Tajulmulco

Garrett on the summit of Tajulmulco

Friday afternoon we finished Spanish lessons in Xela. At 5pm we planned to meet up with Garrett and Kyle Dickman to attend a pre-trip meeting for our weekend ascent of Tajulmulco (4,250m), Guatemala's highest peak. They stumbled in near the end of the meeting wondering, "What's the name of the volcano we are climbing?" It was great to see familiar faces and tell stories over some beers and dinner.

Saturday morning we got up at 4am for a day of riding chicken busses and hiking in cold, soupy fog. Our group of 32 could only go as fast as it's slowest member which led to half an hour of sitting around freezing for every 15 minutes of hiking. We chose to pass the time, in typical Dickman fashion, trying to determine who in our group was weirdest. This eventually let to closed ballot voting were we each listed our 5 top choices. Instantly upon reaching camp it began to rain and the evening culminated in undercooked, burnt pasta. Ummm. At least the conversation and card playing was good.

In the morning we awoke way too early for a clear morning of hiking. We made the summit about an hour before the sun and spent a bit of time shivering. The hike out proved to be wonderful!