This summer I was able to work with a non profit and directly in four communities that are on a bus route to the tallest mountain in Costa Rica: Chirripó. Many of the host families I spent many hours with had some association with this incredible mountain. Some worked as sherpas to bring people’s gear up, others were chefs at the refugee’s, and other told me the multiple tales of their many experiences climbing Chirripó. So I knew, at the end of summer, I would have to go.
The summer was quickly coming to a close, my non profit was wrestling to finish paper work, clean up our summer home, and pack up our lives to return home. On one of our final days, a few of my coworkers and I decided to climb Chirripó that night. Many signs signaled us it wasn’t a good idea to go on this 14.5 KM adventure. We had little idea what was ahead, what food to pack, or if we would survive this experience during rainy season. We took the 9 PM bus to San Gerardo and grimaced at the pouring rain.
You may be wondering, why did we go up at night? Because I worked with many locals throughout the summer, they told me it was common for “Ticos” or Costa Ricans to accomplish the entire trail in one night and continue to the next day. Not to incriminate myself but the reasoning to do this in one day is to avoid paying permit costs and because my group was on a tight schedule. We additionally heard reaching the peak by sunrise is an incredible experience.
Because even some of the locals I talked to were grandmas, I assumed this would be an easy task. So my unprepared group began the walk at 9 PM. I was with 4 people from the States and 2 Ticos. Quickly, myself and two other girls realized we could not keep up our pace with the rest, so we decided to split up.
With out lack of research, we did not realize the elevation gain and were needing multiple breaks in the pitch black of the night. Hiking this at night was an eerie but special experience. Shadows from various trees casted spooky shapes, the stars revealed themselves, and we were guided by the moonlight.
Our original calculations of arriving to the peak at sunrise were quickly slipping away as we took more breaks and felt the strong impact of the altitude. We had many moments of weakness, almost in tears, as we finally reached the refugee. We realized truthfully, we would not summit. So as the sun rose, we continued to trail on to a beautiful valley. Calculating our current pace, we made the decision to enjoy the valley and not summit. The views were still extraordinary, but as our tiredness hit, so did our loopiness.
While the way up was difficult, the way down was impossibly hard. Fighting serious leg fatigue and pinching ourselves to stay awake, the journey down was treacherous. We stopped frequently for snack breaks, at this point we had walked for over 10 hours. The final kilometers that had seemed so easy the night before dragged on. I could barely feel my feet and was hallucinating in this mystical forrest.
Finally after the longest day of my life, myself and the other two girls I was with made it to the bottom, waddling into San Gerado and ate a well deserved meal.
So with this insane story that might be doable for some, I have some tips for what to NOT do so you don’t face the same immense fatigue we experienced.
My tips:
Do not attempt to do this in one day if you are not in excellent shape, comfortable with not sleeping, and are well adjusted to the elevation.
Do not skip the permit process. The permit allows you to stay at the refugee for one night and gives you proper time to wake up, summit for sunrise, and come back in one day.
Do not skimp out on food. Walking for hours and hours will exhaust your energy, and you should have a plethora of food, more than you think you need. Electrolite packets truthfully saved my life.
Do not forget your head lamp. My head lamp I realized was worthless and I was climbing up in the dark, stumbling along the way.
Do not forget hiking poles. Being young, I’ve always avoided hiking poles, but my bamboo stick I found on the way up, seriously saved my ass on the way down. Without that, I’m pretty positive my knees would have given out.
Do not take the altitude gain lightly. I didn’t even research the elevation before climbing this mountain. The altitude in the night hit us hard, and I was not expecting to be breathing so heavily.
Do not be disappointed if you don’t summit. I was very proud of where my friends and I walked to. Though our goal was to summit before sunrise, we truly realized we were not in the shape to do so, and it wasn’t safe for us to continue.
Do not avoid the weather report. Especially in rainy season, Costa Rica is notoriously rainy. It can be super dangerous to walk in this rain if you do not plan well.
Do not expect to be rescued, especially if you don’t have a permit. Maybe because it was the off season, but myself and my friends did not see one park guard, and a lot of the time we were truly alone. So make sure you have enough supplies to be safe.
Anyway, despite it being one of the craziest nights/ days of my life, it’s still a fond memory and I highly recommend this hike, especially if you plan better than I did!
Have any of you done Chirripó?
Heres my video of the experience:
Hailee Boyle Social Media Management 