Panama's Highest Peak/Hike #2

 Omar loving the sun atop Volcán Barú

The group, after 13.5 hours on the mountain is down and ready for some well-deserved sleep

On the night of March 26, ten other Peace Corps Volunteers and I began our seven hour summit of Volcán Barú, Panama's highest peak at 11,398 ft. The night of March 25 I unwisely went out dancing until 3am and any hope of getting over the cold I had was lost. I was losing my voice. Armed with lots of water, extra food, headlamps, extra clothing for the summit, and three guides we departed around 10:15pm.

There are two routes up Volcán Barú and we chose the harder, longer, more dangerous trail over the unpaved road (hence the guides). At one point we were on all fours bouldering upward as small pieces of  loose debris bounded down on people below. It was during this dangerous incline that I saved Coys life, or so he claims. Someone ahead of Omar kicked loose a twenty-or-so pound rock and as I noticed it bounding past Omar and picking up steam as it came for me, I had to make a decision. I had time to dodge the rock but Coy and Charles were directly behind me and I (correctly) feared their view was blocked by my large frame (remember, this is around 3am). So I stood my ground and took the rock straight to the gut as it sailed off a rock-face in front of me. Luckily the rock hadn't been moving too long and the decision turned out to be the right one.

As soon as we arrived the summit (5:30am) and stopped moving it became unbearably cold. Of everyone, only Coy brought enough clothing. The rest of us were left to huddle, cuddle, and shiver the hour before sunrise. It was all worth the effort, though, as we watched the sun emerge from the other side of the world and felt our icy limbs begin to thaw. While waiting we played "That cloud looks like a...". My favorite was the T-Rex. Either I was delirious or that cloud looked EXACTLY like the dinosaur -small arms and all! We couldn't see both oceans on that day because it was cloudy to the North but the view was gorgeous nonetheless. 

After two and a half hours on the peak we hiked down the easier side (four hours) and by the time we arrived I was talking like Marlon Brando from the Godfather: "It's not personal, Sonny. It's strictly business." I was also near delirious from... well you can imagine... We slept all the rest of that day and night then went to Peace Corps In-Service Training. I can't wait to do it again.