01/22 Short day but very rewarding. After a couple days of tough riding we made it to Cotopaxi. The landscape changed drastically after crossing into the park and we were treated to some amazing views of the volcano and the barren landscape surrounding it. The road from Chilcabamba wasn’t bad. We had one stream crossing and a couple big puddle crossings but no big climbs.
When we left the lodge this morning we had an extra member in our group. One of the dogs that stays there decided to follow us all the way to the park. As much I hate dogs this one wasn’t half bad. In an other life when I wasn’t being chased by a dozen dogs a day or having had them piss on my sleeping bag I probably would have thought this black, furry dog was pretty cool. When we got to the park we paid the $2 to get in and started riding but the dog kept on following us. Dogs aren’t allowed in the park so the park ranger guy comes running after us because he thought it was ours.
Now we had a little problem because the dog wasn’t stupid and every time one of us tried to get it to go back home it just ran up the road waiting for us. We ended up just sitting down near the gate and sure enough the dog came over to us. Then the park ranger threw a rock at it to try and scare it back out of the park. The dog ran off and we left. The part that is maybe kind of sad but we’re not sure is that a police officer was there with a rifle and I wouldn’t put it past him to shoot the dog. While we were sitting waiting for the dog he took a shot a bird. We’re going to call the lodge tomorrow and make sure the dog made it back OK.
We camped in an area just past a lake that has a bathroom, water and some shelters. The shelters were full of climbers getting ready to summit the volcano in the morning but we found a great spot to pitch the tents. While I was hanging out at K&M’s tent a bull walked right by. I guess a few of them wander around the park and have caused some trouble. This one just kept right on walking and didn’t bother us. There are also bears here but they are listed as “exceedingly rare” so I doubt we’ll run into any. They are called spectacled bears–not sure how big they get. The only other wildlife we saw were a couple rabbits (which is more wildlife than I’ve seen in all of Central/South America).
I broke my maximum altitude today. Made it up to 12,748 feet. I’m also camped higher than I’ve ever camped before… 12,514 feet. It’s in the low 50′s right now (9pm) so it’ll get cold tonight I think. The altitude sure takes some getting used to. I wasn’t breathing as heavy as I was over the last two days but it still takes me a minute to catch my breath if the terrain was rough.
Entries (RSS)