode. Actually, plenty of people probably tell you. We were just distracted by the videos of Fuego erupting and overconfident in our fitness abilities.
We came to Guatemala with this trek at the top of our list, and it lived up to the hype. It was cold, rainy, steep, and exhausting, but still one of the coolest things we’ve ever done. Here’s what our Acatenango experience was really like.
We started the day with an early wake-up call, which obviously meant we needed to stop at Santa Clara Café y Panadería for a cafecito first. They happened to be showing Volcan Fuego erupting on the TV which we took as a good sign. Then we made our way to the meeting point for breakfast and pickup, where we had amazing burritos and met our fellow travelers. Apparently, only cool people sign up to hike a volcano in the rain, because we LOVED our group. The people we met made the experience that much better.
A bus picked us up, took us to a supply point for gear, and then dropped us off at the start of the hike. We were offered a camelbak with 3L of water, a winter coat, gloves, buff, and food for the journey. At that point, Hudson and I still felt pretty confident. Hudson even denied the winter coat and swore by his "layering system." We’d be fine, right?
The beginning of the hike was an hour and a half of straight incline which immediately taught us that a few reps of walking lunges may not have fully prepared us. The wild card became the altitude. The heavy breathing, headaches, and flashes in our vision quickly reminded us that altitude is no joke for two Floridians. Add a steep climb, and it was definitely a challenge. Luckily, the rain started just as it was getting cold, so we got an extra challenge for free. Yay us!
After about four and a half hours with thousands of feet in elevation, we finally made it to base camp. Hudson and I were beat, so we opted out of the extra evening hike after our guide, David, told us we probably wouldn’t see much. Instead, we had bolognese pasta and red wine, roasted marshmallows over a fire, and watched the main event from camp: Fuego erupted several times. We even saw it erupt while lightning struck it. VERY cool.
During rainy season, the views can be hit or miss, so we felt incredibly lucky to catch so many eruptions that evening. Even after trying to go to bed, we could hear the others screaming that it was erupting again at midnight, then 1AM, then 2AM, and then we woke up at 3AM to check the weather to see if the sunrise hike was happening...we were so glad the heavy fog and rain meant it wasn't because we were exhausted. Cuddling on a small twin bed in a plywood shack to keep warm, we dosed for a couple of hours and woke to a stunning sunrise.
After enjoying a gorgeous sunrise over two volcanoes, we ate breakfast and packed our gear. Soreness had begun creeping in but the silver lining was that the rain was nowhere to be found. Maybe we could actually make it back without re-soaking our clothes.
The hike down was much easier. We were losing altitude, and after the climb up, going downhill felt like a gift. Our amazing new friends suggested we all meet for dinner later, so even after a long day on the mountain, we ended up having another late night over pepian de pollo (authentic Guatemalan chicken soup) and drinks with people from around the world. We hope that we will all stay friends for life!
It’s hard to believe this is only the beginning of our trip. Acatenango already feels like an experience we’ll be talking about for years.
Rocio out! See you next time.
