Guess who had an easier day hiking today, than yesterday? WE DID! :-)
We are in the cloud forest. Somewhere just shy of the rain forest (the Amazon) but apparently not too much. It rains fairly lightly on and off - heavier and more constantly at night it seems.
Today was a light hiking day. On paper, we came from about 9,000' to 7,000-ish. 2,000 feet, right? Wrong. The trail goes up and down, so we end up climbing probably 1,000' and therefore descending closer to 3,000' as we follow the river.
The river... Roaring and loud, echoing through the canyons, fed by a million little waterfalls from the cliffs and hills above.
The cliffs and hills... rain forest hugging granite! A sea of plants in symbiosis, feeding and hosting butterflies, frogs, insects and birds. Somewhere in there, the spectacle bear too and a puma or two.
There are signs of landslides all around us, new and old. Occasionally our trail has been swept away and a new one has been forged through the jungle.
Birds are singing to each other. The smell of flowers, leaf litter and rain, fills my nostrils and overwhelms my senses. I'm not normally a "humid conditions" person, but this is super cool. I'm damp, content, blissful even. Hiking is easier today in so many ways. It's certainly different too. I'm surprised my legs and toes don't ache. My back has gotten used to carrying a backpack very quickly too.
My friends are struggling more than I. I'm indeed feeling fortunate that I don't share some of their challenges. My world right now doesn't involve "smooth move" tea or Imodium. My gear, while not fancy, is doing its job admirably, keeping me warm at night, dry during the day. I have no blisters, am experiencing no gadget-battery malfunctions and feel no drama. (It's a miracle!)
Yes, like everyone else, it takes much more effort to get organized, find things, make one freakin' tooth brushing expedition from the tent. But that's camping, right? The art of simplifying your life, while simultaneously turning simple tasks into mini-dramas that take 20x longer!
At the end of the day, which is only 3 pm-ish, we were all pretty excited to jaunt off to the hot springs - get a warmer shower and wash hair that may, or may not, have already forgotten what shampoo feels like. The 4 of us (and a couple hundred other folks) lolled around in hot water pools for at least an hour, pretending to be doing yoga or other stretches - but really just perfecting the art of transitioning from a stinky hiker to a pasty raisin! LOL
By dinner, we were exhausted once more and looking forward to bed and a sleep in 'til 6:30 am!
Our campground (type place) catered to more than us though. Those other hikers from the hot springs? Yeah, they like to drink, dance and sing along to the likes of Queen and Oliver Newton John until midnight. No worries, mate! I'm so tired I can sleep through a dance party tonight.
Final thought: Hiking with Alex is an amazing lesson in birds and flora. It was a FUN day in the jungle!
We are in the cloud forest. Somewhere just shy of the rain forest (the Amazon) but apparently not too much. It rains fairly lightly on and off - heavier and more constantly at night it seems.
 |
| Waking up to tea at the tent. Yay, Mario! |
Today was a light hiking day. On paper, we came from about 9,000' to 7,000-ish. 2,000 feet, right? Wrong. The trail goes up and down, so we end up climbing probably 1,000' and therefore descending closer to 3,000' as we follow the river.
The river... Roaring and loud, echoing through the canyons, fed by a million little waterfalls from the cliffs and hills above.
The cliffs and hills... rain forest hugging granite! A sea of plants in symbiosis, feeding and hosting butterflies, frogs, insects and birds. Somewhere in there, the spectacle bear too and a puma or two.
There are signs of landslides all around us, new and old. Occasionally our trail has been swept away and a new one has been forged through the jungle.
Birds are singing to each other. The smell of flowers, leaf litter and rain, fills my nostrils and overwhelms my senses. I'm not normally a "humid conditions" person, but this is super cool. I'm damp, content, blissful even. Hiking is easier today in so many ways. It's certainly different too. I'm surprised my legs and toes don't ache. My back has gotten used to carrying a backpack very quickly too.
My friends are struggling more than I. I'm indeed feeling fortunate that I don't share some of their challenges. My world right now doesn't involve "smooth move" tea or Imodium. My gear, while not fancy, is doing its job admirably, keeping me warm at night, dry during the day. I have no blisters, am experiencing no gadget-battery malfunctions and feel no drama. (It's a miracle!)
Yes, like everyone else, it takes much more effort to get organized, find things, make one freakin' tooth brushing expedition from the tent. But that's camping, right? The art of simplifying your life, while simultaneously turning simple tasks into mini-dramas that take 20x longer!
At the end of the day, which is only 3 pm-ish, we were all pretty excited to jaunt off to the hot springs - get a warmer shower and wash hair that may, or may not, have already forgotten what shampoo feels like. The 4 of us (and a couple hundred other folks) lolled around in hot water pools for at least an hour, pretending to be doing yoga or other stretches - but really just perfecting the art of transitioning from a stinky hiker to a pasty raisin! LOL
By dinner, we were exhausted once more and looking forward to bed and a sleep in 'til 6:30 am!
Our campground (type place) catered to more than us though. Those other hikers from the hot springs? Yeah, they like to drink, dance and sing along to the likes of Queen and Oliver Newton John until midnight. No worries, mate! I'm so tired I can sleep through a dance party tonight.
Final thought: Hiking with Alex is an amazing lesson in birds and flora. It was a FUN day in the jungle!
No comments:
Post a Comment