Cotopaxi and other extreme sports

Meet Cotopaxi, one of the highest active volcanoes in the world (read at highest altitude, not tallest).  It tops out at 5897 m (19,400) above sea level and is one of the few places on the equator that has glaciers.  It isn't massively active, but steam has been observed at the top in the crater, and hydrothermal activity is present too.

I had the extreme pleasure of mountain biking down the flanks of Cotopaxi last weekend, and it was one of the coolest things ever.  We went with a tour company called The Biking Dutchman, run by a Dutch guy (go figure) who lives with his Ecuadorean wife in Quito.  For a mere $45 I had some of the most fun so far in Ecuador.

The day started at 7:00 am meeting outside a mall on the west side of La Carolina, meaning I had to get up at the unholy hour of 5:45 am.  (I may have still been a little late to the meeting point...)  We loaded in vans with the bikes on top, and drove South to Cotopaxi, about an hour and a half drive.  Upon reaching Cotopaxi National Forest, I hopped out of the back of the van to stretch my legs, turned around, and BAM.  Volcano.  Somehow I had missed the fact that it was getting bigger and closer as we drove.  Don't ask me how.  Volcanoes are usually somewhat conspicuous.

We stopped at Lake Limpiopungo for a short ~3 km hike around it.  There was a stunning view of the volcano across the lake.

We also ran into some wild horses.  No big.

After the hike, we drove in the vans up to 4500 m (14,763 ft) where we had a view of the base camp for hiking up to the top of Cotopaxi, as well as more than 180 degrees of Andean horizon, containing plentiful mountains, and 9 volcanoes.  On a really clear day, 11 are visible.  Did I mention that we super lucked out and had our trip on a rare clear day?  Our guide Fernando said that in the 12 years he's been doing these trips, this time of year there is maybe a 60% chance of having a view like we had.  Decent odds, but not that great.

The base camp for climbing Cotopaxi is visible behind me, it's the little white rectangle.

This was the view from the top of Cotopaxi, this area is known as the Avenue of Volcanoes.  Also, I'm rather proud of my panorama here, it was done in Paint.  If you click on it, a larger version will pop up.  (I just discovered that function.)

Driving up to our highest lookout.  There were lots of interesting roadcuts, for you geology people out there.

I'd say that layer has a lot of iron in it...

After enjoying the view and taking photos, we drove back down a little in elevation to the start of our biking trip.  Helmets were passed out, sunscreen was applied (most still got a little toasted) and we were off.

 
The views were amazing, the rocks weren't too big, and the loose sand dumped multiple people off their bikes.  I fishtailed more than once, but managed to stay upright the whole time.  We rode through a volcanic landscape dominated by pretty flat, and grass.  After ~ 8 km we had lunch next to an idyllic stream.

I took my artistic license with me on the trip.

 A wonderful, yummy, homemade lunch by the wife of said Dutchman, and ginger tea to drink.

Lunch consisted of noodle salad, meatloaf, some sort of savory pastry thing, ginger tea, and cake for dessert.  All home made, all delicious.

 Our view (other than the stream) was an old lava flow site.  It erupted from Cotopaxi on July 26, 1877 at 11:26 pm (according to Fernando.  I trust the date, maybe not the time.  I couldn't tell if he was messing with me) and made it to the ocean in two days.  Now there is slightly barren landscape, and some giant rocks like this one.

Another ~8 km after lunch took us farther down in elevation, across some streams and puddles (where I managed to get one leg good and muddy from splash) and out of Cotopaxi National Forest into more trees and farmland.  Down the road we ended at a park (described to us as 'a park for little kids' by Fernando, but that we took over with enthusiasm when we reached it).

Once everyone had arrive, the bikes were loaded back on top of the rigs, and we headed back to Quito with sore butts and hands, some with scrapes, most with sunburns, but utterly satisfied.

One more successful Ecuador Adventure for the record books