TelefériQo & Hiking Ruku Pichincha
Quito, Pichincha, Ecuador
Ecuador-Galápagos 2018
6 February 2018
Summary:
The TelefériQo is a gondola lift opened in 2005 that runs from just outside Quito's city center to a lookout called Cruz Loma. It ascends from 3,117 meters to 3,945 meters. Many people are satisfied just with the excitement that the TelefériQo offers alone, but then there are some crazies who would rather climb to the summit of a volcano.
There are three summits to Volcán Pichincha - Guagua, Ruck, and Padre Encantado. The TelefériQo provides great access to Rucu, which is the oldest and second highest of the three. I didn't do much research and had no idea how long the hike would be. Based on my Garmin, it was 5 kilometers each way and starting at 3,953 meters going up to 4,668 meters. It's easy to say that I did not beat my 5K PR.
The Gear:
- Brooks Cascadia 12 Great Smoky Mountains National Park Trail-Running Shoes - Women's
- KUHL Krush Pants - Women's
- REI Co-op Rhyolite Rain Jacket - Women's
- Osprey Daylite Daypack
- Yeti Rambler - 26oz
- Multitool
The Gear I Wish I Had [but left at my hotel room]
- Sawyer MINI Water Filter
- Binoculars
The Story:
The activity I wanted to do most in Quito was taking the TelefériQo up into the Andes Mountains and then hike around. The entrance was about 5 kilos from Plaza Foch, and I decided to walk. My knee was still hurting from running/hobbling the marathon two days ago. Once I got to the area where it began going uphill and getting less urban, I knew I would be taking a cab back. Downhills were not going to be fun.
I got a later start than I really wanted which means I would probably miss clear skies to get a great view. The slogan though is 'Toca el cielo' [Touch the sky] not 'Get great views from the sky'.
The entrance was pretty. No one else was here so I could just walk up and buy my ticket for $8.50.
They had long queues for waiting but again no one else was present, so I got right on and made myself comfortable.
It was clear enough at the beginning to see some lawn art.
Then it got cloudier, and this is the best view I got of Quito.
Travel time of 18 minutes meant I can have a snack of some fruits that I bought along the way. I had 2 taxos.
¡Bienvenidos!
As soon as you get off, there is a view point telling you which volcano was which. It was a little cloudy for me to identify them. I went inside where people wanted you to buy things and pay for staged photos. I noped out and continued away from the main buildings.
I think I know of a few crazies who would mountain bike down.
I followed a pretty brick road past a cute Church. Lots of commitment to go to Church all the way up here!
This bridge led to a side trail. Looks legit. I couldn't resist walking across it and looking down. Feels legit too if you don't care about sturdy handrails.
I went back to the main trail with arrows pointing where I should go.
They had two giant signs, one in Spanish and one in English, with lots of 'recommendations'.
Guide? No...
Starting by 11:00? Yep
Non-slip shoes? Yep
Rain jacket? Yes
Water and snacks? For sure
Whistle? Oh..
And so it begins! Heading into the foggy mountaintops.
They marked the trail by how long it takes the average person instead of kilometers. It seemed silly and perhaps a little daunting at first, but as it kept getting tougher and more technical, someone like me who would scoff at 5 kilometers would be unprepared for a fifth of that being rock scrambling.
Chuquiragua, The “Flower of the Andes” -
"The Chuquiraga jussieui, also known as the “national flower of Andean mountain climbers” and the “flower of true love”, belongs to the Ateracae family and is native to the highlands of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. It’s a shrub that grows as tall as 1.50 m, with flowers that are as large as 2 cm. In Cotopaxi, some 3m tall bushes have been observed. One of its most important features is actually not noticeable in plain sight. Rather, it becomes evident the moment someone tries to cut a branch or a flower with their bare hands. Its branches – fully covered by a rugged, resistant bark, and small yet hard and pointy leaves – require careful maneuverability, as does its flame-shaped orange flower. This aggressive feature serves as the plant’s defense mechanism against herbivores. For this reason, those who have been scratched by its pointy leaves and petals before, know best to use a pocket knife or any cutting device if they wish to take one home with them. The only animal species that has adapted to feed on it is the tiny Oreotrochilus Chimborazo hummingbird, or Ecuadorian Hillstar."
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| Chuquiragua - Flowers |
For a little while, it cleared up enough to take a decent photo of what I would be climbing.
"Bear cave", where the trail starts to get very technical.
This was my first big challenge. It looks like the trail actually is stopped around a rock for about a meter. I build up the courage and grip my hands tensely into the rocks as I straddled this area to safely make it across. It is a very steep drop. One of my water bottles did not make it as it was in a loose exterior side pocket. Fortunately that was the casualty and not me.
The trail remained rocky but became walkable again.
There was also some abundant, flowering green vegetation for awhile too.
And then all potential paths got tricky again.
I did start to notice that there were red/white trail blazes. They became helpful in choosing a line.
An hour and thirty minutes until the summit.
I was getting closer to the summit, but at this point it was really foggy and intimidatingly steep. Choosing a path was tricky, and it was a full body workout that would require lots of Nuun upon reaching a good stopping point.
At this sign I met Catia, from Germany. We traversed the final 30 minutes together.
We met several people coming down from the summit. Until now the trail had been lonely. Even though they were in lots of small groups, they probably started earlier to have more time and to have a chance at getting a view. The reports from everyone were "you're almost there", "the view is 'great'", lol.
El cumbre/The summit is in view!
Made it!
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| Taxo y Pitahaya |
The fogginess makes it seem out of this world.
Catia and I descended and then hiked all the way back together.
We were told about a shortcut to go down this slope in order to avoid some of the crazy stuff. I think I was sliding down on my butt as much as I was actually walking.
Then we met back up with the regular trail and continued on the way we started. We got frozen rain on and off as we hiked, so it got pretty chilly.
Strava:
Going up!
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| Link to Strava hiking activity: Hike and Rock Scrambling to the summit |
And back down!
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| Link to Strava hiking activity: Back down, in the rain |
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