Volcan Pasochoa

As a natural born and raised Oregonian, hikes are without a doubt one of my favorite things to do on a nice weekend. So on this beautiful Sunday I decided to go on a "short hike" with my friend up Pasochoa Volcano, just outside of Quito -- at least he said it was short. Now keep in mind here, Quito and it's surrounding cities are at very high altitudes and after two weeks readjusting and trying to workout to get accustomed to it, I can still feel the lack of oxygen in my lungs when I do any kinds of vigorous exercise. Our original plan starting was that the path that we would take would take us about an hour or less up and 30 or so down and it would be nice and leisurely. This was very, very wrong. When we got there we realized that if we wanted to see any kind of viewpoint, we would have to go up and it might take a little longer. But I don't think we anticipated how hard it would be. About halfway up we were walking slowly, breathing hard, and our muscles were tiring. We just kept telling ourselves...just a little farther. The path was small and steep but there was so many trees and so much cool nature around us. The sound of birds and bugs filled the air.

When we got to the top it was 100% worth the pain. We pushed through to the end and about 1.5-2 hours later, we had made it. I was breathing hard, but it almost made the view better, because I had to work for it. And then it started sprinkling. So a short 5 minutes later, we were on our way down.

We passed multiple groups on the way back, also breathing hard which made me feel a little bit better about how hard it was for me. The way down was much easier than the way up and although I wasn't breathing hard, I could feel my legs shaking every time I came to a stop. It also took much less time, probably only about 45 minutes. By the end, the sweat had dried off of my body (I forgot to wear a shirt under my sweatshirt), and I was about 18,000 steps in for the day, so I needed a shower and a nap.

We had started the day around 9:30 and were home around 2, so it was a long day, but not too long. It was really the perfect thing to do for a day when I had some obligations, but not many. Getting to Pasochoa was definitely a trek. We came from Valle de los Chillos and in car it was about a 40 minute drive, and the road is extremely rocky so it's really best if you have your own car for transportation, but a bus could probably get you close. The park is really nice because there are a number of trails, some of them longer and some of them shorter so you can hike anywhere from an hour (a simple loop), or 8 hours (all the way to the peak and around the crater).

There is no shortage of volcanoes in Ecuador. In Ecuador and the Galapagos, there are 27 in total. Near Quito alone, you have Cotopaxi, Pasochoa, Chimborazo, Pichincha, Quilotoa and Ibambura. Cotopaxi is the 26th highest active volcano in the world and many of these volcanoes are still active, which is insane because people just live in these valleys and cities with the impending possibility of a volcanic eruption. So if you want somewhere to see a beautiful range of active volcanoes, come to Ecuador and check out the Avenue of Volcanoes, and the many other beautiful treks that the country has to offer.

Chao por ahora,

Claire