I’m writing this, sick to the core at 0300, rallying between sweating out the sheets and freezing to the bones. It’s been a rough couple days. Oddly enough I didn’t feel one ounce of pain during the alpine hike I did on Saturday. We summited Nevado de Toluca on Saturday and this would be one of my best hikes so far. Just two hours from Mexico city, this hike has something for everybody. First off, just getting to the alpine lakes from the base, which takes about 20 minutes, opens out the playground. One can literally see the whole terrain and trails that surround the pristine alpine lakes. We decide to head clockwise and summit Pico del Fraile (15388’). The climb up is reasonably straighforward and its mostly choosing your path to get to the peak. ...

S was having a rough day on Saturday and was scrunched up against me all day. Around 1900 I checked my work phone and saw that Mo had texted earlier that morning asking if I would be interested in hiking Pico de Aguilar the next day. I wanted to confirm immediately but given S’s health I wasn’t quite sure. Decided to take a call the next morning and hit the bed. Thankfully, on Sunday morning, S seemed to have almost recovered and I decide to head out to meet Mo at his place. With some starting troubles (literally!) we finally leave for Ajusco around 0830. ...

Got my ass royally whooped last weekend on Izta. The plan was to camp at La Joya until 0000 on Sunday and push for the summit by 0800. With around 4500’ to climb, I knew this would be challenging. What I was not ready for, was the elevation sickness that hit me at about 14000'. La Joya is at around 13000’. We got here around 1200 on Saturday, setup camp and did a short 1.5 hours acclimatization hike to Portillo 1 and got back to La Joya for dinner and rest around 1600. I’m usually able to sleep well despite the surroundings. Today however, I sense a mild headache and am not quite able get much sleep for some reason. ...

The only regret I have from our recent trip to Maui is my zero involvement in any of the trip planning. We could have gone kayaking to see the whales up close. Such a missed opportunity…Next time I guess!

Setup a basic gallery page on my website that automatically updates and displays thumbnails from all my posts. Turned out to be a fun mini project and I’ve now scratched a long time itch!

Some good time up in the air above the Teotihuacán pyramids. Flight was super smooth and with us landing right over a cactus field, the ending was even better!

Working with S on her first ever Junior ranger activity sitting right above the clouds. The park ranger sneaked in an ’eating vegetables’ pact in her oath and handed over a pretty cool wooden badge.

Super short hike up to the overlook. Absolutely mesmerized to see the Tradewinds holding down the sea of clouds!

That’s approximately 6 months of particulate we didn’t breathe in thanks to the air purifier! From just one room…ugh!

We didn’t quite get to visit Volcán Masaya during last week’s trip to Managua since it was deemed unsafe. Popo on the flight back to CDMX though was in full form!