That morning we headed to Amecameca where we stayed at the same hotel I had come from not a day earlier. Along the way we stopped in Teotihuacan to see the ancient Aztec city ruins and climb the pyramids. HM had headed back to the other group to see them up Pico de Orizaba. Fosi, the clients and I ate at the Spanish restaurant that night and prepared everything for the trip up to the hut at the base of Izta the next day. We ate a hearty breakfast the next morning and that’s when Cato, the final guide showed up. After breakfast we began the ride to the base of Izta and the Alsamony hut. That afternoon Fosi and the group went on an acclimatization hike while Cato and I ported the tents, stoves and food up to high camp. Paco, the hut dog, had excitedly followed us all the way up to the high camp. It could have been because we fed him along the way but who really knows. We spent the night at the Alsamony hut where we saw the first of many coyotes. It was after dinner that we put the leftover food out for Paco and unknowingly for the coyotes too. That night the coyotes stalked around the hut sending Paco into a protective frenzy. For as small of a dog as he is Paco stands his ground against the armies of hungry coyotes (I consider four coyotes to be an army).
The next day we woke up at a reasonable hour and hiked up to high camp with the group. After setting up the rest of the tents and stoves we began cooking dinner. Paco had followed us yet again up to camp and seemed to be settling in for the night. Fosi napped nearly the entire afternoon because he had been hit with the flu. Little did I know I would be hit with a flu of my own that night. After serving dinner, Cato and I ate dinner ourselves and I noticed a slight twinge in my stomach. I didn’t think much of it at the time. One of the clients had told me he was suffering from some diarrhea and didn’t know what to do. I gave him strong medications and sent him to bed thinking “Hah that’s shitty.” We washed the dishes and headed to bed with our alarms set for 1:50am. The coyotes scrounged through our site that night looking for any food scraps they could find. At 10:25pm I bolted upright in my sleeping bag and thought “Oh c’mon really! Fuck!” I could feel the volcanic activity brewing in my bowels and I knew I had to get out of that tent ASAP. I threw my boots on and ran out of the tent desperately trying not to shit my pants. Unfortunately I didn’t have time to put my gore-tex pants on so I was in fact only wearing boxers. I barely made it to a spot far enough away from the camp before I threw down my pants. I felt like the poor campers sprinting to the port-a-potties clinging to their dignity. It was while I was crouched behind that rock that I heard the coyote cries. “Oh c’mon you have to be fuckin kidding me” I whispered to myself. I shined my petzel out into the darkness and as I scanned I was met with three sets of glowing eyes and then a fourth about a foot away from me. Paco was standing right next to me staring at the coyotes. There I was wearing nothing but mountaineering boots and a gore-tex jacket, crouched behind a rock with the freezing wind whipping at my legs, surrounded by coyotes and a little black guardian. I started laughing to myself and couldn’t stop. I medicated myself and hoped for the best. I got up two more times that night but things went a lot smoother. I also saw the client at one point during the night and gave him another pill for the morning.
I woke up ten minutes before my alarm beeped and took another pill. Things were feeling good enough that I felt I could guide people up a volcano with a few minor stops. After everyone had a hot cup of something and some oatmeal we headed out for the knees. We made good time and made it up to the upper hut (4,780m) within an hour and a half. That was where Fosi decided the flu was too much and couldn’t go on. Cato and I led the group from then on. At that point I knew I had no choice but to guide, activity or no. Luckily I wasn’t hit too badly during the day. Everyone made it to the summit and couldn’t have been happier. Even Paco made it to the summit and managed to eat my sandwich when I wasn’t looking. We made the descent down the Ayoloco route which was littered with large boulders and loose rock. Everyone made it down safely. One client was feeling the effects of High Altitude Cerebral Edema on the descent and I stuck with him in order to ensure he made it safely the whole way. We made it down but due to his ataxia he did not realize that he had large blisters on one of his feet. Unfortunately it wasn’t until after we had descended and he had already ripped the skin off the blisters that he told me he had them.
Paco, The Hut Dog, on the Pecho (Summit) of Iztaccihuatal
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