I was supposed to go look at a 450 acre coffee plantation for sale all day on Thursday, but the meeting got canceled. So, I called Cesar and suggested we hike to an area on Los Quetzales trail where some potential climbing rock had been spotted. We drove up to the ranger station, and hiked (fast) for about an hour and a half up into the jungle. We arrived at the rock area and started planning where we could bolt a route. Upon trying to gain access to the top of a basalt spire, we discovered another tower right behind the first, completely hidden from the dense jungle. We climbed up the rock walls using trees, vines, roots, and thick moss. Definitely had snakes on my mind, so placement of hands was done very carefully. I had a pack with lots of food, water, med kit, venom extractor, and machete to play it safe. We finally found a way to the top of the 2nd spire which presented a phenomenal view of the jungle and mountain range. Cesar was giddy with all of the possibilities for routes.
"Wow, I can't believe how tall that spire is!" Cesar dreaming of the possibilities.
We will have to go back and clear several feet of growth off of the top of one of the spires in order to sink some anchors and rappel down to get a better look.
Because we had made such good time, and it was only 1:30pm, we decided to continue on the trail to Cerro Punta. Normally, hikers take a bus to Cerro Punta (2 hours from Boquete because there is no road passing the mountain range so you have to go to David first) and then hike downhill to Boquete which is about 1000 mts lower in elevation. This hike is supposed to take about 5 hours one-way and crosses several ridge lines and rivers. Cesar and I decided to go for it, hiking from Boquete to Cerro Punta and back again in one push. We hauled for a few hours and made it to the ranger station at Cerro Punta. Cesar asked the ranger to radio the station in Boquete to let them know we had decided to do the full hike (not just look at rock towers like we originally told the ranger). The ranger told us we could get lunch in Cerro Punta but it would take about 1.5 hours to walk into town. We figured he was talking about leisure hikers and thought maybe 45 minutes for us. We ran into Guadalupe to the nearest restaurant, and ate two disgusting hamburgers. This place seriously took a bun, lettuce, tomato, cheese, and a frozen burger patty, and placed the entire thing on a grill thinking it would cook through. You can imagine the result. After sending the frozen patties back to be cooked, we ate and were out in five minutes. My goal was to make it back to Boquete to eat with Jess and her family at 6:30, but it was already 4:30, so I called to let her know I might be late. Then, we basically ran as fast as we could back to Boquete. If I had to go another mile, I would have been crawling because my knees were feeling it from all the downhill. We arrived back at the car at 6:30pm. Total hiking/running time was 5:15, distance 28 kms (about 18 miles). We felt a huge sense of accomplishment. That night, my body was not happy with me...getting old I guess :)
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