Another Weekend, Another Adventure: Climbing Mt.Chirripó

Starting from the top: view from first hostel.
Me wishing I were dead after almost two kilometers.

: Dan and I...Dan was my hero because he carried my bag.
View as we were climbing. Yes, when you are above the clouds, you are very high.
Dan and Liza staying warm under the mattress.



I won’t deny that I’ve had some pretty dumb ideas. For example, following a strange man into the middle of a jungle is a pretty dumb idea. However, this weekend, I did something almost as dumb: I tried to climb a mountain. This would’ve been a good idea had I been in shape or trained for a week or two. However, I’m the girl who takes the bus home because I don’t want to walk up the big hill to get to my house—you can see where this is going. Anyway, this is how the weekend went.
On Friday we left Heredia right after class and arrived at San Isidrio at around 4:00. To get to the hostel we were staying at, we had to pay a taxi about $25. We only got stuck on rocks in the road a few times, and apparently the taxi driver’s favorite word is mierda (shit) cuz he happened to use it a lot. Anyway, we stayed in a nice hostel located smack dab in the middle of nowhere and only 50 meters from the trail head that leads to Mt. Chirripó. We woke up early the next morning to go to the ranger station to see if we could even hike up. Before you hike, you need reservations at the hostel located at the top. They only have 40 spots, 10 of which are kept open for people who just show up and want to climb…like us. Anyway, we got reservations and set out on the trail at approximately 7:20 a.m. After a few minutes of walking, I needed to shed a few layers of clothing, and after a few more minutes I had to take a little break. After about 2 kilometers I was beginning to form a negative attitude towards the whole mountain climbing idea. I thought about turning around, but then I would’ve been by myself and I only had 4 dollars to my name…and there aren’t too many ATM’s in the middle of nowhere…so I trekked on. As the kilometers passed ever so slowly, my will to continue on with life definitely dropped a few notches. In other words, I wanted to cry. And I won’t lie, there were many times I thought to myself, “I think I would rather be robbed.” At 4 kilometers we actually entered into Chirripó National Park. Here the ground leveled slightly and I regained some hope.
When we got to 7 kilometers there was a building, and it had potable water and a picnic table. We sat here to rest and eat some lunch. We saw two young men at this picnic table. Turns out they were from Germany and they were staying in Costa Rica for a few weeks. I asked them if coming down was much easier than going up and they said yes very enthusiastically. Now, when we started this hike, I thought the entire thing was 10 kilometers; however, according to the sign, we still had 7 kilometers to go before we reached the hostel. Turns out the hostel is 10 kilometers from the entrance of the park. I asked the Germans if the rest of the hike was easier than the first part, because I thought the first part was horrible. At this question, they sort of laughed at me and answered with a very firm no. They said the next 2 kilometers were pretty straight up…well it turns out they lied. The next 7 kilometers to the hostel were pretty straight up…There were seriously times I thought death would’ve been so much sweeter than continuing to move my legs. And the saddest part about the whole thing is I didn’t even carry my backpack half the time. My friend Dan, who I used to think I could maybe beat up, had to carry my backpack half the time. (Yes, my self-esteem has plummeted since this experience.)
Anyway, we eventually made it the 14.5 kilometers (a little more than 9 miles) to the top. I don’t remember most of the 8 hour journey. All I saw was the ground and my feet, and all I could hear was my wheezing lungs and the pounding sound of my heart in my ears. Anyway, after 8 hours of mountain climbing, I was done for. The other three decided to climb to Mt. Chirripó, which was another 5 kilometers. However, I seriously thought that if I attempted to climb it, I would not live to see another day. So I stayed in the hostel for 4 hours trying to entertain myself. At 6:30, they shut the generators off, so I lay in the darkness, trying to calculate how many miles were in 14.5 kilometers. Finally, at around 7:00 I heard a knock on the door. When I opened it, Dan and Liza immediately fell onto the beds. Oh, and apparently I made one smart decision: I decided not to climb Mt. Chirripó. Apparently they couldn’t quite make it to the top because it was getting dark, and the last little bit of the trail is hard to find because it’s all rock. And on the way back down, Liza was vomiting up bile, and Dan had to will himself on by taking “baby steps guys, baby steps.”
Ok, so on top of the hiking part being one of the most difficult things I’ve done in my life, I’d also never slept on the top of a mountain without a sleeping bag. Well, now I have. This—I swear—was not our fault. I asked the park ranger before we left the station if we could rent sleeping bags at the hostel, and we’re pretty sure he said yes. Also, the guide books all said you could rent sleeping bags, and the host families said so as well. However, when we got to the hostel, half dead, and asked the man at the desk if we could rent sleeping bags, we got a very straightforward “no.” We also asked for blankets, sheets, bed spreads, and every thing that we knew how to say in Spanish that would somehow keep us warm…but nothing worked.
On the way up, we had met a Canadian family who told us that it was pretty cold there the night before. Apparently the night before it had been -3 degrees Celsius, which I guess is only a little below freezing right? That night I wore 3 pairs of socks, my tennis shoes, jeans and jogging pants, two long sleeved shirts, a sweatshirt, my fleece jacket, gloves, and a scarf. We knew that layering wasn’t going to cut it, so we slept two to a bed. Since there were two sets of bunk beds, we removed the mattress from the bottom bed and placed it over top of us. So with the heat we trapped with the mattresses, and the spooning that occurred, we managed to stay pretty warm.
Anyway, the next day we left bright and early. Dan decided to go back to Chirripó, so he left a little before us. Surprisingly, our muscles weren’t that sore. And, can I just say, that I love gravity when it’s working in my favor. The way down was ridiculously easy. I could breathe, move my legs, and even talk! I actually took some pictures because I had the strength to hold my camera up. Also, we were following a man and his son (yes, even little kids are in better shape than I), and apparently the man is a guide and does this hike every weekend (crazy). Anyway, he stopped and waited for us a few times to show us some pretty cool stuff. He pointed out a Quetzal (an amazingly beautiful and famous bird of Costa Rica) to us and he also caught a poisonous snake that was on the trail. And I would like to add that I touched it…yes, a poisonous snake. (If only I had found one of those on the way up to dull the pain…)
Anyway, It only took us 5 hours to get down, and 5 minutes before the taxi came to get us to take us back to San Isidrio, Dan emerged from the jungle as well. He had decided to run down the mountain—literally. It only took him 3 hours to get down…crazy Dan.
Anyway, I guess I’m glad I decided to climb a mountain, and even though I didn’t make it to the top, it was still a pretty big accomplishment. I would never, ever, ever do it again though, unless by some miracle I decided to get in shape…And even then… However, it did inspire me a little bit. Yesterday I actually walked home from class for the first time. It’s about a mile and a half trek and it’s uphill on the way home. However, my muscles are still killing me, and I thought my calf muscles were going to tear away from the bone, so we’ll see when I do that again. So I guess my advice to everyone is: Don’t climb a mountain unless you’re in shape. Sounds simple, but I’m telling you, there are some dumb people out there who will try anything once.