Climbing Ecuador’s Mt. Cotopaxi– the world’s tallest active volcano

by Aaron Hotfelder on

Several months ago, a friend named Justin and I decided that, after months of playing in Ecuador, we wanted a real physical challenge. We visited a tour company in Quito to find out what they could offer, and we were intrigued by their ad for a grueling hike up Mt. Cotopaxi, the world’s tallest active volcano at 19,347 ft. After ironing out some details, and confident in our physical fitness levels, Justin and I were assigned a guide, and we were on our way.

The bus and jeep rides to the base of the mountain were breathtakingly beautiful, and once we arrived, we hiked up to the “base camp” refuge by about 3:00 pm. Our guide, Carlos, prepared enormous plates of food for us, and insisted that we eat as much as possible. Justin and I did as much carbo-loading as we could, and we had already slumped back in our chairs when we saw Carlos bringing in two more giant plates of food. He laid the plates in front of us as if to say, “And now, for the main course.” After some protest, we nibbled dutifully.

At midnight, after getting no sleep due to an altitude-induced headache, I got up, along with 20 or so other climbers, to begin the cold, dark ascent. As this short article about the hike up Cotopaxi puts it, “After you add illness, inexperience and altitude, we had the makings of a great adventure.”

We practiced using crampons and ice axes for the first time, roped ourselves to our trusty guide, and began our slow, plodding ascent. After about five hours of trudging up the mountain, Justin’s asthma had him in a bad way. I didn’t feel so great either. Justin made the tough decision to turn around, and because we were all roped together, that meant I had to come down too. Frigid and exhausted, I feigned great disappointment.

Though we didn’t quite make the summit, and even though the climb was bone-chillingly cold, I’d still do it again. It can be easy to lounge on the beaches, or go out drinking every night, or just generally turn into a waste of space when on a long trip. My advice, though I don’t always follow it, is to challenge yourself not to fall into those easy traps. Pick an activity you think you probably can’t do– and give it a shot. If you succeed, great. If you fail, well, sometimes it’s not the worst thing for us to be knocked right on our asses.

More on Cotopaxi here and some scenic photos of it here.

Photo of the Day (12/28/07)

by Neil Woodburn on


Ah, yes. The milky blue waters of a high altitude, Himalayan lake.

These aren’t the type of waters that make you want to take off your clothes and jump in for a quick dip. No, these waters run deep and cold and warm shelter is a far distance away. This is simply a breathtakingly perfect place to stop for lunch while trekking to other, equally as mind-blowing vistas.

Wow. A big thanks goes out to Pixelskew for reminding me of the glories of Nepal with this great shot.

If you’d like one of your gems considered for Photo of the Day, be sure to pay a visit to our Gadling Flickr Pool and upload your finest.

Rediscovering the long walk with Will Self

by Aaron Hotfelder on

Over at World Hum, Frank Bures has an interesting interview with Will Self, a British novelist, journalist, and ardent defender of the long, meandering walk. Last year, on a journey from London to New York, Self walked the 26 miles from his home in south London to Heathrow Airport, then walked 20 miles from JFK in New York to his hotel in Manhattan.

For this peripatetic author, the urban hikes are about more than fitness; indeed, Self is often seeking puffing on a cigarette during his walks. Self is a student of psychogeography, a very smart-sounding term that is actually relatively simple– it’s about removing city dwellers from their hermetically-sealed modes of transportation– cars, subways, buses– and finding a way for them to really experience the urban landscape.

“People don’t know where they are anymore, ” he said last year in a story about his lengthy airport walks. “In the post-industrial age, this is the only form of real exploration left. Anyone can go and see the Ituri pygmy, but how many people have walked all the way from the airport to the city?”

In the World Hum interview, Self compares his practice of psychogeography to another of his passions, writing. “Like writing-which is low start-up, all you need is a pen and a piece of paper-psychogeography is bare-bones. You just get out there and experience. It doesn’t require the hypermediated world, it is more akin to a meditational practice.”

Check out Self’s new book Psychogeography right here.

The less-traveled Machu Picchu

by Jerry Guo on

So I’m in the midst of planning a backpacking trip through Peru. As I was flipping through some reading material, I couldn’t help but be bombarded by endless mentions of Machu Picchu. Yet there’s a little known alternative to one of the seven modern wonders of the world.

It’s Choquequirao, another lost Inca city, modeled after Machu Picchu in fact. And it’s only 100 miles away. I’m still considering whether I can make it to both in a week. To hike the Inca trail to Machu Picchu takes 3-4 days. To hike to Choquequirao (after that 100 mile cab ride from Cusco) takes a little less.

Apparently Choquequirao gets only 1% of the tourists that Machu Picchu has to endure. It’s just as big, but more sprawled out so things don’t look as photogenic. If you’re looking for a true lost city experience, though, I think Choquequirao might just be your best bet.

10 present ideas for your traveling pooch

by Jamie Rhein on

If you’re a person who likes to include your pets in your holiday festivities, here are 10 items that range from the useful to the over the top. I’ve looked around for those that might serve as ideas for taking your dog on the road. Perhaps, you’ve really wanted to have that funky dog car seat that looks like a frog, but haven’t felt like you could spend the money. You could use the holidays as an excuse–or use the chance to go to a New Year’s party in style as the reason for a splurge. What dog wouldn’t delight with such a gift?

1.This hoodie would make a Christmas hike all that more festive. (This is from a company in Great Britain, but I’m sure you can find a similar choice if you are in the U.S.)

2. How about a leather pet carrier? If you pet doesn’t like it, it looks perfect for a file holder to take back and forth to the office. (Also from a British company, as are numbers 3–6)

3. This overnight bag with goodies might be just what your pooch wants under the tree. It comes with all that might make a weekend away that more fun.

4. This snuggle rug blanket actually does look useful. It’s big enough to go over a car seat to keep dog hair from getting everywhere. Sure you can use an old towel, but where’s the style in that?

5. Maybe you carry a plastic grocery bag wadded up in your hand for the moments your dog leaves a deposit on your neighbor’s lawn or on the sidewalk. With one of these classic poop bag holders, won’t you look all that more prepared? (We actually have something like this that my husband found on a walk one day. It attaches to a leash.)

6. If the Christmas hoodie is too much, how about this dog scarf? It’s made to fit over a collar. At least that’s what I saw in the description. It comes in various color combos as well. (I did buy our dog a scarf once. Silly? Maybe.)

7. Here’s spill proof water bowl. This link leads to other ideas that are also actually useful. This one is an American company as are the remaining 3 gift ideas. (We use an old metal mixing bowl and that does not work at all when the car is moving. Sloshy.)

8. This carrying case is the rugged cousin to the leather case already featured. This one’s called the Sherpa Bag. I’m not sure what a sherpa would think about carrying one of these, but if you need a carrier to carry, this one does have the bells and whistles.

9. To carry food, this item called the Travel-tainer is what gave me the idea for this post. You can buy it at PETCO besides buying it on-line. This was featured as a gift idea in the Columbus Dispatch’s travel section a couple weeks ago.

10. I actually did buy our dog a portable bowl. It was featured in my son’s school’s fundraiser book. The Outward Hound Bottle and Bowl pictured here looks like it would be useful if you’re hiking and camping. The water bottle for the dog is not a bad idea.