4 Days and a Summit in the Colombian Andes

After a long day of off-road riding and getting soaked in the craziest rain storm we had seen yet, we were excited to arrive in Salento. We spent the following day relaxing in the main square, sipping delicious coffee, and preparing for our upcoming trek. We had remained in contact with the Belgian couple we met in Cartagena, and we were excited to meet up with them again to do a four day trek through the Colombian Andes.

Uldrik and Marieke

While preparing for the trek, we also managed to do a tour of a local coffee plantation. Here, we learned what it takes to make a cup of coffee from planting to processing, and everything in between. One interesting and humbling statistic is that the average coffee berry picker will harvest about 80 kilos (176 lbs) per day in the high season, earning approximately $13 for an entire day's labor.

With our caffeine desires more than satisfied, we headed back to Salento to finish packing before meeting up with Uldrik and Marieke at a bar to play Colombia's infamous game of tejo. Tejo involves throwing a metal disc at a clay board with targets containing explosive gunpowder. The concept is similar to corn hole/beanbag toss, but the outcome is much more thrilling...because beer and explosives are often a good mix :)

Day 1 - Cloud Forest - 12K

The next morning, we met at the outfitter to check that we had all of the required gear in our 20ish pound packs. After a good breakfast, we loaded into an old Willy's jeep and headed up into the Cocora Valley where we would begin our trek.

Fun fact: the wax palms in the Cocora Valley are the tallest palms in the world and can grow up to 200 ft!

We spent most of the day trudging up muddy switchbacks in a beautiful cloud forest with multiple stream crossings. Our guides were quick to point out a circling condor with a nine foot wingspan - a good omen we were told. The weight of our packs took some getting used to and the late afternoon downpour also made things challenging, but the surrounding nature more than made up for our discomfort. After about six hours on the trail, we arrived at the first finca (farm) where we were able to dry our clothes, eat, and set down for the night.

Day 2 - Cloud Forest to Paramo

Brian must have decided the trek wasn't challenging enough, because first thing the next morning he melted his hiking shoes in the kitchen wood stove while trying to dry them out. The shoe laces completely melted to the shoes, but he was able to use some creativity to salvage them by cutting new lace holes in the shoes and using a lace from another pair of light sneakers.

"Paramo": a high, treeless plateau in tropical South America.

That day, we ascended another 12 kilometers over steep terrain and eventually reached a transition zone between cloud forest and paramo. The landscape had dramatically changed in the span of a few hours, and we appeared to be on another planet as the thick vegetation was replaced by smaller shrubs and surreal vistas.

Day 3 - Paramo to Refugio

After spending the night at another finca, we made an early departure for what was to be the longest day of the trek. 20 kilometers of mud, stream crossings, beautiful lakes, and more amazing paramo vistas followed. We had better luck with the rain on this day until the last 10 minute stretch where we all got drenched as we arrived at the refugio (high camp). We spent the rest of the evening trying to dry our clothes by the fire and going over the plan for the next day, as well as fitting and packing our crampons, harnesses, and ice axes for the upcoming glacier segment. We crawled into our bunk beds around 9:00PM for some fitful high altitude sleep, anxious for what the next day would bring.

Day 4 - Summit

We were up by 2:00AM to pack our gear and scarf down some food before cramming into a Land Cruiser that would take us to the trail head. 45 minutes and 200 meters of elevation gain later, we were at the trail head to Santa Isabel. Of course, it was dumping rain. There was some debate between the guides as to whether we should wait for the rain to subside, or push on. In the end we we sided with Felipe, the lead guide, who believed a weather window would open up at 5:00AM. By some miracle, at exactly 5:00AM the rain mostly stopped and we exited the Land Cruiser, geared up, and started up the mountain!

The first three hours were steep rocky trails not much different from the previous days, but we now had higher altitudes to contend with. To reach the summit we would have to climb 900 meters in five hours. We got lucky with the weather and only experienced some light rain, which then turned to snow about an hour before seeing the massive glacier that we would climb to reach the summit. Excitedly, we put our harnesses on, strapped our crampons to our shoes, roped up into two teams, and set off up the glacier! Luckily, the slope was relatively gentle until the last bit and we marched up the glacier reaching the summit in 1.5 hours. The clouds opened up momentarily as we climbed, and we were able to catch glimpses of other summits and the enormity of the glacier we had just traversed. After some photos and high-fives, we roped back up and marched down the glacier at a much faster clip. In all, we hiked 11.5 K, three of which were on the glacier. We reached the Land Cruiser by noon and drove the bumpy two hour ride out of Los Nevados National Park for a well deserved lunch at another finca.

It was one hell of a trek! And since pictures never truly encapsulate the beauty, here is a short video of some of the highlights we captured on film :)

Cheers,

Brian and Erin