From the School of Hope to the Acatenango Volcano: My Journey
Three weeks into volunteering at the School of Hope, I was ready to take on an adventure that was recommended to me by everyone who came to Guatemala before: summiting Acatenango Volcano. Antigua is surrounded by many volcanoes including Pacaya, Agua, Fuego, and Acatenango. You can spot them from different vantage points in the city, and for Pacaya and Fuego, you can spot their active moments as well, including smoke and lava. I was yearning to see it all up close.
Many companies around Antigua offer overnight hikes to Acatenango with the option to hike extra over to Fuego ridge. With our company, we were given four meals and any gear we were missing. With a rental backpack stuffed full of warm clothes and water, we drove 45 minutes from Antigua to the trailhead of Acatenango. There, we got hiking sticks which came highly recommended, as well as some pictures of the already stunning view at just over 5,000 feet. It was hard to believe that this scenic and quiet area was less than an hour from where I had been working the past month.
As we headed up, immediately we came across stairs. And more stairs. Every corner we turned, there were more stairs. We finally arrived at our first big snack break where they told us the worst was over. They got us up to lunch in no time where we had a viewpoint, looking down on how far we had already come. We only had one and a half hours more to base camp and pushed right through.
The view as we dropped into base camp is indescribable. Fuego to the right and Agua to the left. The whole group was hooting and hollering out of relief and awe for the accomplishment. As smoke exploded out of the top of Fuego, I knew there was no choice but to get closer to the lava for nightfall. We told our guide we would like to add the extra package of a 2 hour hike to be able to go to Fuego. When else are you in Guatemala with the chance to be on the ridge of an extremely active volcano?
As a native of Washington State, I pride myself on being able to conquer hills and hikes, but I was nowhere near prepared to hike so vertically. The basic path of the hike is: dropping into this canyon off of Acatenango and then winding up a path to Fuego ridge. This was such a mental battle. You don’t know where the top is because it's practically a 90 degree climb. As we got to the top of the ridge, I knew we made the right choice. The sunset collided with the lighting and the volcano exploded with lava 500 meters from us. It’s these moments that feel like a sign that Guatemala was the best country for me to spend 4 months in.
We got back to base camp around 9 p.m. after a dark and rainy walk back. The guide told us we were so lucky for the views we got because we were on the ridge just before the usual September cloud cover came over. After a quick dinner, bedtime shortly followed. The temperatures dropped drastically overnight. We woke up at 3 a.m. to a tapping on our cabin door: “leaving in 30 minutes to hike to the summit,” said our guide.
I wrapped up in three pairs of leggings/pants, five layers of sweatshirts and jackets, a hat, gloves, and double socks. As we hiked up for two hours, we shed off layers as we got hot knowing we would have to re-layer them at the top. The climb went from 10,000 feet to 13,000 feet where the oxygen supply is 40% less. This was my first time experiencing something of the sort. It was difficult to get a full breath as we climbed through small and sandy volcanic rocks. Once we got out of the trees, we could see we only had 15 minutes to go to the summit.
After over 10 hours of hiking, 15 minutes feels like nothing. Your legs are numb, the altitude has made your head cloudy and you just put one foot in front of the other. We immediately found a spot to sit when we arrived at the top. There were so many other groups up there, all with the same shared experience of pushing up this volcano. The skies were so clear; you could see lava spray from Fuego and even see Guatemala City in the distance. After 30 minutes of pictures and embracing the view, we headed down for breakfast. I jumped up and down hugging my friend, “we did that.”
I cannot recommend enough experiencing Acatenango for yourself. The views that Guatemala has to offer are stunning. By becoming a volunteer, I have been given the time to explore such a stunning country outside of my time at the school. I am so grateful to have been given the opportunity to work and live in Antigua, so close to such adventures on the weekends.
If you would like to know more about volunteering at the School of Hope, please email visitors@eftcfoundation.org.
