Hi! My Rock Handle is “Mountain Climber”. I found your Rock and took it on a little adventure I wanted to tell you about! As an American crossing the Mexican border on foot or by road vehicle one will most likely pay a different amount for legal passage into the country every time he or she crosses it. It seems that these fees depend on a number of factors, such as the current disposition of the border guards on shift, paperwork of traveler, and the communication barrier between the two parties. Experience has taught these amateur mountaineers that confident persistence will save you money when traveling through Central America.
As we loaded up our blue 1979 Volkswagen Camper Van with travel bags and newly purchased mountain climbing equipment, we asked Rob what other items we might need to climb the third tallest mountain peak in North America. Rob would be the guide for this adventure, and the four of us had climbed mountains together near our home-town in Utah, but never one above 5,000 meters. We were headed to climb “El Pico de Orizaba”, a dormant volcano in the state of Puebla, south of Mexico City. This massive ice-capped pyramid of earth stands at 18,700ft above sea level and is climbed regularly by people from all over the globe.
At the border the officials said that two of us couldn’t enter Mexico because we lacked the correct documentation. Then, as if it were part of the procedure the officer says, “I suppose we could let you into Mexico for $80 dollars each, since you don’t have the right paperwork.” We ended up talking them down to $20 each, and began driving through Nogales in late evening. We had 7 days set aside for the trip, but wanted to utilize each day so there would be time for recreation as well as rest and relaxation. We rotated drivers and sleepers so we could stay in constant motion over the many miles to the volcano.
Something we never plan for is vehicle trouble. The Van began losing power around Guaymas, and we ended up pushing it for about a mile just outside of Los Mochis. With little mechanical ability and a small pouch of pooled money for toll roads and gas, all we could afford was to clean the spark plugs off and keep on truckin’. The unexpectedly high price for toll roads and their often reoccurrence was draining the money pouch really quick. By the time we reached Guadalajara we had to do something about the sluggish pace, so we ended up sitting on the curb while we watched some mechanic lay underneath the van for a couple of hours, supposedly changing the fuel filter. My buddy Rob went for a walk and came back with a fresh pineapple and directions to a nice hotel where we could all use the bathroom and wash up. Then we were back on the road towards Mexico City.
I don’t know if anybody has ever driven into and out of Mexico City without getting lost but I doubt they have. That city is amazing in many ways, but we just wanted to get through it. As we sputtered our way through the city in our blue bus and tie dyed shirts, we got some interesting looks and hand gestures. They were all friendly gestures as far as we could tell. The road seemed longer than normal as we headed towards Tlachichuca, the small town at the base of the volcano. We climbed from sea level to approximately 9,000ft in the van that day, and found the small hotel and transportation business that Rob had read about earlier. There were several of these operations in Tlachichuca so we did some price comparing and bartering to find a ride to the trailhead. It would have been wise to let our bodies adapt with a more gradual acclimatization but we wanted to get up that mountain.
It was a rough and dusty ride in an old Dodge Power Wagon as we passed the golden grass fields with occasional pine trees. The trees grew thicker as we climbed up to what the driver told us was the highest city on the continent at 12,000ft. Small wooden shacks scattered on the hillside. As we left that little town the pines started to thin out and then disappeared. Our destination was a large cabin with a rounded tin roof at 14,400ft. There were two large bunks inside with room for about 8 people on each level. The bottom was taken so we threw our packs up on the top. Dave, who came down from Idaho to take this trip with us, was already beginning to feel a bit woozy. Fourteen thousand feet above sea level is pretty high when you are still on the ground, and it’s not recommended to climb that high in a short amount of time. It’s about the height of Mt. Rainier in Washington.
We had planned to stay the night here and hopefully acclimatize our bodies enough to push for the summit early in the morning. Most people usually stay more than one night in the cabin, and then climb. We learned the hard way about what happens to the human body when it climbs too high too fast. Dave began getting really sick about the time we laid down to sleep and did so all through the night. He wasn’t the only one either, a lot of people got sick there. Even I got sick and had to run out the door of the cabin a couple of times. For whatever reason, Rob and Scott never got sick and started hiking at midnight, climbing all night to reach the top of the mountain. Rob wanted to leave your rock up there but I wanted to leave it somewhere closer to more people. They both reached the top and returned the next day sunburned and exhausted. Before long we were back down in Tlachichuca loading up the van again.
Next we headed out east to Tampico. We wanted to spend some time on the beach, and it was time well spent. From there it was straight up to the south border of Texas, where they had search dogs sniff through our van before letting us cross. We made it all the way to Roswell New Mexico before the van finally died. We were stuck in the “alien city” with no money for car repairs. I don’t remember whose idea it was but we spent that night at a stoplight in downtown Roswell, offering to wash the windows of cars as they stopped at the light. One of us held a sign that said. “Need money for car repairs, will wash windshields. Other favors upon request.” Surprisingly enough we had no police troubles and actually did pretty good business. By the end of the night we made over $200 dollars, but that still wasn’t enough to fix the van. We split up the money and then Dave and Scott tried to hitch-hike home. Before we left I placed your agate on the back of a Mexican tour bus that was headed back south deep into Mexico. I wonder where it will end up!
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Hi! My Rock Handle is “Mountain Climber”. I found your Rock and took it on a little adventure I wanted to tell you about! As an American crossing the Mexican border on foot or by road vehicle one will most likely pay a different amount for legal passage into the country every time he or she crosses it. It seems that these fees depend on a number of factors, such as the current disposition of the border guards on shift, paperwork of traveler, and the communication barrier between the two parties. Experience has taught these amateur mountaineers that confident persistence will save you money when traveling through Central America.
I don’t know if anybody has ever driven into and out of Mexico City without getting lost but I doubt they have. That city is amazing in many ways, but we just wanted to get through it. As we sputtered our way through the city in our blue bus and tie dyed shirts, we got some interesting looks and hand gestures. They were all friendly gestures as far as we could tell. The road seemed longer than normal as we headed towards Tlachichuca, the small town at the base of the volcano. We climbed from sea level to approximately 9,000ft in the van that day, and found the small hotel and transportation business that Rob had read about earlier. There were several of these operations in Tlachichuca so we did some price comparing and bartering to find a ride to the trailhead. It would have been wise to let our bodies adapt with a more gradual acclimatization but we wanted to get up that mountain. 
Next we headed out east to Tampico. We wanted to spend some time on the beach, and it was time well spent. From there it was straight up to the south border of Texas, where they had search dogs sniff through our van before letting us cross. We made it all the way to Roswell New Mexico before the van finally died. We were stuck in the “alien city” with no money for car repairs. I don’t remember whose idea it was but we spent that night at a stoplight in downtown Roswell, offering to wash the windows of cars as they stopped at the light. One of us held a sign that said. “Need money for car repairs, will wash windshields. Other favors upon request.” Surprisingly enough we had no police troubles and actually did pretty good business. By the end of the night we made over $200 dollars, but that still wasn’t enough to fix the van. We split up the money and then Dave and Scott tried to hitch-hike home. Before we left I placed your agate on the back of a Mexican tour bus that was headed back south deep into Mexico. I wonder where it will end up! 
