Hike in the Mud
Trip Start
Jun 09, 2010
1
188
190
Trip End
Jun 10, 2011
Papallacta, Ecuador
Monday, May 9, 2011
After the equator, we were in for a cold and muddy hike. We were at ~4300m and the rain had reduced the trail to a mud-fest. We spent the majority of our time on our feet, but there were a flew slips and falls and the odd knee-deep in the mud. The clouds were so thick that for the first half of our hike we didn't really see anything, but later on we did get some cool views of the surrounding volcanoes and green hillside. We came across a fresh puma track which provided some excitement - but we never did see the actual puma.
After our hike we stayed the night in Papallacta which is home to some of the greatest hotsprings we have ever seen. There was a private hot pool right outside our cabin door and maybe 15 or so just up the road. The water was perfectly clear and clean and the grounds were amazing. We spent a good couple hours just moving from pool to pool and enjoying the heat (with the exception of the boiling water pool which was just too much!)
