Ecuador Volcanoes Expedition Dispatch
November 22, 2015 – Our First Acclimatization Hike
We started at 9:00 this morning and took the cable sky tram up the hillside. Best views of Quito. Once we arrived at the high point, we started our hike up Ruca Pichincha. Though not a technical climb, it serves as a perfect warm up for our legs and the altitude; our summit goal sitting at 15,696ft/4,784m.
Starting out, we had cloudy weather and it stayed with us pretty much all of the way to the summit, only a few sun breaks along the way. We hiked all together and returned safely back down to the sky tram by 3:00 pm. This was overall a great acclimatization day.
Back in Quito; some of us stayed at the hotel and others went for dinner after working up such a big appetite.
Left: Samantha; Right: Doreen
Left: Tim; Right: Terri
Left: Margaret; Right: Osvaldo
Left: Joaquin; Right: Sergio
Left: Howard; Right: Paul
Sky tram ride to the high point
Terri taking on her pre-hike stretch
Ruca Pichincha Map
Left: Sam and Osvaldo on the trail; Right: Howard taking in the wee bit of sun
Our first team photo
Tim knows how the breaks work
Higher up on the trail
Beautiful flora and fauna along the way
The clouds are catching up again
Mmmm lunch break
The team approaching the summit
Congrats to the team for making it!
And down we go.