Cayambe Volcano in the Clouds

Cayambe Volcano is located in northern Ecuador just along the equatorial line. While I've been up to the refuge on the mountain several times, I've only hidden a cache lower down the mountain. Recently I went up with my daughter and her family I decided to put one near the refuge. We drove out of Quito for an hour to get to the rural town of Cayambe, named for the nearby volcano. We followed the "Nevado Cayambe" road signs which got us through the town. Once on the right cobblestone road we continued the climb. There is one fork in the road where you have to go right to get to the volcano. Unfortunately it isn't marked. I wish I'd thought to make it a waypoint for cachers but I forgot it at the time. If you stay on the cobblestoned road and don't take the dirt road forking off to the right, you drive several miles until you get to a dead end at a large gorge. Then you will backtrack. Continuing on the correct road we climbed up to small town of Piedmonte where you start the ascent towards the volcano by turning left. The road was rough there. Without 4X4 the way would be too much. At about 13,000 feet above sea level we were enveloped by the clouds. The terrain was very different and the fauna in this treeless area was unique. We made it to the refuge where we spent the majority of our time outside. Had it been a clear day the view would have been spectacular. We were clouded in completely. I hid Cayambe Volcano Refuge (GC2PVPN) not far from the refuge. It was so cloudy that I'm not sure that on a clear day you could see the location or not. In Ecuador when you buy vegetables at the market they often give you the "yapa", the extra potato or extra carrot. This cache is the "yapa". The real prize is the mountain itself, and getting there.

Caching with Volcanoes

This was one of those rare crystal clear days with hardly a hint of clouds in the sky. I had planned to go find and hide a cache so I was pleased at the great vistas of all three volcanoes that you can see from certain vantage points in Quito. I parked my car and tracked to the intended FTF cache find but after 30 minutes of searching I decided that this level-one difficulty hide had been muggled or was much harder than indicated. I plugged in an alternate cache and set out on the .5 mile hike. The trails were beautiful. Just as I crested one ridge I caught a view of Cayambe Volcano. I was glad I had my camera. What a view. A little further down the trail I came to an overlook viewing east into the valley and there in all its majesty was the Antisana Volcano. A little further down the trail as I descended gradually towards the cache I caught a view of the Cotopaxi Volcano. Antisana, unlike the cone shapes of Cayambe and Cotopaxi, is a crater volcano where the top blew off many many years ago. Whereas Cayambe and Cotopaxi are visible once every week or so, Antisana rarely comes out of the clouds. What a view. Soon my GPSr was telling me I was at the location. Just as the cache description said, I had to watch over my left shoulder for muggles that could be taking pictures on a wooden balcony built out over the cliff some 300 feet above me. No one was there when I started the search. I had to climb back into the bushes near the edge of the incline that became the cliff. Suddenly I heard voices from above. Someone was at the overlook. Down in the bushes like I was I knew they couldn't see me so I continued the search. Suddenly something red came into view as I probed the grass. There it was. Vaca Frita (GC24HP6) is part of a series lauding Cuban cuisine. Within the was a recipe for this tangy Cuban dish. I signed the log and crept out of the bushes so as not to attract attention from muggles above. The hike took about 20 minutes on a beautiful trail. I was in search of a place to put in a new cache. Soon I found the right spot, marked the coordinates and dropped a geocoin that I'd brought back from the US. Time to get home. What a beautiful morning in Quito!