Monday, March 3, 2014

Nature Walk to Monte Hippie




 
Since my time left in Villa Serrano is short, I decided to take a solo nature walk to the peak they call "Monte Hippie" I had no idea how long it would take to get there. And slept in that day so I set out for the mountain at two in the afternoon... Learned a valuable life lesson that day...
 
 
 
Monte Hippie. This peak stands out from the rest when you look at the mountains surrounding Villa Serrano. Why they named it "Hippie" I have no idea.


 
Eventually you see Villa Serrano in it's entirety. Doesn't take long to get high enough to easily see the little village.

 
Hiking and hiking. Going up and up. The sun going down, down, down.

 
Found a random house in the middle of nowhere. Seemed abandoned, the trails overgrown with vegetation.

 
Villa Serrano getting tinier.

 
Finally at the top of Monte Hippie! The view was epic. I realized the route I went took me 4 hours which was not a well worn path. There is another path that could have brought me there in half the time.
 
 
Super-zoomed in on my house from Mount Hippie.

 
And once I'm at the top, I've realized I made a huge mistake. What was the life lesson? Don't climb a mountain at 2 in the afternoon when it takes the rest of the light of day to get there!
What turned into a friendly nature walk soon became something of a survival situation.

 
With the sun going down. Barely enough light to make it back. The trails were hard enough to see in the light! No flashlight. No warm clothes. No lighter or matches to make a fire. Zero preparation. What do you do in this situation? You take a sunset selfie.

 
That night was a mix of emotions. If I only had a nice warm blanket, it would've made the difference. There was zero light pollution and it was a completely clear night. I saw the most amazing starry sky I've ever seen with a giant band of the Milky Way stretching across from one end to the other. The sights were epic. But I was so cold!! Sleeping on the rocks... Had no choice but to wait until 6:00am when there was enough light to safely hike down the mountain. The sunrise was pretty great also...  

 
The early morning hike back. I felt like a zombie after a night of minimal sleep. The mountains are shrouded in the mist of the clouds at this time.
 

 
Victoriously arriving to Serrano. Couldn't wait to shower and get in bed. Something you don't appreciate so fully until an experience like this.
 
My impulsive decisions have allowed me to learn a valuable life lesson that day...

2 comments:

  1. Oh my if ONLY!!! Yes that was a close call never leave home w/o some form of light whether a flash light matches and always wear layers and let someone know where u are and never leave in the afternoon to go hiking up some hippie mountain!!! ;0) Glad you are safe you nuckle head!!!

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  2. LOL!!! You should have posted your sunset-selfie on IG!! LOL very awesome experience!

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