Remember that time I hiked a glacier and then bicycled down a volcano?

Now THIS is an adventure story.

Immediately upon arriving in mainland Ecuador from the Galapagos, I sign up for a trip with Gulliver Expeditions. Here’s the description of the day-long tour:

Cotopaxi National Park in tour in Ecuador is an exciting day that begins with spectacular views of the unique South American Andean landscape in the “Avenue of the Volcanoes”. Inside the national park we hike up to the refuge which is situated at 4,810m (15780ft) on the Cotopaxi snowline. Depending on conditions we will then hike up to 5,000m where it can be possible to see the glacier. Lunch is served with spectacular views to the valley below and onto the surrounding volcanoes, followed by a safety briefing to commence our descent on mountain bikes! There are two sections to the mountain biking, the first of which we recommend to experienced riders. The journey finishes at the beautiful lagoon at the base of Cotopaxi.

Schedule	Itinerary
06:45	Leave from “Q Restaurant“ (Plaza Foch,Quito) for transfer to Hosteria PapaGayo
08:00	Arrive at PapaGayo to pick other clients, Leave towards Cotopaxi.
09:00	Enter to Cotopaxi National Park (entrance fee: $2).
09:30	Visit to the museum and explanations of the area, volcanoes, animals, etc.
10:45	Arrive at the parking lot at 4,500m (14763ft), and begin hike up to “Jose Rivas” refuge.
11:30	Reach refuge at 4,810m (15780 ft). Rest, enjoy the view…
12:00	Hike to the glaciers (below decision of the guide depending on the weather) 5,000m (16404 ft) and return to the parking lot. Drive to departure point.
14:00	Equipment and bikes check and short briefing – begin decent on mountain bike.
14:45	Arrive at Laguna Limpiopungo via bike. After short rest depart Cotopaxi National Park.
15h30	Lunch at Restaurant Paja Blanca.
17:30	Arrive at for chocolate cake and hot coffee / tea (you have the option to spend the night in Hosteria PapaGayo, for more information please asks us…)
19:00	Return to “Q Restaurant“ (Plaza Foch)

This tour goes to a height of 4,810m (15780 ft), it is important that you are prepared for this kind of altitude. We recommendacclimatizing at least two days around 3,000m (9842 ft).

This last part is funny because I was in Galapagos (read: sea level) 24 hours prior.

On our way out of town we encounter an alpaca. An amorous alpaca. (Seconds after this photo was taken he tried to jump on me. It would have made for a funny picture.)

I pose in front of our van and bikes.

We stop at the entrance to Cotopaxi National Park and stock up on cold weather gear: gloves, hats, scarves. This is a far cry from my beach vacation in the Galapagos a few days earlier.

We pass Lake Limpiopungo, where we will bike down to later this afternoon.

Up we go!

Still not there yet…

Allow me to translate the sign above from meters into feet:

• This parking lot is 14,763 feet elevation.
• The refuge where we will hike to and eat lunch is 15,748 feet elevation.
• The summit of Cotopaxi volcano is 19,347 feet elevation.

While I’ve hiked Mount Whitney (the tallest mountain in the contiguous U.S.) and the Inca Trail in Peru, this is officially the highest I have ever climbed.

We set out hiking uphill and it is slow going. Even though we can see our destination, it feels so far away. The ground is soft and with every step forward we slide back a few inches. It’s frustrating work but the views make up for it.

You can see the volcano peak just beyond that cloud.

Here’s a look back at the parking lot where we started off in the distance.

We eventually make it to the top!

We warm up inside for a few minutes inside before continuing on to the glacier about thirty minutes beyond the refuge.

There’s the glacier in the distance.

I made it!

We trudge back to the refuge to enjoy a well-deserved lunch.

It’s way easier going back down.

The clouds clear for a moment and we get a glimpse of the mouth of Cotopaxi volcano:

Once in the parking lot we hop onto our bikes and begin the ride down to Lake Limpiopunga.

The views are stellar the whole way down the volcano.

We made it!

On the way back to the local hostel our van breaks down. Luckily we’re within a five-minute walk of the place and hop on a different bus back to Quito.

There’s never a dull moment while traveling. No complaints here!