The Hike: Part 3 - How will It End

Okay, the image is not too exciting. This is the last of the images from this hike. We were 6 hours into an 8 hour hike and we were not at the halfway point. I was concerned. No, I was very concerned. Randeen and I looked at each other knowing that we had to move faster. We did not speak of our real concerns. We pushed on. As it turns out we needed to go another mile before we actually came to the midpoint. It was a hard mile. We were not gaining any time. We pushed on. The trail did not get any easier. In fact, it seemed harder. We pushed on. I do not mind saying that I was exhausted. I needed a rest, but there was no time for a rest. My legs were no longer hurting; I was thinking beyond the pain.

Without verbal agreement, we picked up the pace. It seemed forever until we came to the split in the trail. From the start to the split it took almost 4 hours. It was 4 PM. We did not have 4 hours of light remaining. We rested for 30 seconds sharing that we both knew we had a problem. Randeen admitted that she was testing my ability to endure a tough hike. She was concerned about our Machu Picchu hike in May. Now, she was just concerned about getting back to the truck. We pushed on. My silent mantra became, "Getting dark, get moving." I thought of nothing else. I could picture the remainder of the trail. I knew that we must get through the roughest part of the trail and down to the wash before the light began to fail. It seemed a challenge. We came to the last really steep and rough portion of the trail. At least, we thought it was the last.

Randeen preceded me down the difficult decent. At the bottom she waited for me. Her face was distressed. We were not at the wash and the sun had gone down. We didn't speak much, but she shared her concern. I agreed that we had to push on with more resolve that before. We were out of food. There was almost no water. The clothes we had were not enough to ward off the freezing temperature that the night would bring. Our pace increased. We reached the wash as the light was fading. We had about a mile to go. But, the light was diminishing very quickly. We shared more concerns. Randeen was shaken; I was, too. We pushed on. The cairns that marked the trail were now difficult to see. The wash was wide; the light was faint. We pushed on, and we continued to share our concerns.

It was now impossible to see the cairns unless we tripped on them. Fortunately, the wash narrowed. We pushed on. We could see a light that looked like it was coming from a house. Perhaps, a dorm for the park employees. We moved toward it. We could see enough only to avoid the brush. As we approached the light, we realized it was a motor home parked by out truck. We climbed to the road fully exhausted. We had been on the trail for about 10 1/2 hours. Most of the last 4 hours at an adrenalin fueled march. We shared our relief, and silently climbed into the truck for the return to our room.

The next day, Randeen read in a hikers book in the park store, that the Marufo Vega Trail is normally traveled by backpackers who spend the night at the mid point. The book suggested 8 1/2 hours out and 8 1/2 hours back. Of course, that is with a full backpack. For us Marufo Vega is a once in a lifetime experience. We are happy to be able to share it.