Hiking in Cajas National Park

Well today was one more adventure to say the least. Today was my day off for the week so Tom Stiles, another missionary in the area, took me to Cajas National Park about 30 minutes from Cuenca. This is a park at the top of the mountain pass inbetween here and Guayaquil on the coast and it is a mountain pass that is filled with lakes, over 200 to be exact and filled with a lot of marshy land etc.

Well we started that way at 7:30 this morning and were hiking by 8:30. We looked at the map and decided the lake we wanted to hike to, asked the ranger where the entrance was, and headed that way. We got to the trail head and there wasn't any markings. So we just took the little foot bridge across the water and started off. Well, we lost the trail immediately. Thanks to the maps we knew where the lake was but this is Andean mountainous terrain that can't easily be traversed. So we looked and looked for the trail. And we started going for what looked to be the easiast pass through the moutnains. Well, we came to a cliff and didn't really know where to go. We could see the river that emptied out of the lake below...and when I say below I mean Very Very Far Below. So we decided, go up higher...we can probably cut through the pass that way....wrong. So after several failed attemps we decided we must go down and started looking for the most convenient pathway. Needless to say the most convenient pathways required holding on to trees and other plants while sliding down rocks to the next foot hold. So I don't want to mislead you into thinking that we were on the side of this big rock face with no end...but it was steep, there weren't many foot holds, and the plants are what made it possible to go down that way. It was the first time in my life that I put my foot somewhere...a rock dislodged...and I listened to see how far it dropped before stopping, and it went for a little while. Well we finally made it to the bottom after being hemmed in by at least two cliff walls, and started following the rivers to the lake, problem one being this is the marshy land, problem two being they don't sell size 45 rubber boots here, so all I had were my tennis shoes.

So we followed the rivers and when we saw a convenient time to climb up out of the marsh we took it. And after about an hour we made it to the first lake. It was SO beautiful. Then, Tom's GPS finally started working. Now his isn't the kind that could give us directions or anything but it can give our position, our bearing, and our altitude. That's when I found out we were hiking between 12,000 and 13,000 feet! So take two Mt. Mitchells and that is about where we were! So we started hiking around the lake and we finally caught on to a trail, and followed it to lake two. We wondered around for a while and found a place to stop and eat some lunch. Then Tom, decided to fish some and I decided to take some pictures. So after that we realized the fog from the coast was starting to fill in our pass out so we decided to hit the road. Although, this road required that we climb at least halfway up one of the mountains. And to climb up one of the mountains we had to wade through a small river, slop through a lot of marsh land...uphill... and climb a relatively steep slope. Well......drum roll please......we finally made it to the trail (the incan way) that we had missed the first time. And I hike that took us about one and a half to two hours took maybe 30 minutes once we had the trail. Although this trail wasn't easy hiking either. There were a lot of very steep drops that you get to look over while hiking.

Well, it was a great experience. I've always loved being in God's creation and this was one of the climaxes. Even if I am tired, sore, and have a pair of pants and shoes that look like they have went through some horrible torturas experience, I had a wonderful time. Even though I had to pray several, "God help me do this" prayers, even though I had to hold onto a tree and jump 3 feet to the next foothold, it was wonderful. And I would do it all again (especially now that I know where the trail is!!!)

Well, I want to thank you all for your prayers. In other news, I am starting to take over more and more responsibility here. As for now I am in charge of discipleship with a couple of the church leaders. It is exciting but also daunting....possibly as much as when I had to jump three feet to the foothold after hearing the rock roll down the moutain side.

Well, if you would like, here are the pictures from Cajas National Park. And don't worry mom, I'm still in good hands.