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The view from the very top!
After being invited back to Pico by the Rusk Ferreira family to climb Mount Pico we made a spur of the moment plan, hurriedly packed a bag, and jumped on the next ferry to Pico. We missed the last bus but we were able to take a taxi to the village of Sao Roque where we wandered around and visited the whaling museum. We spent the night at a youth hostel, despite Adam’s advanced age, and arranged for a taxi to pick us up at 6 am the next morning. The driver was less than thrilled about the hour but he was a good sport about it and Adam had his headlamp so we were able to shine it on the house numbers. We reached the Pico observatory and began our climb around 7:30 after signing in, getting our GPS, and watching a short safety video – absolutely no bicycles on the mountain.
The hike up wasn’t as bad as we had thought it would be, although it was much colder than we were prepared for and I had to borrow a pair of thermal pants. There were definitely difficult parts and lots of heavy breathing but we were able to scramble up the rocks and gravel with breaks here and there at the trail markers. Once the sun came up the air warmed slightly, although we climbed through several cloud levels and the mist was quite heavy in some parts. It seemed like a long trip up but we made it to marker 45 and the caldeira around 11:30 am. The caldeira is often used as a camping spot for those who stay overnight and do the climb in two days. There are holes and small caves in the ground that act as shelters and people bring their tents up to watch the sun rise and set. We planned to take only one day though and after a brief rest in the caldeira we set out for the second portion of the climb, the tip of the mountain - Pico Piqueno. This part of the climb was tricky as it was very steep, mostly loose gravel and lava stones, and it was easy to send rocks sliding down to the person below you. It was well worth the trip though and once on top it felt like you were looking over the edge of the world. There wasn’t a great view below as it had gotten quite cloudy but from where we stood above the cloud line it was clear blue sky and we had lunch on the warm lava rocks. The rocks were being warmed not from the sun but from the steam coming up from under them and there were certain spots that were quite hot when you touched them. Adam had to move a couple of times as he was getting too warm and when we thought about it, it was a bit unsettling to think that we were sitting on the very top of an active volcano. The climb back down was more difficult but much faster. We climbed down on our bottoms when we weren’t sliding down the gravel sections and the weather deteriorated around marker 26 so it was difficult to see through the mist. But nine hours from when we started out, certainly wetter, colder, muddier, and legs feeling like jello, we made it to the bottom to collect our certificates officially proclaiming that we had successfully climbed Mount Pico.
The hike up wasn’t as bad as we had thought it would be, although it was much colder than we were prepared for and I had to borrow a pair of thermal pants. There were definitely difficult parts and lots of heavy breathing but we were able to scramble up the rocks and gravel with breaks here and there at the trail markers. Once the sun came up the air warmed slightly, although we climbed through several cloud levels and the mist was quite heavy in some parts. It seemed like a long trip up but we made it to marker 45 and the caldeira around 11:30 am. The caldeira is often used as a camping spot for those who stay overnight and do the climb in two days. There are holes and small caves in the ground that act as shelters and people bring their tents up to watch the sun rise and set. We planned to take only one day though and after a brief rest in the caldeira we set out for the second portion of the climb, the tip of the mountain - Pico Piqueno. This part of the climb was tricky as it was very steep, mostly loose gravel and lava stones, and it was easy to send rocks sliding down to the person below you. It was well worth the trip though and once on top it felt like you were looking over the edge of the world. There wasn’t a great view below as it had gotten quite cloudy but from where we stood above the cloud line it was clear blue sky and we had lunch on the warm lava rocks. The rocks were being warmed not from the sun but from the steam coming up from under them and there were certain spots that were quite hot when you touched them. Adam had to move a couple of times as he was getting too warm and when we thought about it, it was a bit unsettling to think that we were sitting on the very top of an active volcano. The climb back down was more difficult but much faster. We climbed down on our bottoms when we weren’t sliding down the gravel sections and the weather deteriorated around marker 26 so it was difficult to see through the mist. But nine hours from when we started out, certainly wetter, colder, muddier, and legs feeling like jello, we made it to the bottom to collect our certificates officially proclaiming that we had successfully climbed Mount Pico.