Atop La Dormida & Back Down in the Rain

Panama Travelog #17
El Valle, Panama - Tue, 24 Dec 2024. 5pm.

In my last blog about climbing La Dormida (sleeping Indian girl) I shared how I kept telling myself, "We're almost there, keep going," to persevere through the worsening rain. Well, the trail was steep all the way to the top.



And the rain didn't stop. But we tried not to let that dampen our spirits too much. 🤣 I mean, it would be awesome to have an amazing view at the top. Even with the rain we should be able to see something... right?



One unexpected view was the view to the west (above), away from Anton Valley. In the Valley it's easy to focus on the valley being the world and the ridges surrounding on all sides— remember, the valley is the caldera of a volcano— as the edge of the world. But there's a whole world beyond the edge, too.



For all my talk of, "We've got to be just about there, just one more push to the top," finally it was just one more push to the top.

As far as the form of La Dormida I believe the summit area ahead of us is her head. The saddle at the right of the photo is her neck. From here it looks like she has two noses, or maybe a heavy brow ridge like a neanderthal instead of being a beautiful young woman. (Sorry, neanderthots.) What can I say? This is the back view. It looks different from the other side and 1,000'+ below.



Finally, finally, we made the top of the ridge. I was actually surprised how well this photo looking down across Anton Valley turned out  given how shitty the weather was. It was raining on us... and not just a sprinkle but steady rain. My shirt was plastered to my skin. I'd left my rain jacket down in the car as it was sunny when we started the trail. D'oh!

Oh, and moments before I took this picture we heard a thunderclap. Oh, what a time to be on the highest point around with no cover! 😱

Just before reached the top another pair of hikers passed us. We discussed briefly how we could continue along the ridge to make a loop or double back the way we came. They said they would hike the loop. Well, they turned around when they heard that thunderclap and met us as the summit. We all agreed to go back down the way we came. "The devil you know versus the devil you don't," explained one of the hikers.

The four of us became impromptu partners for the next half hour. We acted as both spotters and moral support descending the steepest, trickiest bits of the trail. The rain was now pouring, making those tricky parts even tricker.

We took shelter together in the empty ice cream stand a bit below the ridge. By then we were under cover from the trees but still getting soaked by the pouring rain. Sitting under the corrugated aluminum roof gave us a respite. I caught my breath and let my aching leg muscles rest. Both were given quite a workout even on the descent as we were moving as quickly as possible to get out of the rain and avoid being exposed on the ridge if/when lightning struck.

The others went ahead of us and we left 2 minutes behind them. We never saw them again. They were about 20 years younger than us so not too surprising they were faster.

The rest of the way down was mostly a putting-one-foot-in-front-of-the-other exercise. With the rain we were focused on getting back down as quickly as possible. And getting back down as quickly as possible meant putting a lot of focus on our feet on the steep, rain-slicked trail. We did pause briefly at the waterfalls along the trail as we descended. They were little comfort when our clothes were soaked through.

Somewhere in the lower reaches of the trail the rain stopped. It was kind of hard to be sure as we were under good tree cover most of the time. And it was hard to care about the difference as we were still soaked and the trail was still so slippery.

By the time we got down to the car the sky was dry. I noticed mostly because when I peeled off my soaked shirt and dried my chest with a towel, I didn't get wet again. Being outside in the not-rain suddenly seemed like a novelty! We put on some dry clothes on (we'd packed a change in the car), changed out of our muddy boots, stowed our packs, and drove back into town.

Achy Evening at the Hotel

Panama Travelog #18
El Valle, Panama - Tue, 24 Dec 2024.10pm.

Well, good news/bad news about today's hike to La Dormida. Good news: it was an epic hike with lots of waterfalls and we didn't slip and fall. Bad news: We got caught out in the rain and had to rush down from the top over a slippery, steep trail. In the process I overtaxed myself in the process. But at least I didn't slip and fall and break a bone or anything. It's just my muscles are killing me.

We came straight back to the hotel for dinner after the hike. Well, not straight back... we looked for dinner around town first. Many restaurants were closed for Christmas Eve. Our hotel's restaurant had a special fixed menu for the holiday but one of the staffers who's been really helpful offered to negotiate with the cooks to see if they could serve us something from the normal menu instead.

It's kind of amusing this was such as negotiation because nobody else is there. Nobody else is eating at the hotel restaurant. We saw no other customers there when we ate breakfast this morning, and there were no other customers for Christmas Eve dinner.

One benefit of eating dinner at the hotel is that I could just hobble up to the room afterwards. And hobble is exactly what I did. Climbing those stairs is hard right now. And going back down... ugh, that's worse than going up!

So, I'm in for the evening now. I took a shower to wash off the dirt and grime from the trail. It's kind of funny that on the trail I got soaked, completely soaked, in the rain and I clean up from it by... taking a shower. Anyway, since my shower— my second shower, my man-made, warm shower; the one I took without wearing a shirt that got plastered to my back— I've been stretched out on the bed nursing my sore muscles while catching up on computer-y stuff. I'll see what energy I have for more hiking tomorrow.

Easy Christmas Morning at the Hotel

Panama Travelog #19
El Valle, Panama - Wed, 25 Dec 2024. 10pm.

Merry Christmas! We're in Panama in the small remote town of El Valle. How small and remote is it? Well, the town calls itself the most populated volcano in the world. That's a clue how small it is. Actually there's probably a few thousand people in the area. It's a big volcano. 🤣

We're taking it easy after our gonzo hike to La Dormida, the sleeping Indian girl, yesterday. I got wrecked from hot-footing it down a steep mountain trail to get out of the rain and thunder. My leg muscles are still sore. I'm walking with a pronounced limp. Thus we're taking it easy around the hotel this morning instead of going hiking. Plus, it's drizzling anyway. After yesterday I am fucking done with hiking in the rain. For at least a day or two, anyway.

So, what's it like around our hotel? I haven't shared much about that, focusing instead on all the other things we're doing besides staying.



The Hotel Campestre is a modest two-floor hotel with stucco walls, an aluminum roof, and exterior corridors. We're on the upstairs level where there are nice chairs to sit out in under the wide brim of the roof.



At the end of the upstairs walkway, just before descending the stairs, is a nice view south across the valley. I believe that mountain in the distance is called the iguana. I don't know why, but I'd guess it's because somebody back in the day when graffiti was sacred and not a misdemeanor thought it looked like an iguana. There really aren't iguanas around here, which is probably why that person thought a mountain looked like one. But the stupid name aside, it's a pretty view.

Each morning we've headed downstairs for breakfast in the hotel's restaurant. Today I wobbled down the stairs. I'm on rubbery legs because of my strained muscles. Just going down the stairs once this morning I think I almost fell twice.



I forgot to take a picture of breakfast until after we'd eaten most of it. So far we've both been ordering pancakes and chorizo (sausage) from the small breakfast menu. Each breakfast also comes with a plate of several fresh fruit slices, muesli, yogurt, and bread. The window next to our table overlooks the fountain and the mountains in the distance (see previous photo). BTW, this is the free breakfast Hawk negotiated for us after the hotel's room bait-and-switch.

After breakfast today I joined Hawk for a walk around the extended hotel grounds. It turns out there is a swimming pool! It's behind a stand of trees, where you really can't see if from the hotel building.



Except it's not really a swimming pool. It's more like a duck pond with a stone wall. The water's murky, the bottom's muddy, and there's duck shit all around. I'd be pissed about the hotel having been so misleading about stating its amenities include a swimming pool but I've decided there are so many things that have been wrong this trip— literally all the hotels, the car, the weather, and every hike—that I'm just done being pissed. I'm pissed out of being pissed off. And my legs are so achy I just want to lie down again.