Made it to 51OOm!

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Ok so I was having a little anxiety about my ability to make it all the way up to the glacier. My last ¨volcano¨ experience in Chile had been a bit traumatic. I had no problem making it up to the Refugio Jose Rivas at 4800m. It was an even, winding dirt path up to the refugio. I was the first in my group after the guide. When we got to the refugio we were served hot tea, salami and cheese sandwiches which tasted delicious! Then it was time to trek up to the glacier...

There was a light snow flurry and path was much more steep and the ground much less firm. It was like climbing uphill on sand...kinda of tricky for me. This time I was in the middle of the pack and breathing like an asthmatic...but I made it up to 5100m (only around 250m shy of the altitude of Everest base camp)! Once I caught my breath and rested for a bit, the views were spectacular. Going down also was a challenge for me, but in a different way. Our guide showed us how to run down but that was not working for me. I spent a lot of time on my butt on the way down but I did not have any serious injuries. When we got back on the bus, I was smiling inside and feeling very relieved that the trek was over...

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